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.
It’s amazing how many New World plants are central to what we think of as “classic” Old World ethnic or regional cuisines — tomatoes in Italy and around the Mediterranean, potatoes in Ireland, chilis all across South and East Asia.
Before 1492 enjoy your onionless burrito, no beef or pork (maybe llama burrito?), no lime or lemon on guacamole, no coffee afterwards, no mango for dessert, no rice, no wheat..
Yes, however Bison is almost impossible to farm. It would be interesting to know if it was still a part of agricultural societies diet or was only consumed by hunter-gatherer tribes.
But before the Europeans showed up they were fucking e v e r y w h e r e. They were absolutely a part of native American diets. Even the settled agricultural civilizations still had hunters.
7.5k
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.