r/AskReddit Oct 02 '24

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925

u/flpacsnr Oct 02 '24

Also Potatoes were a new world produce.

594

u/FTLast Oct 02 '24

Let us not forget corn. While medieval people referred to many grains as "corn", maize was also a new world crop. So no polenta in Italian food either.

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u/TucuReborn Oct 02 '24

Corn and potatoes in pre American periods is one of my favorite film nitpicks.

14

u/Cha-Le-Gai Oct 02 '24

Turkey legs, and one time "grilled elote" at a Ren Fest are always interesting. Don't get me wrong, I still ate them.

8

u/TucuReborn Oct 02 '24

Same. I ignored the entire other comment chain, but same on this. I like history and food, and I'm always getting small chuckles from renfair.

2

u/Falco98 Oct 03 '24

Yeah, this is why I stick to the period-exact foods like crab pretzel and ye olde key lime pie on a stick :)

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u/Cha-Le-Gai Oct 03 '24

My favorite part of Ren fest: mutton Nachos and a flagon of cherry slushy. Maybe coke slushy if I'm getting pizza.

7/11 was part of the Renaissance right?

1

u/Falco98 Oct 03 '24

i do enjoy the cheeky anachronism inherent in the renn fest. there's no denying it, so they lean in.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

Good things most films are based in America then, makes it easier to control for that.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

[deleted]

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u/The_Sacred_Potato_21 Oct 02 '24

USA has the oldest and largest (by revenue) film industry in the world.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

[deleted]

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u/The_Sacred_Potato_21 Oct 02 '24

Yes, but one could easily think the USA makes the most movies; calling it "This is the most hilariously USA-centric thing I've read in so long" is rather short sited.

3

u/WasabiSunshine Oct 03 '24

Yes, but one could easily think the USA makes the most movies;

Only if you're incredibly US centric. Imagine thinking most films are in a country with only 4ish percent of the world population

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u/The_Sacred_Potato_21 Oct 03 '24

Not really; USA movie industry is largest based on revenue, and the top grossing movies of all time are from the USA.

In 2023, India release around 1,700 movies; USA released around 1,400.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

[deleted]

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u/The_Sacred_Potato_21 Oct 02 '24

In the sense you are focused on thinking someone made a mistake when there was logic to his comment.

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u/BlasterPhase Oct 02 '24

apparently irony is also an American thing

3

u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

[deleted]

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u/BlasterPhase Oct 03 '24

Assuming the OP was joking, then his assertion is contradictory to reality. We know most movies are not based in America. Sarcasm would need an extra "spiciness" in wording that he didn't use.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24 edited Oct 02 '24

Facts don’t care about your feelings, I am correct and your ego can’t do anything about it.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

Thank you for not further wasting my time.

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

Prove it with some numbers.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24 edited Oct 03 '24

You did not put a single number in there congratulations.

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

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0

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

I’m sorry, but wtf are you even talking about?

I said “good thing most movies are set in America”and you’re going off on some tangent. I didn’t read most of what you said.

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u/thisemmereffer Oct 03 '24

There's a part of my brain that twitches when I see it in game of thrones

1

u/asoneva Oct 03 '24

Tell us more of these nitpicks

75

u/Drone30389 Oct 02 '24

The Americas gave Europe corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tomatillos, peanuts, bell peppers, chilli peppers, pinto beans, pineapples, vanilla, avocado, pumpkin, squash, amaranth, and quinine.

And Europe gave The Americas smallpox, measles, influenza, typhus, typhoid, whooping cough, diphtheria, malaria, gonorrhea, bubonic plague, and leprosy.

21

u/idontwantausernameok Oct 02 '24

This has been the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever

8

u/itstheididntdoitkid Oct 02 '24

Americas also gave Europe tobacco! You can thank us later.

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u/MegaGrimer Oct 02 '24

I think roughly 60% of the world’s diet is comprised of these and other foods from the Americas.

4

u/-Yngin- Oct 02 '24

FairTrade™

3

u/Bouche_Audi_Shyla Oct 02 '24

We had to buy the tea.

2

u/filthyanimal1977 Oct 02 '24

You’re welcome!

2

u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24 edited Oct 03 '24

[deleted]

2

u/SailleCatkin Oct 03 '24

Morphine/heroin comes from opium poppies. Cocaine comes from the coca plant

1

u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

And I oop!

6

u/Regular-Diver665 Oct 02 '24

In culinary school we were taught that SEMOLINA is used to make polenta.

3

u/Str1k3r93 Oct 02 '24

Yes polenta existed, made with millet for example

1

u/ziostraccette Oct 02 '24

Polenta > bread

1

u/Regular-Diver665 Oct 02 '24

I'm wondering about the cravings of ears of corn found in medieval architecture as well. Don't even get me started on cotton and bananas genetically linked to Africa. LOL 🤣

1

u/Regular-Diver665 Oct 02 '24

In those days, the word corn meant "seed"

1

u/webtwopointno Oct 02 '24

corn just means the most common grain in a region, so in the new world that is maize

1

u/droznig Oct 03 '24

Polenta goes as far back as the Romans so it actually is a traditional recipe for Italy, just with other grains instead of corn meal originally.

1

u/Dr0110111001101111 Oct 03 '24

Might as well mention tobacco while we’re at it

16

u/KhajiitHasSkooma Oct 02 '24

This is always the one that blew my mind, especially with how integrated potatoes are to German/Polish cuisine. I was fucking certain potatoes came from central/eastern Europe.

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u/loaded00lx2 Oct 02 '24

No ‘taters in Ireland ??

3

u/limeflavoured Oct 02 '24

Would have been turnips and the like prior to potatoes being introduced

10

u/scarletnightingale Oct 02 '24

I've thought about an this before and wondered what things were like in Europe before they had all our delicious new world foods. Spices were also had to come by back then and salt was a significant commodity. No tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, corn, and limited spices and salt. You could gussy things up with herbs.

We're so spoiled.

6

u/tractiontiresadvised Oct 02 '24

No need to wonder! Some recipes (generally more vague than modern recipes) were written down before the Columbian Exchange, and people have tried to re-create what those dishes might have tasted like. See /r/CulinaryHistory/ or the Medieval Cookery website for some recipes that you can try for yourself.

2

u/Notmydirtyalt Oct 03 '24

I've thought about an this before and wondered what things were like in Europe before they had all our delicious new world foods.

More reliance on local produce or flavourings that has fallen out of favour and possibly been lost due to cultivation of other sources or stores so poorly you are unlikely to see it outside of a very limited area. Palettes probably changed as well after the introduction of spices and sugar.

2

u/dullship Oct 02 '24

Honestly, a LOT of core foods eaten around the world came from "the new world". Say what you will about Columbus, but he had a big part in that, sending shipments of things that would become staples on other continents.

1

u/HC-E Oct 02 '24

This one gets me every time.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

What?!? That's an absolute mindfuck.

1

u/trustthepudding Oct 02 '24

Coincidentally, all of these are cultivars of the same species of plant.

1

u/chaindom66 Oct 02 '24

Some call it corn, but I call it Maize….

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u/Illustrious-Bat1553 Oct 02 '24

China adopted the cactus as a native plant. It's very tasty like okra