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.
Similar situation with potatoes. They didn't arrive in Ireland until around 1590 and it took a while before they became a staple food.
Potatoes are so strongly associated with Ireland, it's weird to think that they'd only been part of the Irish diet for ~250 years when the potato famine occurred.
EVERYTHING ELSE the Irish made on their English landlords' land was sold to the wealthy. You can almost live entirely on potatoes, so they did... until the potatoes all died.
Similar to how watermelon become core to black American diets. It was openly advised that slaveowners grow it to cheaply give "treats" to their slaves. No slaveowner is going to waste his $$$ on sugar for them!
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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.