Even though it’s something we interact with every single day, food can actually be pretty weird when we think about it. After all, spoiled milk is something we might throw straight into the trash, but cheese is a wonderful, versatile staple most of us know and love.
Someone asked “What is a food that makes you think, “How did humans discover this was edible?”” and people share their favorite examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, grab a snack, upvote the best ones and be sure to share your own thoughts in the comments section below.
#1
That expensive coffee made from beans collected from animal droppings.
Who the hell looked at that and said "Why not? Let's give it a go.".
Image credits: NickFurious82
#2
Cheese is weird.
Hey ogg, that milk you were storing has gone weird and lumpy, should I throw it out?
Nah, it's still good, pass it here.
SirTwitchALot reply:
Rennet, which causes milk to curdle is naturally present in the stomachs of calves. Some speculate that people may have used stomachs as storage vessels. You put some milk in there, and it curdles. Food is scarce, so you're not about to let it go to waste, thankfully the chunky milk actually tastes pretty damn good!
Image credits: midunda
#3
Honey. Let's follow these highly territorial murder flies to their stronghold and eat their vomit.
_Molotovsky reply:
That's easy, watch a bear. It's kind of a cliche now because of cartoons but bears LOVE honey, and will climb trees to get to the hive. Probably doesn't hurt that their skin is thicker and getting stung probably tickles, but they will go to some lengths to get it."
"Some enterprising caveman watched the bear go for the hive and probably decided to taste what was left. I wouldn't want to fight the bear for it but it probably was the first sweet thing ever tasted other than fruit, so it was valued."
Image credits: genetic_ape
#4
Vanilla flavoring from beaver butt.
Image credits: Gregskis
#5
Ever think about coffee beans? Hey, I'm gonna roast this seed, smash it up and drown it in hot water. Bet it tastes great.'.
TheFerricGenum reply:
This one is not that difficult to come by. The beans are edible when freshly picked, and actually contain more caffeine (caffeine is lost through baking). So I bet people were regularly drawing on these as a food source since they are an upper. Someone along the line probably realized cooking things can keep them from spoiling a bit longer and started roasting their beans. If food was scarce, it’s possible they boiled these beans at one point to try to stretch their food supply. They liked the taste, and realized grinding the beans helped draw out the flavor easier.
Image credits: HakimEuphrates
#6
The enigmatic durian – a fruit so pungent it could make a skunk blush. It's like someone stumbled upon this spikey orb, dared to take a bite, and thought, "Yes, let's create a culinary sensation that smells like a blend of rotten onions and gym socks." Truly, the mysteries of gastronomy know no bounds!
Image credits: anon
#7
Blue cheese…someone left that out for too long, looked at it, shrugged their shoulders and went for it.
Image credits: Narf234
#8
Gelatin.
I swear whoever invented gelatin was probably a serial killer.
Image credits: PathOfTheAncients
#9
Foods that are poisonous unless prepared in a specific manner.
I mean who was it who first realised that the kidney beans that were poisoning everyone raw, were perfectly safe after being boiled for 20 mins?
Image credits: prolixia
#10
One of the first staple foods is kinda weird: Acorns. Acorns were actually farmed very early in human history, but to make them edible you have to soak them and treat them. Sure, you see animals eat them all the time, but animals also eat tree bark and leaves. Somehow people figured out, that you could turn the inside of acorns into flour and basically eradicate hunger by simple picking up acorns for a couple of days.
Image credits: Zagdil
#11
Potatoes. Early potatoes were small, hard, and poisonous.
Methods of making them not poisonous included soaking them in running water for weeks or, in the high Andes, leaving them out on rocks high in the mountains so they effectively freeze-dried. Alternatively, you could mix them with clay when eating them - the clay would adsorb some of the toxins.
Image credits: SuspiciouslyMoist
#12
There’s a fruit in Brazil that needs to be cooked around 7 days, otherwise it’s toxic.
Image credits: AnakinCaesar
#13
Gummy bears. How are you not scared the bears would attack you from the inside? Actually, I hear the sugar free ones do.
Image credits: skisushi
#14
Fugu. To even be allowed to make it, you need a license to show that you can consistently make it in a way that won‘t kill your customer(not to mention the training required to get the license which IIRC can only be issued by the Japanese Government). How many tries were needed to figure out the propper way to make it and why did they keep trying after the first two or three tries?
SeiCalros reply:
Fugu fish aren't that lethal. Most people could eat a whole fish including the skin liver and ovaries which are the poisonous parts. One fugu fish COULD be fatal but most people who used to die from fugu liver had eaten several of them.
Image credits: SimeonDoesStuffBG
#15
Chocolate. I mean don't get me wrong I get why they were playing around with the plant and all.
The sheer process of getting to Chocolate as a product is so weird and bizarre and kinda gross...and then it comes out as the lovely candy we know and love.
Image credits: Onepopcornman
#16
Lobster, crab, shrimp...
Image credits: lionson76
#17
Our earliest ancestors in Africa likely ate a ton of yams, which were basically hard roots that I believe are also sometimes toxic. People were probably dead set on making the root vegetables where they ended up edible. Eating root vegetables as a staple might be the most engrained human tradition.
Image credits: BonerSoupAndSalad
#18
Almost every edible mushroom. Lots of trial and error there, I bet.
shadowa1ien reply:
Shiitake mushrooms are like this. They're not deathly poisonous, but if eaten raw in medium to large amounts can cause severe itching for up to several weeks. Now imagine my face as I read that little tidbit on Google... after I had popped a raw shiitake mushroom in my mouth and had already swallowed most of it. The moral of the story, if you aren't sure, google before taste testing. my logic was since there's no warning on the store packaging, it must be fine! I didn't get the severe itching thankfully.
Image credits: Leeser
#19
Artichokes.
oldcrustybutz reply:
I kinda feel like they're a specialization from a generalization though.
There are the more generalized Cardoon thistles where you more eat the stalk and stems which wouldn't be that big of a stretch to throw them on some coals, peel, and enjoy. Later someone found that the flower base was even better because you can use it as a bunch of tiny spoons to deliver copious amounts of butter to your cardoon hole.
Image credits: soserva
#20
That blowfish stuff. The kind that they have to be super careful when preparing. How'd they figure out being good enough to prepare it?
Image credits: Onlyhereforthelaughs
#21
Balut. A duck embryo still in the shell.
Image credits: ResponsibleJaguar109
#22
Green Olives? Poison until soaked in brine? How did that get figured out?
Image credits: Dyrogitory
#23
Not the most inviting foods....
Caviar ( fish eggs )
Snails
Raw Oysters
