Did You Know?
The Farmers’ Almanac, with its rich history and wealth of knowledge, provides invaluable resources for anyone looking to navigate the complex world of weather forecasting, garden care, and agriculture. Here are some fun food facts according to the Farmers’ Almanac:
The Potato
The average American eats 120 pounds of potatoes each year.
Evidence of potato cultivation in the Andes of Peru has been dated to as early as 10,000 B.C. It wasn’t until the late 1580s that the potato began to be grown and eaten as a regular part of the European diet. And the potato didn’t reach the shores of North America until 1621, as a gift from the Governor of Bermuda to the Governor of Virginia.
In the United States, potatoes are grown commercially in every one of the fifty states today. Boil them, mash them, fry them or dry them, potatoes can easily be fit into any meal plan. With 40 billion pounds of potatoes produced in the USA each year, there’s plenty for you to eat.
Peanut Butter
According to the National Peanut Board, Dr. George Washington Carver developed more than 300 products from the humble peanut. They include face powder, shampoo, paper, shaving cream, hand lotion, insecticides, glue, charcoal, rubber, nitroglycerin, plastics, and axle grease.
Tasty, nutritious, and packed with antioxidants, peanuts-only peanut butter can also serve as a healthy butter alternative. If you like the taste, simply substitute smooth peanut butter for the butter in recipes for baked goods calling for butter.
Today’s peanut butter, a staple in most pantries, can serve an astonishing variety of household purposes. Try these:
Use a bit of peanut butter on a cotton cloth to rub off label adhesives.
Massage a bit of peanut butter into the hair to remove a wad of chewing gum.
Use a thin coat as a substitute for shaving cream. (Really! Hydrates and moisturizes.)
Polish leather and vinyl items using a bit of peanut butter on a cotton cloth. Buffs up wooden items, too.
Hang pinecones stuffed with a mixture of peanut butter and coarse cornmeal as a treat for winter birds.
Smear it on garden tools (including wooden handles) as a winter preservative.
Apply it to lawn mower blades as a lubricant.
Annoyed by a squeaky door hinge? Rub a bit of peanut butter on the joint to lubricate it and stop the squeak.
Spread some on a slice of apple or a scrap of bread for a good mousetrap bait.
Encourage your dog to swallow a pill by sticking it into the center of a little gob of peanut butter, if approved by your vet.
Baking Soda
Bicarbonate of soda—commonly known as “baking soda”—is a wonderful household product that can be used for much more than baking! From removing stains to cleaning teeth, see some of the best uses for baking soda.
Keep an open box of baking soda in the refrigerator to absorb any escaping smells so other foods won’t. Exchange for a new box whenever you clean the fridge. Use the contents of the old box for scrubbing jobs.
Make fluffier omelets: A pinch (¼ teaspoon or less) in your morning eggs as you whip them up will make your omelettes or scrambled eggs fluffier.
Make the best cookies: In a project intended to find the best leavening agent for chocolate-chip cookies, the folks at BuzzFeed baked 400 cookies comparing various agents and discovered that baking-soda-only cookies won hands down.
Prevent syrup from crystallizing: Add a pinch of baking soda to boiled syrup to prevent it from crystallizing.
Clean teeth: The antibacterial properties of baking powder help reduce bacterial plaques that cause tooth decay and gum disease, while its mild abrasive quality helps remove light staining. Mix a little baking soda with a few drops of water to make a thick paste, wet brush, coat teeth with paste, cover with paste, brush gently, and rinse well.
Soothe a sunburn: Add baking soda to your bath water to relieve sunburned or itchy skin.
Ease an insect bite: Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply to a burn or an insect bite for relief.
Stop the craving: If you crave sweets, rinse your mouth with one-teaspoon baking soda dissolved in a glass of warm water. Don’t swallow the mixture; spit it out. Your craving should disappear instantly.
Freshen breath: For freshening breath, add a spoonful of baking soda to a glass of warm water (or peppermint tea), and swoosh the mixture around in your mouth for 30 seconds or more before spitting it out.