Can you imagine a world without the items on this list? To think that these were born out of sheer luck.
Food is something people have always loved to experiment with. We subject our food to varied processes to change how we prepare it, how we eat it, or transport it. But during some of these processes, we end up stumbling upon a new dish altogether.
Today, we want to highlight 5 dishes which we wouldn’t be enjoying if it weren’t for fateful accidents.
Check out if one of your favourites is on the list.
Popsicles:
Popsicles are an icy dessert enjoyed by kids and adults alike. As fate would have it, a kid invented it. One day in 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson was sitting on his porch making lemonade soda. Something distracted him from drinking it and he forgot the mixture outside on his porch. Being a cold evening, the lemonade froze with the wooden stirrer in it. The next morning, Frank ate the icicle using the wooden stirrer as a handle. The ice-candy was an instant hit with Frank and his friends. And thus, the popsicle was born.
Soon, the accidental inventor started selling the ‘Epsicle’ in his neighbourhood. In 1923, he patented the product and started his business. At his children’s insistence, Frank changed the name from Epsicle to Popsicle. It has stayed the same ever since.
Nachos:
The term ‘nacho’ is actually a nickname for the Spanish name Ignacio. One evening in the small town of Piedras Negras, Mexico, a group of four American wives went to the hotel where Ignacio was a maitre d’. The women were hungry, but the kitchen was closed. Being a kind man, Ignacio fried some tortilla chips, covered them in shredded cheese and sliced jalapenos, baked it for a few minutes and called the dish ‘Nachos Especials’. The women loved the dish and made it the talk of the town. And just like that, nachos were born. Ever since that day in 1943, nachos have become a popular snack across the globe.
Sandwich:
This may be one of the most popular legends around a food dish. During one of his gambling benders, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, refused to take a lunch break. He asked to be served a meal which he could eat with his hands (without cutlery) in his seat. The cooks served him meat and veggies placed between two slices of bread, and this came to be known as the sandwich. The sheer convenience of making and eating a sandwich made it incredibly popular across Britain and beyond. And the immense scope for experimentation makes it even more famous. Everything has the potential to be a sandwich filler! Could THIS be the greatest thing since sliced bread?
Ice cream:
Legend says the ‘ice cream in a cone’ combination was created in 1904, at a fair, when an ice cream stall ran out of cups and a waffle vendor crafted a cone-shaped wafer container. Before this event, people ate ice cream out of non-edible cones, and they ate wafers as a separate dish. At the fair, the two treats came together by chance and created the delectable combination that we love today. People loved the idea of edible wafer containers for their ice creams. It eliminated the use of shared or use & throw containers. The new combination improved sanitation, reduced container waste, and made the ice cream experience less messy.
Yoghurt
If you’ve seen a family member make yoghurt at home, you know how it’s made. The process is simple, but the idea is not as instinctive as it seems today. Its discovery dates back to 5000 BC. Multiple civilisations like the Turks, Greeks, Mongolians, Indians, and Chinese shared a fondness for the dairy item. Legend has it that a group of middle eastern herders used dead animal stomachs to carry milk. They saw that the bacteria from the stomach caused the milk to curdle and turned it into yoghurt. They soon discovered the benefits of eating yoghurt and started making it intentionally.
One thing is for sure, we are all grateful for these accidental inventions that are an integral and wildly popular part of our lives today. Get your share of these food items on Swiggy, and satisfy your (non-accidental) cravings.
