Artificial sweeteners became a charming alternative to real sugar because they add virtually zero calories with only need a fraction of the powdery substance to reach an intense level of sweetness.
The story goes like this: In 1879, Constantin Fahlberg, a chemist at Johns Hopkins University, must have forgotten to wash his hands after work when he noticed a sweet taste on his palm. It was connected to overboiled chemicals – and he then tested the mixture and, upon returning to Germany, started producing the first artificial sweetener: Saccharin.
Raisins
We would never have thought that raisins were originally used as a decoration in 2000 BC in the Mediterranean. It took a few centuries for humankind to put a dried grape in their mouth and realize that perhaps it was ok to eat them dry.
Before becoming popular trading items, raisins were also used as prizes for sporting events and even medicine.
Bakewell Pudding
Although the true beginnings of this English dessert are not fully known, sources have it that it may have started in the town of Bakewell (obviously) back in the 1820s.
Mrs. Greaves had a cook working at the White Horse Inn who didn't follow the recipe properly. Instead of stirring the egg together with the almond paste and the pastry, she ended up smearing it on top of the jam. The baked mixture set like egg custard and soon became their customer's favorite dish.
Dippin’ Dots
If you've ever visited an amusement park or been to the mall, you've probably had your fair share of these tiny little ice cream balls. It turns out, Dippin' Dots have been going strong since 1988, and they most certainly have it trademarked or at least cryogenically frozen.
Curt Jones was developing a flash-freezing process using liquid nitrogen while in a lab in Lexington, KY. He was churning homemade ice cream at home and aimed his liquid nitrogen rays at that homemade ice cream, and that's how Dippin' Dots were born.
Bread
Bread is important in many cultures; it is the center of every meal. It's what you stick in the toaster every morning, a required participant in your brown bag lunch, and how do you even eat at a restaurant without those freshly baked buns? But who of you have ever paused to ponder the origins of this dietary staple?
According to Michael Pollan, Ancient Egyptians crushed wheat and added water; then, they baked it to form flatbreads. But on one fateful day, the mixture was left overnight, and the gluten began to rise, so curious to see what would happen, they baked this miraculous rising concoction, and that's how bread came to be.