12 Funky Food Facts We Never Needed To Know

Beavers produce castoreum, a substance sometimes used as a food additive; the rodents secrete it from their anal glands and use it to mark their territory. Castoreum contains hints of strawberry, raspberry, and vanilla. According to wildlife ecologist Joanne Crawford, it is actually quite pleasant:

I lift up the animal's tail and I'm like, "Get down there, and stick your nose near its bum." People think I'm nuts. I tell them, "Oh, but it's beavers; it smells really good."

Due to its appeal, castoreum may be used in perfumes and other fragrances, alongside food flavorings. It's considered safe by the US Food & Drug Administration, but the expense associated with it has caused its presence to decline. Reportedly, in 2011, five companies that produced vanilla flavors indicated they didn't use any castoreum.

Ranch dressing is popular on salads, buffalo wings, French fries, and numerous other foods. The ingredient that makes ranch dressing white is titanium dioxide, which can also give skin products their white appearance, especially sunscreens. Titanium oxide was first used for white coloring in 1923 and has found use in paint, ceramics, textiles, and personal care products.

While considered to be safe in the US, companies like Dunkin' Donuts took titanium oxide out of their products in 2015. In May 2020, the European Food Safety Authority decided titanium dioxide was no longer safe as a food additive.

It's possible that when you eat a raw oyster, it's recently deceased, but it's more likely still alive. Eating a living oyster optimizes the freshness, flavor, and nutrient density of the meat and the juices contained within the oyster's shell. According to registered dietitian Alex Lewis: 

Dead raw oysters run a greater risk of being infected with viruses and bacteria that can have a negative impact on your health - although the overall risk is relatively low.

Whether oysters feel pain is still a subject of debate, but there are additional things to consider when slurping. If you come upon a milky oyster, you're about to consume one that's spawning. Eating a spawning oyster isn't dangerous, but many people find the appearance and texture to be unpleasant.

Pineapple contains a mixture of two enzymes called bromelain, a substance that breaks down proteins. Bromelain is also found in meat tenderizers due to its efficacy in digesting protein.

When you consume bromelain in pineapple, the enzyme eats away at the proteins in your mouth. Combine this with the acidity of the fruit itself, and you get that a tingle, a twinge, or even a burning on your tongue or other parts of your mouth.

Pineapples are the lone possessors of bromelain, with two different types: what's in the stems digests proteins better than that found in the fruit. Similarly, kiwifruit contains actinidin, papaya has papain, and figs possess ficin - all enzymes with comparable digestive properties.

It's pretty common knowledge that a raisin is just a dried grape, but exactly how that grape is dried varies. In some instances, it's sun-drying, although the process can be lengthy. Artificial light and added heat often supplement the sun and expedite the drying.

Putting grapes out to dry attracts insects and leaves the fruit exposed to dirt, sand, and other particulates. To combat bugs, many companies use pesticides, but they don't always dissipate or get washed off during processing. According to a report from the US Department of Agriculture in 2020, 99% of raisins sampled and tested were contaminated with two or more pesticides. 

Confectioner's glaze, also known as shellac, is what keeps candy and other sweets shiny, essentially serving as a varnish to the goodie. You may not give shellac much thought, but it's actually derived from the secretions of the lac bug (Kerria lacca) - hence the name.

Female lac insects take in sap from specific types of trees - often in either the Fabaceae (legume) family or the Rosales (rose) order. They absorb it as food, lay eggs, and then excrete the sap. When air combines with the excretions, it becomes hard, and in theory, protects the eggs. It's at that point workers scrape the coating off the trees, refine it, and process it for a variety of products. 

Candy corn, for example, is covered in shellac (adding to its vilification each October), as are jelly beans, and chocolates like Milk Duds and Raisinets. Skittles removed shellac from its product in 2009, but some Skittles still contain Red 40 - a dye derived from carmine, which comes from cochineal insects, also called scale insects.

Sometimes called "beetle juice," carmine doesn't contain any actual bugs, but rather is extracted from female cochineal insects when they're crushed.