Walnuts, pistachios, coffee, and mustard. You've probably had all of those things, right? And as far as you know, they exist only as they appear in the supermarket, in bags and in bottles.
But of course, these foods are all plant-based, and like all plants, they first come from nature. And as you might guess, there are no bags, boxes, or bottles in the great outdoors.
They may be your favorite foods, but do you know where they come from? Do you know what they look like in the wild? If you passed one of these plants, would you be able to tell what it was, or would you walk right on by without even realizing you were in the presence of your favorite food?
You might be surprised to learn how your favorite foods look before they've been processed. Some might even shock or surprise you.
After all, when you're used to seeing something look a certain way, a difference can be alarming. And that even goes for food that you have seen on the plant, like all the "ugly" produce that often doesn't even make it to the shelf.
But just because nature is maybe weirder than you expected, doesn't mean that what it produces isn't delicious — and necessary to our survival!
Check out the origins of your favorite foods below, and see how many you recognize … and how many stump you!
[H/T: My Modern Met]
Pineapple
Pineapples are kind of weird even in the store, but they start out as little red pine cone-looking things in the middle of a bush. Their resemblance to a pine cone gave them their name.
Bananas
This looks like the underside of a giant alien mushroom, but it's actually a bountiful harvest of bananas!
Vanilla
No, they aren't string beans, although they do look very similar! These are actually vanilla pods, which turn black when ripened and dried, and give us the classic flavoring we love so much.
Cashews
The curvy nut you know and love is actually just the very bottom of the cashew fruit. It's the seed. The rest of the fruit, called the cashew apple, isn't as popular in the U.S., but in other areas of the worlds, its pulp is processed into juice and liquor.
Broccoli
Broccoli is famous for being a controversial vegetable among children, but it's actually more glamorous than that — it's a flower. The little nubs on top that make it look like a tiny tree are the buds. If allowed to bloom, they have tiny, pale-yellow flowers.
Peanuts
Peanuts aren't actually nuts, but peas! They grow underground, and are a hugely important crop all over the world. As a legume, they're also great for bringing nitrogen back into soil and making it fertile again.
Black Pepper
You've seen it in its whole form as a tiny black pellet, but before that, black pepper looks like tiny grapes! The red strand is riper than the green, and both will soon be harvested and dried for consumption.
Sesame
Sesame seeds typically come to us atop rolls and bagels or as cooking oil. But these tiny seeds start out in little pods like this. They may be small, but they pack a huge, savory flavor.
Coffee
You know coffee is a bean, but around that bean is a whole berry. Even if you drink it every day, it's sometimes easy to forget that coffee is a drink made from a roasted and ground-up seed, but that's exactly what it is!
Mustard
Just like the condiment you put on a hot dog, mustard plants have deep yellow flowers. The seeds are ground and mixed with water to make the well-known sauce. The leaves of these plants can be eaten, as well, and are just as spicy.
Pistachios
The little green nuts that are so much fun to eat begin as these cute, pointy little pods on trees. People have been eating these nuts as long ago as 6750 BCE. That's a long time of appreciating nuts!
Walnuts
You know that walnut trees are used for their wood as well as their nuts, but passing by this green fruit, would you recognize it as a walnut?
The actual nut is inside, wrapped in a husk whose dark juice has been used as a black dye for hundreds of years.
Saffron
The world's most costly spice comes from a surprisingly small — but pretty — source: a crocus! The stigmas of a species of crocus is responsible for this coveted spice. But no, it doesn't come from the crocuses you see in your yard in spring!
Almonds
Almond trees not only produce another favorite food, but beautiful flowers, too. They've been eaten for thousands of years, but not before being domesticated. While domesticated almonds are perfectly safe, wild almonds are full of cyanide, and even eating a small handful can be fatal.
Chocolate
Even if you didn't know that chocolate, like coffee, comes from the roasted seeds of a tree fruit, you'd still think this was a weird plant. These cacao pods grow not from the branches like most fruit, but right off the trunk!
Kiwifruit
The flowers of the kiwifruit are just as fuzzy as the fruit itself, and they grow from vines. Originally from China (not New Zealand), they're known for their fuzzy peel and bright green insides.
These fruits are grown in New Zealand, but there, the word "kiwi" refers to New Zealand people, so they're called "Chinese gooseberries."
Now that you know where some of your favorite foods really come from, the world seems a little stranger, doesn't it?
SHARE this fun food knowledge with your culinary friends, and remember how weird cacao pods look the next time you enjoy some chocolate!
