5 awfully expensive foods that were once cheap

So your first anniversary is just around the corner and your friends are bugging you for a treat. Going through the recommended options you suddenly realise that fine dinning restaurants con you off your hard earned money for no rhyme or reason. But you can cheer yourself up with the knowledge that many foods that we now consider to be classy and/or expensive were common man's least favourite option for supper. Your future does look better.


#5
Lobster

It's no surprise that lobster didn't have much of a reputation. It is, literally, a sea insect. The lobster belongs to the same animal group as both the spider and the common bug, which should be your first clue. They were initially thought of as giant hassles that got in the way when fishermen were fishing for, you know, fish.

Then how did it get so fancy?

Somebody went and invented the railroad. Soon, rich people, who were painfully unaware of what was cool, were tricked into buying the sea insects. But after tasting them, they realised that they must have discovered the long-lost gatekeeper for butter.

Come to mama

#4
Oysters

The oyster is the cousin of snail, nature's glue stick. Oyster also hang out with, and look like, rocks: further proof that giving in to peer pressure is an important survival technique.

Furthermore, in the olden days, eating one required a hell lot of effort. If you succeeded in prying them off of rock without just giving up, you still had to open it. So you can see why the abundance of oysters in the 19th century led to their being mostly eaten by the working poor in the U.S. and the U.K. (also they are not very nutritious).

Then how did it get so fancy?

The industrial age brought a population boom and many, many oysters were eaten and killed, driving up price and demand, and therefore catching the interest of rich people.

To fix this problem, foreign oysters were brought in to replenish the population. Unfortunately, 19th century medical science was still in its Flinstone's car stage, and nobody thought to point out that the local and foreign oysters might carry diseases that the other might not be immune to, leading to tons of oysters becoming rocks for real.

Thus, oysters were made permanently scarce and pricey proving that rich people will spend money on anything, if doing so means that you can't have it.


#3
Foie Gras

Foie gras goes back to ancient Egyptian times, when man discovered that a 10% larger liver of a really, really fattened goose was a lovely primeval combination of tasty and gross.

The dish almost died out in the Middle Ages, when most people were chiefly concerned with trying to stay away from the burning piles of plague victims. Geese were probably able to stop having nightmares about waking up in bathtubs full of ice.

Then how did it get so fancy?

The Renaissance brought back interest in things other than just conquering people, which meant that royals were getting back to the business of conquering their arteries. People travelled to the Jewish ghettos in Rome to buy lobes of foie gras; these lobes found their way in to the kitchens of the royals, who were getting frustrated waiting for the deep fried bacon to be invented.

Then, word got around that foie gras was awesome, the French started putting it in everything and charging $10 an ounce.


#2
Polenta

Polenta is basically gruel. But Polenta is gruel made from corn. Much like gruel, working class families in Italy and Latin America largely depended on this corn mash, which can take an upwards of  three hours to cook from scratch, has to be stirred constantly and tastes like something you'd feed to cattle.

Then how did it get so fancy?

Celebrity chefs! Fairly recently, polenta went from being the dish that every rags-to-riches person thought they'd never had to eat again, to the dish that is costing them $25 in a restaurant run by the only person left on earth not shy of wearing Crocs, Mario Batali.

His fine dining restaurant even did an all-polenta meal. But make no mistake, fine dining polenta is mostly still plain old peasant polenta that is spruced up for the rich and famous. The Food Network's Rocco DiSpirito even has a special recipe for polenta in which the only special ingredient is that Rocco DiSpirito is telling you about it.


#1
Sushi

Fishtravaganza

 

 

 

 

The idea behind sushi is that you've got fish, plus stuff wrapped around it to preserve the fish. The fermentation of the rice keeps the fish from giving you varied types of illness. So originally sushi followed the formula of fish = "yum"; rice = "silica packet".

Back then the boozy, fermented rice was discarded, presumably because they were already very busy with all the opium. Then a 17th century Japanese doctor, Matsumoto Yoshiichi, hit upon the idea of adding vineger to the rice to make it an edible part of the dish.

Like most Japanese things, sushi eventually became pocket-sized. Sushi's portability, cheapness, as well as the allure of eating both a food and its wrapper at the same time turned sushi into the hot dog of the Japanese Edo period. The popular sushi street stalls were the original fast food joints.

Then how did it get so fancy?

Post WWII, sushi arrived in the U.S. with the word "exotic" attached to it.

Now there are sushi restaurants that charge up to $400 a meal (before booze) with a straight face. Masaharu Morimoto, writes in his cookbooks about the short, specific time limits he has for eating pieces of sushi.

This seems reasonable until you remember, this is like a century from now reading a celebrity chef talking about how he can only eat his chicken McNuggets exactly 236 seconds after they have left the fryer.

