Salt Over Your Shoulder – and 7 Other Food Superstitions
Do you always throw salt over your shoulder when you spill a little? And do you say: we’re going to have visitors, when sugar lands next to the sugar bowl? Belief, superstition and food are connected. Think of bread and fish, water and wine, and…
Hold Your Tortilla Properly
Tortillas are food number one in Mexico, so it’s no surprise that there’s plenty of superstition surrounding them. If you drop one, your in-laws will come to visit – and according to superstition, that’s a bad thing. If you fry the tortilla in the pan and it gets a big bubble, you’re ready to get married, another little sign. No puffed-up tortilla: Mum and Dad, I’ll be living with you until kingdom come. Cozy!
Twelve Grapes
Do you throw your arms around your loved one’s neck at midnight on New Year’s Eve? Or are you busy messaging family and friends to wish them all the best? In Latin America and Spain, they don’t have time for that; they’re all busy stuffing grapes into their mouths. Because superstition says that if you eat twelve grapes, you’ll have good luck all year. One grape for each chime of the clock, so you have to get those grapes down in no time. Does kissing with a mouth full of grapes count twice?
Stinky Vampire
Everyone loves garlic, except vampires. A little strange, but then again, they have more habits that we, with our non-undead, blood-drinking minds, can’t understand. Where does that come from? Apparently, the belief in Dracula stems from a huge outbreak of rabies – and animals (and people) who have it don’t just become seriously ill, they also become hypersensitive to smells. Such as the strong scent of garlic, so there you have it.
Break the Eggshell
Superstition in Ireland: once you’ve spooned a boiled egg out of its shell, you have to break the shell. If you don’t, and simply throw half the eggshell in the trash, witches can sail to the egg eater in that little shell. Far-fetched, but terrifying nonetheless, so crush your shell just to be safe.
Double Yolk
An egg with a double yolk brings good luck. Maybe you’re pregnant or will be soon, or someone close to you is. Or someone is getting married. You’ll have to see.
A Hole in Your Bread
Sometimes a loaf of bread has a big hole in it. The baker is having a birthday, we used to say. And it’s not a problem, except when you want to make a grilled cheese sandwich, because all that cheese runs out. But for some people, it’s a bad omen: a big hole in your bread means that the love in your life will soon come to an end.
Don’t Cut Your Noodles
Awkward, those long noodles in your noodle soup? Maybe so, but don’t you dare cut them shorter. Long noodles represent a long and prosperous life, and if you put a knife to them, well, you’re essentially shortening your life.
Also read:
- 11 tips for saving a ton of money at the supermarket
- Hello, mayo friends: these are 9 things you really want to know
- Stop doing this: these 5 things go wrong with deviled eggs
Source: Chef’s Pencil
