The AnswerBank Articles

Do sprouts deserve a makeover

A. Farmers are spearheading a campaign to improve the image of the humble sprout. They are urging supermarkets to drop the prefix Brussels and its political aftertaste because 30 million of sprouts00:00 Mon 12th Nov 2001

Are eggs really used in advocaat

A. Production of advocaat is dominated by Warnicks, which goes through an estimated 60 million egg yolks a year. The eggs are broken by a machine, separated, and up to 70,000 yolks per hour can be00:00 Mon 05th Nov 2001

Do supermarkets back British food

A. Efforts to restore consumer confidence among shoppers has led to a concerted drive to improve the quality and accountability of British food. As a result most supermarkets sell British meat and00:00 Mon 05th Nov 2001

Are artifical sweeteners bad for you

A Artificial sweeteners exist in all sorts of foods from yoghurt to fizzy drinks and toothpaste. The soft drinks industry is the biggest user, but they are present in many forms, including small00:00 Mon 05th Nov 2001

Who monitors the pesticides in our food

A. The government has set up a Residues Committee which reports every autumn on the amount of pesticies in our food. The detail varies every year, but consumer watchdogs say the findings are always00:00 Mon 29th Oct 2001

Who is a Bloody Mary named after

A. The Bloody Mary started life in the 1920s in Harry's New York Bar in Paris, where a barman named Fernand Petiot mixed vodka with tomato juice and called his creation 'The Bucket of Blood'. It00:00 Mon 29th Oct 2001

Does drinking water do you any good

A. Beauty experts have long since recommended drinking water to improve the appearance of your skin, hair and eyes. Drink enough of it, the theory goes, and you will boost energy levels and rid your00:00 Mon 29th Oct 2001

Do Welsh onions come from Wales

A. Welsh onions belong to the Green Onion family which are pulled while the tops are still green, before the onion has chance to swell. Welsh onions have nothing to do with Wales, and are also called00:00 Mon 22nd Oct 2001

Are you getting enough fibre in your diet

A. British government guidelines recommend we eat 18g of fibre (including both soluable and insoluble) a day, but only about 20 per cent of the population achieve that. The Cancer Research Campaign00:00 Mon 22nd Oct 2001

Which cookbooks have changed our cookery

A. Cookery books which emerged after the Second World War are credited with changing the tastes of British cookery. Elizabeth David's Mediterranean Food, published in 1971, was the first glimpse for00:00 Mon 22nd Oct 2001

What's the most popular film soundtrack

A. The main theme from Jaws has been used time and again since its release in the 1980s. Films that have used it for its 'comedy' value include The Secret of My Success, Swingers, Airplane, Top00:00 Mon 15th Oct 2001

In the Godfather trilogy, what do oranges signify

A. In every film, eating oranges is a sign a character is about to die. The scene in The Godfather where Vito buys oranges from a street vendor before being shot starts a link between citrus fruit00:00 Mon 15th Oct 2001

Why does wine cost so much

A. Good wine has always cost much more in Britain that Europe. British Chancellors rarely cut wine taxes, and as a result, buying cheap wine can be false economy as little of whay you pay actually00:00 Mon 15th Oct 2001

Are there more blakcberries around than usual

A. Reports suggest this has been a record harvest of wild fruit. The heavy rains of last year - along with a mild winter without much frost - means there has been a very large crop of berries in00:00 Mon 15th Oct 2001

What is a Kentish cob

A. A Kentish cob is a type of hazlenut, though larger and longer, and there are various types, all cultivated to be eaten green and fresh. The cob season tails off towards the end of October. It has00:00 Mon 15th Oct 2001

Are most apples we buy imports

A. Around 85 per cent of all apples sold are bought in supermarkets - three-quarters of those are imports, primarily from France, South Africa, the USA and New Zealand. The UK imports 188,000 tonnes00:00 Mon 08th Oct 2001

How can you tell a safe mushroom from a lethal one

A. You must be really sure you've identified a mushroom correctly before deciding it's safe to eat. Tales that you can just peel a mushroom to make it edible, or that poisonous ones turn blue when00:00 Mon 08th Oct 2001

What can you tell me about bay leaves

A. Bay leaves come from the Sweet Bay or Bay Laurel tree, known botanically as Laurus nobilis. The elliptical leaves of are green, glossy, and grow up to three inches long. The plant belongs to the00:00 Mon 08th Oct 2001

Is 2001 a good year for champagne

A. The French champage industry has been badly hit by the wettest weather for 120 years. The weather has resulted in outbreaks of the grape disease botrytis in what little harvest there has been. 00:00 Mon 08th Oct 2001

What is genever

A. Genever is Dutch gin which has been around for centuries. Gin, made from juniper berries, arrived in Flanders in the late 14th century. It was first used as a health tonic and Lucas Bols, father00:00 Mon 01st Oct 2001