Some common misconceptions about the origin of your favorite things

Every day we enjoy a huge range of coffees and teas, indulge in fragrant pastries and try to forgo the last bite of chocolate, because sugar is not really that healthy. The world we live in provides an abundance of goods, so it's easy to forget that there was a time when these things didn't exist at all. How did they appear? Who discovered or created them? Interestingly, some of our favorite foods turn out to come from unexpected places.

• Yogurt is not Greek

  How often do you go to the supermarket for a pack of delicious Greek yogurt? Probably you do it quite often. Contrary to the name, this product is not actually Greek. Its origin can be traced back to Mesopotamia, around 5000 BC.

  For centuries, this fermented milk product has remained popular in the Middle East and the Balkans. It wasn't until the early 20th century, however, that Bulgarian medical student Stamen Grigorov isolated a bacterium that ferments milk and gives yogurt its characteristic sour taste. In honor of its roots, the bacterium was named Lactobacillus bulgarius. The name "Greek yogurt" came about as a result of a marketing campaign in the US, after which it somehow caught on by itself.

• Coffee is not Brazilian

  According to research, more than one billion people drink coffee every day around the world. Even in the UK, the land of heavy tea drinkers, industry reports show that coffee shops sell more than 98 million cups of coffee a day. Despite the fact that many commercials focus on the aroma and taste of Brazilian coffee, this drink does not come from there. This advertising campaign is a consequence of the fact that Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world.

  The effect of the use of this plant was first discovered in Ethiopia. It is said that one abbot of the monastery noticed that his goats feasted on the fruits of coffee trees, after which they experienced a surge of energy. When the abbot told the other monks about this, they all decided to taste the fruit themselves. Rumors spread around the world and the first coffee culture originated in Arabia, gradually spreading around the world and becoming the sensation it is today.

• Croissants are not French

  When someone says the word "croissant", the thought of France, the country of confectionery, comes to mind immediately. But in fact, croissants come from Vienna, and originally this crescent-shaped pastry was known as "kipferl", which means "bagel" in German. The kipferl was first mentioned in a 13th-century poem. It follows from the text that this treat was served to King Leopold at Christmas. However, this is not the most popular version of the origin of the famous crescent-shaped pastries.

  One of the famous Austrian legends says that it appeared as a festive dish in honor of the victory of Austria over the Ottoman Empire in 1683. It was stuffed with almonds and butter, and the shape of the crescent was supposed to imitate the crescent on the Turkish flag. However, it is worth noting that the French added their signature puff pastry, making the dish as we know it now.

• Chocolate is not Swiss

  As we all probably know, chocolate is made from cocoa beans that grow on chocolate trees.

  It is believed that the first people to harvest the fruits of the chocolate tree were the Olmec tribes from the southern regions of Mexico. However, the Maya were the first to use chocolate in the same way we do today. They made a delicious chocolate drink and added chili peppers and sometimes cornmeal for thickening or honey to sweeten it. It is believed that this drink was consumed daily, people were enjoying its aromatic taste and the effects of caffeine.

  Later it was the Spaniards who brought chocolate to Europe. The chocolate drinking craze quickly spread across the continent. Over time, new ways of using the product have been invented, resulting in a huge number of drinks and desserts that we know and love today.

• Pancakes (crepes) are neither French nor American

  The word "pancakes" conjures up a range of powerful images. There are thick and soft American pancakes that people love to eat with maple syrup and bacon, or, conversely, deliciously thin large French crepes. In England, there is even a holiday dedicated to this favorite dish - Pancake Day, officially called Shrove Tuesday ("Fat Tuesday"), which is celebrated in February.

  It's funny, but pancakes do not come from any of the above places. The first mention of pancakes is found in the work of a Greek poet dating back to 600 BC. However, historians believe that they appeared much earlier. There are theories according to which pancakes appeared in the Stone Age! Scientists have also found pancakes in the stomach of Ötzi, the famous Copper Age mummy frozen in glaciers.

• Apple pie is not American

  Get ready, this is very important! One of the most popular American specialties is actually... English!

  The dish originated in England, but its recipe is believed to have been influenced by French, Dutch and Ottoman cuisines. One of the first written recipes can be found in Samuel Pegg's Forme of Curry cookbook. The text dates from the 14th century.

  The dish made its way to the United States, appearing in the first American cookbook, American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons, published in 1796. Over time, the phrase "apple pie" has become a cult in America. References to apple pie can be found in various songs, books, and articles over the past three centuries describing the love of the American people for this fruity dessert.

• Pasta is not Italian

  Pasta has become almost synonymous with Italian cuisine. However, this product is not actually from Italy. According to one theory, Marco Polo brought an early version of pasta from China to Italy. However, according to some reports, the product that Marco Polo brought is not exactly pasta, but another Chinese dish.

  It looks like pasta was brought to Italy by the Arabs. There is a written mention that pasta was produced and dried in the vicinity of Libya around the 5th century. So it looks like today we can thank the Middle East for one of our favorite dishes!

• Fortune cookies are not Chinese

  Have you ever wondered where fortune cookies came from? In Chinese restaurants, they are offered to us as an additional dessert, and they appear on the windows of supermarkets as part of the Chinese New Year. But these little rolled up cookies are actually Japanese.

  A graduate of the Faculty of Folklore and History of the University of Kanagawa decided to find out the origin of this favorite snack after she tried it in a restaurant in New York in 1980. It wasn't until the 1990s that she discovered a family bakery near Kyoto that sold a snack that bore an uncanny resemblance to fortune cookies.

  Today, on the windows of pastry shops around Kyoto, you can find photos of this cookie. They date back to 1870. This snack was called "tsujiura senbei" or "fortune cracker" and was brought to the United States by Japanese immigrants in the early 19th century. But it turned out that instead of vanilla-flavored dough, the original Japanese fortune cookies were flavored with black sesame seeds and miso. However, the original form remained the same, and a message with a prediction was also present inside.

• Bagpipes are not Scottish

  The Scottish national instrument has its roots in ancient Egypt. The first versions of the bagpipe were very similar to what we know today. However, it seems the instrument was a bit more... disturbing. The bag was predominantly made from dog rather than sheep skin, and the pipes were made from bone rather than wood. Records of the use of this instrument in Egypt date back to 400 BC by pipers from Thebes. Later, the bagpipe became popular in ancient Rome, from where it probably came to Europe. The Scots developed this instrument and made it what we know it today.

  An interesting fact: the bagpipe is the national instrument of another European country - Bulgaria. It is the main component of traditional folk music.