Are you going organic for the right reasons?

It is great to see that a large number of people are now opting for organic. But what we also see is a trend in the way organic consumers are perceived by the non-organic consumers (we will now refer to them as non-believers, just for the kicks). Non-believers are probably running out of excuses and so they turn to the age old “grapes are sour” syndrome. And here is what they tell themselves whenever they see a happy believer.

They classify you in to the:

The Do-Gooder

For them the Do-Gooder, buying organic food is like being a tiny, lame super hero with a wallet. They jeer at the idea that your buying organic lends support to the humane treatment of animals, conservation of healthy soil, and sustaining a healthy environment. They are also in denial of the fact that buying "conventional food" means participating in the problems associated with it, like pesticides running into rivers and lakes, or the creation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains from animals consuming daily antibiotic-infused feed. They do not want to accept that you are right and dismiss you as someone with a “holier than thou” attitude.

The Blessed Rich

They not only associate the consumption of organic with only the rich and famous but are irrevocably convinced that organic is expensive because some companies want to con us out of our monies, just because they have nothing else to do. They honestly believe that occasionally spending a few grand or more on expensive restaurants, expensive clothes & accessories and/or expensive holidays is so much cheaper that going organic. And you are just showing off your wealth. Oh and did I also mention that they believe all organic consumers own a Ferrari or two.

The Health Junkie

According to the non-believers if you do yoga, have treadmills at home, run the marathon (they are generally irritated with marathons because it obstructed them on their way to KFC), then naturally you eat organic! They can’t understand why you like reading health tips or trivia on how even trace elements of chemicals can harm you. They will give you typical excuses like, “I am very happy the way I am”, “It’s hereditary, not my fault” or ‘I’ll look really out of place in the family photo”. They smoke because they think they will give cigarettes cancer. Actually to sum it up, your inner peace makes them feel fat.

The Afraid. The Very Afraid.

Chemicals are generally scary. But the non-believers imagine you picturing a barrel of fertilizer with a "do not ingest" warning, and laugh at your lack of guts to challenge the might of chemicals. But most non-believers don’t want to admit that they are aware of its long term effects. Of course they know that we as a species were never designed to ingest chemicals that do not occur naturally. Their voice booms through the room when they tell their children about their herculean capacity of digestion and smirk at the thought of your chest hair committing suicide at the sight of their gastronomic strength.

So now you know what they are thinking. I am rather convinced that no one really chooses to go organic because they belong to a certain stereotype. They choose it because they want to. It tastes better, it makes you more active and it allows you to indulge when your heart calls for it. So don’t bother what the world thinks and just enjoy what nature has to offer.

6 Ingredients in Everyday Cosmetics (that you don’t want to know about)

From time immemorial, mankind (mostly womankind) has not refrained from applying anything on their face to enhance their skin deep beauty and appeal. But have you ever stopped to think what’s in that perfume or that moisturizer or that shaving cream? Aren't you just a little bit curious? Besides, how bad can it be?  

#6

Lanolin aka grease from animal fur 

Lanolin: it sounds soft and comforting, like the kind of fluffy material you'd use to protect a grazed knee. But lanolin is, in reality, the kind of substance you'd normally like to keep several miles away from your mouth if possible. 

Why? Think back to the last time you went a few days without washing your hair, and try to remember the grease that built up. That sticky substance is sebum, which is made from the delightful recipe of wax and the remains of dead fat-producing cells. 

Now, imagine a sheep in all its woolen finery going through a similar experience, except rather than having a few bath-free days, we're probably heading towards a bath-free year, and its oil-soaked coat hasn't been cut in that entire time.  

This is lanolin, the greasy stuff secreted by wool-bearing mammals to help shed water from their coats, squeezed from their harvested wool and bucketed for many uses, including shoe polish, barnacle repellents and rust-proof coatings. Oh, and also you smear it on your face. In fact, if you've ever used lipstick, lanolin is the stuff that makes it greasy and sticky. Is it bad for you? We're not saying that. We're just saying it's gross. 

You Might Have it in Your...

Shaving cream, lotions, skin creams, shampoo, make-up removers, a bucket-load of lipsticks. 

#5

Squalene aka shark liver oil 

If you're a girl and, like most of our readers, have been alive for more than two years, there's a good chance you've had shark liver juice on multiple parts of your body. There are some important benefits of squalene that hold a huge appeal to the cosmetics industry: It's easily absorbed into the skin without leaving a greasy residue; it combines well with other oils; and it is recognized as improving the appearance of skin. For this reason, it is the ideal ingredient for use in all sorts of products from lip balm to sunscreen. The most common use appears to be in facial moisturizer. 

