Test Your Breakfast IQ!

By Joe Wilkes

It may be the most important meal of the day, but how much do you know about these breakfast favorites?

1. Which breakfast food is one of the few that contain vitamin D? The egg; its yolk in particular is one of the few food sources with naturally occurring vitamin D. In fact, the egg also is one of the best proteins for humans, containing nearly all the essential amino acids. Did you know a hen rotates the egg 50 times or more a day so the yolk won't stick to the side?
2. How many pounds of bacon are produced in the U.S. each year? Two billion pounds of bacon are produced each year. That's almost 7 pounds for every man, woman, and child. In the U.S., bacon is made from the belly of the pig; in Canada, from the pork loin; and in Europe, from the thigh or shoulder.
3. What are grits and groats? Grits, or hominy grits, are kernels of corn that have been soaked in an alkaline solution, which improves the flavor and texture of the kernel. It also makes it easier to grind. The flour used in corn products like tortillas and chips usually are ground from hominy grits. Groats are kernels of the oat grain with the hull removed. Groats are much chewier than rolled oats and require longer soaking to make them more edible. Irish steel-cut oats are chopped groats. They are chewier than regular oatmeal but cook faster than whole groats.
4. How many pounds of milk does it take to make 1 pound of yogurt? One pound. It's made by adding bacteria to ferment the milk, without affecting the volume. Americans put away about 300,000 tons of yogurt each year.
5. How many peanuts are in a 12-oz. jar of peanut butter? Five hundred and fifty peanuts are ground into one 12-oz. jar of creamy peanut butter. Peanut butter is largely consumed only in America. Only in the latter part of the 20th century has peanut butter caught on overseas, but it is still considered a specialty item abroad. It is believed to have initially been developed by a doctor for a patient with bad teeth.