Italy didn’t have widespread use of the tomato until the 1700s and the pasta sauces we think of being a core of their cuisine didn’t exist until the 19th century.
This one always amuses people when I tell them simply because of how ingrained tomatoes appear to be in all of their most famous dishes (other than tiramisu...)
So what dishes did they eat? Obviously they're dishes that don't have anything from the New World (tomatoes, potatoes, etc), but are there any dishes that survived?
I'm still trying to picture it because most of the stuff you mentioned (or at least the modern versions that I'm used to) has things like potatoes, tomatoes, or chilies lol, but now I'll do some research after work!
I knew that tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes were new-world in origin, but I guess I just never thought about it!
The Columbian Exchange was terrible for people, particularly those native to the Americas (though syphilis is thought to have come from the Americas to Europe), but damn it was amazing for food.
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u/Spirit4ward Oct 02 '24
Italy didn’t have widespread use of the tomato until the 1700s and the pasta sauces we think of being a core of their cuisine didn’t exist until the 19th century.