(Writer ponders) It kind of puts Jaws in a new light, when you realize the sunbathers on the beach were smearing the guts of the shark's buddies all over their skin. 

You Might Have it in Your...

Moisturizers, sunscreen, eye make-up, lipstick and bath oils

#4

Ambergris aka whale vomit

Let's say you're a whale. And like every other whale in the ocean, you fancy eating some squid every now and again. So you do, even though you know full well that the tasty squid has a sharp beak that's going to cut your insides up. But it's OK, because your belly produces something called ambergris, a waxy oil that protects your insides from sharp beaks and whatnot.

Now let's imagine that your ambergris has been building up for a while now, and it's time to get rid of it. Now here's the fun part: Somewhere a human is going to pick up your oily stomach excrement and shout for joy, because guess what? That thing is worth as much as $20 per gram. People throughout history have used it as food flavoring, an aphrodisiac and incense, but these days you have it lurking in your bottles of perfume. 

You Might Have it in Your...

You know it by now, Fancy perfume. 

#3

Diatomaceous Earth aka dead algae 

Diatomaceous earth (which we shall hereby call it DE because it's a lot easier to type) is the fossilized remains of single-celled algae called diatoms. And what's so disgusting about that? Well, these are the same little blighters responsible for making your fish tank slimy. Over time, nature forced them together so tightly they formed a sedimentary rock known as diatomite. The dead algae rock is recognized primarily for its abrasive nature. 

Chances are if you've ever used an exfoliating body scrub, you've actually spent time rubbing dead fish tank algae all over yourself. Whilst DE is known to be damaging to some creatures, the grains are too small to do any cutting-based damage to humans, and are still rough enough to remove those pesky, dead skin cells that build up over time. 

You Might Have it in Your...

Acne treatments, facial cleanser, exfoliators

#2

Guanine aka Fish Scales

Guanine shows up on product labels as CI 75170, or to give the more beautiful label bestowed on it, natural pearl essence. Hey, that doesn't sound so bad. It comes from pearls, right?

Wrong. Natural pearl essence actually is a by-product of one of the smelliest industries we know. Put all thoughts of oysters out of your mind because natural pearl essence is actually made by processing the scraped-off scales of dead fish and suspending them in alcohol.

While having nothing to do with pearls, this derivative of guanine does have a similar iridescence to oyster jewels, so it is frequently used in the cosmetics industry to add a certain luster to their products.

So, if you've ever used a colored polish to brighten up the bitten stumps called nails found at the end of your fingers, the chances are you've spent time brushing dead fish scales over your hands, because natural pearl essence is a favored ingredient in a ton of nail polishes. 

You Might Have it in Your...

Shampoo, nail polish and other personal products

#1

Cholesterol

Yes, we are talking about that naturally occurring waxy substance responsible for clogging up your arteries. Which is why we're constantly told it's bad for us. No points to you for guessing, you or someone you love has smeared this on your face at some point.

You see, cholesterol is found in another important place: your skin. It is one of the components in the uppermost layer of your skin where it helps to retain moisture while protecting the lower layers from exposure to the elements. Thanks to its skin conditioning and emollient properties, cholesterol is an ideal ingredient for helping the skin retain moisture, which in turn helps to smooth out any wrinkles that have had the audacity to appear.

You Might Have it in Your...

Face creams, moisturizer.

So much for looking your best. It’s not just the beauty industry that is laughing at us, but so is divinity. We often under estimate what we already have. Nature has given us enough. Drink lots of water, sweat it out, eat food the way it is meant to be (without chemicals and pesticides) and balance your diet. These are oft-neglected, sure-shot ways of turning heads at parties or wherever you hang out.  

5 ways Nature is better at taking care of itself (than depending on us)

Nature doesn't take punches like she used to. Nearly every environmental disaster over the past century has been our fault and it's easy to assume that we've recklessly forced the entire planet down a path of destruction. But every once in a while, Mother Nature surprises us with her resiliency, Wolverine-like healing abilities and willingness to step in and clean up our mess when we prove ourselves incompetent.

#5

The Chernobyl fungus that eats radiation

Most of you reading this article have heard of the Chernobyl disaster, reckless experimentation and negligence that led to the worst nuclear plant disaster in history. It irradiated a huge area around the plant and left the neighboring town of Pripyat a nick name – The Ghost Town.

But even in this area, life prevails. Inside the ominous plant, mushrooms are happily feasting on radiation. That's right: There is life inside the reactor of Chernobyl. And it eats radiation. This radiotropic fungus has adapted to turn gamma radiation into food -- it's not the only organism that can absorb radiation, but it is by far the best at it.

