If you’ve ever traveled to St. Louis, the chances are that you’ve eaten toasted ravioli. The famed St. Louis food is a staple in many restaurants in the area, but it has a bit of a contentious origin story.
What we do know about the beginnings of Toasted Ravioli is that they were invented by a German cook who was cooking up some pasta while he clumsily dropped some ravioli in the deep fryer. With a finishing touch of Parmesan, they were sent out to the bar in an effort to make due. The diners loved them and the rest, as they like to say, is history.
Hawaiian Pizza
Named after the United States' 50th state, you could argue that the Hawaiian pizza is an early prototype of a fusion dish: pizza with a tropical flair. As some foodies would say that putting pineapple on pizza is a practical joke, they are kind of right, as it was invented while two brothers were having fun.
The brothers emigrated to Canada from Greece in the '50s experimented with different ingredients at their restaurant, and back then, nobody mixed sweets with savory. One of them thought of throwing in some ham and pineapple to see how it would taste. Surely they had no clue that this topping would divide people over the years, with some loving it while others hate the mere fact that other people put pineapple on pizza.
Cheese
While one may never know the true origin of cheese, one story tells a tale of cheese dating back more than 4,000 years of an Arabian merchant making it by accident. As the shepherd set out on a lengthy journey across a desert, he had a supply of milk in a sheep's stomach pouch.
The blaring heat and the fermenting enzymes in the pouch cured the cheese and separated the whey. And the traveler enjoyed the cheese. Eventually, the art of cheesemaking was brought from Asia to Europe, and now we can go crazy making cheese platters for our guests.
Brandy
Supposedly, brandy was made to supplement wine to make it through prolonged, and sometimes even intercontinental voyages. In the early 1500s, a Dutch merchant invented the way to ship more wine when he had little cargo space by cleverly removing water from the wine.
When they reached their destination port, he could add the water back to the concentrated wine. As it would be stored in wooden barrels, the original distilled flavor became more palatable. They called it "bradwijn," meaning "burned wine," which later became known as "brandy."
Beer
Apparently, beer was first discovered by Mesopotamian communities about 6,000 years ago. Fermenting their cereal grains would result in beer, and this was likely a delightful accident. Beer was enjoyed by the Egyptians, where workers were partially paid in beer spiced with olives, dates, and other seemingly exotic ingredients.
Beer as we know it now began to emerge in the Middle Ages when monks and others started experimenting with hops. Next time you drink a cold beer, just remember that what you're drinking was 6,000 years in the making. Now that's pretty cool!