Food superstitions: true or false?

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By Theresa Albert                                                                                

Ever wonder what would happen if you spilled salt or got the shorter end of the wishbone? We demystify some of the more popular food-related superstitions.                                                                                                                                               

Food superstitions are pervasive.  Even if you don’t believe them, chances are, you have some crazy information stuck in your brain.  Their roots are sometimes obscure promising good luck or threatening evil.  No matter their origin, their promised outcomes are absurd.  Or are they?
                                                               

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Salty tales If you spill the salt, you must shake it over your shoulder to ward off bad luck.  Some say the left shoulder, others don’t specify. Take a look at Leonardo DaVinci’s painting of the last supper and note how Judas (the traitor) has spilled the salt. It’s said to be a portent of bad luck as it was in this biblical event and the only antidote is a flick of this treasured commodity over the shoulder to deter any would-be devils from stabbing you in the back. (credit: Getty Images)

                                                                                                            

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Make a wish? Everyone has had their dreams shattered by merely snapping the short end of the wishbone.  That celebratory ritual of setting aside the neck bone of a chicken or turkey and waiting for it to dry only to be snapped by feuding siblings does have a history. It was once believed that a goose had oracle powers and was therefore to be revered. The neck bone became a symbolic bit of the animal that was saved and wished upon.  Of course, geese have been replaced in modern times with any old fowl, chicken, turkey, and the occasional duck. The rules are that each person must only use a pinkie for pulling and the snap that happens will be uneven.  The longer end wins.  Which leads us to possible origins of the sayings: “shorter end of the stick” and “pinky swear”, all in one fell swoop. (credit: Getty Images)

                                                                                                                    

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Pinky up The Brits have several tea time tales. If tea leaves can tell the future, then everything else about tea will tell your luck. Drop a few leaves accidently and you will have good luck, scatter some on the front porch and you’ll ward off evil. Do not forget to put leaves in the pot before the water or you will surely suffer a bad omen (or at least a terrible ‘cuppa’). Apparently, pouring roughly is best because it causes bubbles to float to the top. And we all know that tea bubbles taken into the mouth by spoon are akin to money in your pocket.  Not convinced? At least you will have fun finding out.   (credit: Getty Images)

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Grab some garlic
And while we are fending off evil, we may as well take on the vampires. The superstition that garlic scares off vampires may actually be founded in some sort of reality. Once upon a time, corpses suspected to be in danger of becoming vampires had their orifices stuffed with the bulb and surfaces rubbed by the wary living. It’s now known that garlic has potent antibacterial and anti-microbial properties which are what likely preserved the corpse. This phenomenon could have lead to the belief that vampires were afraid of garlic and the mythology continued. There is very good reason to consume garlic for good health, stuffing orifices and rubbing skin, not so much. (credit: Getty Images)

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The big apple
And on a happy note, some superstitions are just plain fun to believe in.  For instance, the symbol of Eve’s temptation is an apple which has remarkably predictive powers if you believe this superstition: an apple skin can predict the initial of your one true prince’s name.  If you peel the skin into as long a string as you can manage and let it fall to the table, it will form a letter.  This letter will provide you with the first letter of your love’s name.  Heaven help you if your name starts with the letter ‘K’.  No apple skin has ever fallen into the angular shape of a K.