The fungus' radiation-eating properties obviously piqued scientists interests since it could help radically reduce radiation levels in contaminated areas. But there's also another reason science wants to take a closer look at the Chernobyl mushroom: The scientists are looking at ways to use the radiation absorbing fungus as food. This could double as a way to combat high-radiation environments while simultaneously growing huge crops of edible mushrooms, which would come really handy in the event of nuclear disasters.

#4

The heavy metal Superworms that feast on poisonous metals

Back in 2008, a group of U.K. scientists were collecting worms they found in landfills because they were curious how they were digesting the garbage, and because being a scientist sometimes means getting dirty. Under the microscope, these worms were far from ordinary. They ate things that would kill ordinary earthworms. They ate metal! The highly poisonous heavy metals found in abandoned mining sites such as lead, zinc, copper and even arsenic.

And the best part? They use only the worst poisons in these metals for sustenance and they defecate a cleaner, virtually poison free version of the metal. The purifying effect of the worms is such that the soil they produce can actually sustain plant life; single-handedly bringing entire areas back to life.

Also, this is not just one mutant variety of worms -- it looks like there are three separate species that have attained this poison-eating ability, so it is not at all impossible that the all of wormkind has had enough of our uselessness and decided to roll up their sleeves to fix everything themselves.

#3

Bacteria that eats poison and makes electricity

Quick, what's the first thing that comes in your mind when we say "bacteria"? If there's even one amongst you who answered that question with "electricity," then chances are you're either lying or are Charles Milliken of the Medical University of South Carolina.

Charles and his colleague, Harold May, are microbiologists with a rather interesting feather in their matching scientist caps: They have found a form of bacteria that is able to generate electricity. The bacteria in question is a member of a genus known as Desulfitobacterium, and although bacteria has proven before its ability to produce small amounts of electricity, this genus of bacteria apparently has never really applied itself. We have no idea why it has decided to make electricity now.

Presumably it just saw an opportunity to be helpful and give us something in return since we keep giving it all those delicious bleaches, pesticides and chemicals to absorb; the Desulfitobacterium makes its electricity as a by-product of making toxic waste harmless.

We're not talking about barely measurable sparks here -- the research has only begun, but already the two scientists have studied batches that are capable of continuously generating electricity at levels that could be used to operate small electronic devices. .

#2

The Gulf of Mexico microbe that eats oil slicks

For those of you who don't remember much of 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was one of the hottest topics and biggest disasters of the year. For three agonizing months, the oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, while the world watched in horror and the BP management seemingly spent their time figuring their physical and mental pain threshold.

The spill ruined the Gulf of Mexico up thoroughly and the sheer insane amount of oil (205.8 million gallons!) that leaked into the ocean made the Exxon Valdez disaster seem like the oil stain in somebody's driveway. Then, two weeks after the plugging of the BP spill, we started getting reports that said that half of the oil was ... gone.

Now, science has long been aware of oil-eating bacteria. Specialized germs have evolved to get their nutrition from underwater oil leaks that happen all the time due to sea bottom earthquakes. Some scientists had even stepped forward with the theory that the BP spill may cause a feeding frenzy among them (the bacteria, not the scientists). But what came as a complete surprise to everyone involved was the speed at which they slurped up the oil. Some of the disappeared oil ended up on the seafloor, sure, but, with time, the bacteria will likely eat that, too.

The spill still messed up the coastline, possibly forever, but it's nice to see nature stepping in like a mad parent to help us clean up the horrific mess we made.

#1

The E. Coli bacterium that poops biofuel

Have you ever eaten cheap takeout or fast food, only to spend the rest of the night sobbing between explosive bouts of diarrhea and puking? Chances are, you made acquaintances with Escherichia coli, or E.coli bacteria.

Some types of E.coli are potentially lethal, although it usually settles for giving you the pains and keeping the giggles for itself. But E.coli gets a bad reputation. The good kind of E.coli actually is a big part of the ecosystem of your gut, happily living in your intestines and helping to keep that whole system working. So maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that it might help save the world.

E.coli itself is a living organism, and as such it has to eat too. It can metabolize a number of energy sources, but it has a real craving for only one -- namely, glucose. And why not? Who doesn't love sugar? Now, scientists have been interested in glucose for a long time, particularly in its ability to convert to biofuel. And, as it turns out, one of the stranger but potentially easy ways of achieving this conversion is through the digestion of bacteria.

Currently, E.coli bacteria are being bioengineered to eat their preferred junk food just like before -- but, in a delicious twist of fate, now it's their turn to crap. And what they give out is totally renewable biofuel.

So we now know that Mother Nature is totally capable of asking us to take a hike. We have seen her fury and her care. In fact we are the only species that is hell bent on inviting disaster and disrupt the “Circle of life”. She provides us for what we need, but we fail her every time we ask her to provide for our greed.