Sara S
09-02-2009, 01:14 PM
from delancyplace.com:
In today's excerpt - Columbus's discovery of
America brought new foods - including
tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and
widely-available sugar - that completely
transformed the European diet:
"Before Columbus, the diet of Europeans had
remained basically unchanged for tens of
thousands of years, based mainly
on oats, barley, and wheat. Within a quarter
century of his
first voyage, the European diet became
richer, more varied,
and more nutritious. As Roger Schlesinger
wrote in his
book, In the Wake of Columbus: 'As far as
dietary habits are
concerned, no other series of events in all
world history
brought as much significant change as did
[the discovery of
the Americas].' The list of foods that made
their way into
Europe is extensive and includes maize,
squash, pumpkin, avocado, papaya, cassava,
vanilla, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes
(yams), strawberries, and beans of
almost every variety.
"The potato was one of the first American
foods to be
transported to Europe. Valued by the
conquistadores, they
made it a key item in the diet of their
sailors. The potato then
spread to England and Scotland, and to
Ireland where it
became the staple of the Irish diet.
"It was also the Spanish who discovered the
tomato, first
distributing it throughout their Caribbean
possessions and
then bringing it to Europe. In both Italy and
Great Britain,
the tomato was first thought to be poisonous,
and it was not
until the 1700s that the fruit became widely
eaten. As was the
case with sweet potatoes, which were regarded
by some
Europeans as having aphrodisiac-like
qualities, the tomato
was also viewed in some circles as having
medicinal value. ... Actually, some of these
claims not have been as
farfetched as they seem, since many Old World
ailments were
caused by the lack of fresh fruits and
vegetables. ...
"Tapioca, made from cassava root, eventually
became
a European delicacy, as did a drink made from
the cocoa
plant. By the time that Hernan Cortes and his
men witnessed Aztecs drinking chocolatl,
South and Central
American natives had been consuming the
beverage for hundreds of years. ...
"As diet transforming as all these newly
introduced foods
became, sugar, perhaps, had the greatest
impact of all. As
ever-increasing amounts of sugar were
transported from
New World plantations to Europe, the types of
foods that
were eaten, and just as significantly, the
ways in which they
were cooked, were changed forever. Before the
early 1500s,
sugar was sold in European apothecary shops
where,
because of its scarcity, only the rich could
afford it. But as
sugar-laden ships arrived in Old World ports,
prices tumbled
and sugar became an important foodstuff for
the masses. At
the time, honey was both expensive and in
short supply, but
even if that had not been the case, most
people found sugar
to be a much more desirable sweetener, As a
result, tea and
coffee drinking gained a popularity that
would never
diminish.
"Even more important, the availability of
sugar led to the
proliferation of confections and jams that
soon graced tables
throughout Europe. ...
"Sugar's impact on the European diet went way
beyond jams and confections and the
sweetening of tea, coffee, and other
beverages. Such leftover foods as rice and
bread could now be
given new life and a whole new taste when
sprinkled with
sugar and reheated. Fruits and vegetables
could be inexpensively preserved when
immersed in a sugary syrup. Sugar's
popularity also led to the introduction of a
host of new
cooking utensils and accoutrements, including
new types of
saucepans, pie plates, cookie molds, sugar
pots, sugar spoons, and tongs."
Martin W. Sandler, Atlantic Ocean,
Sterling, Text Copyright 2008 by Martin W.
Sandler, pp. 92-100.
In today's excerpt - Columbus's discovery of
America brought new foods - including
tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and
widely-available sugar - that completely
transformed the European diet:
"Before Columbus, the diet of Europeans had
remained basically unchanged for tens of
thousands of years, based mainly
on oats, barley, and wheat. Within a quarter
century of his
first voyage, the European diet became
richer, more varied,
and more nutritious. As Roger Schlesinger
wrote in his
book, In the Wake of Columbus: 'As far as
dietary habits are
concerned, no other series of events in all
world history
brought as much significant change as did
[the discovery of
the Americas].' The list of foods that made
their way into
Europe is extensive and includes maize,
squash, pumpkin, avocado, papaya, cassava,
vanilla, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes
(yams), strawberries, and beans of
almost every variety.
"The potato was one of the first American
foods to be
transported to Europe. Valued by the
conquistadores, they
made it a key item in the diet of their
sailors. The potato then
spread to England and Scotland, and to
Ireland where it
became the staple of the Irish diet.
"It was also the Spanish who discovered the
tomato, first
distributing it throughout their Caribbean
possessions and
then bringing it to Europe. In both Italy and
Great Britain,
the tomato was first thought to be poisonous,
and it was not
until the 1700s that the fruit became widely
eaten. As was the
case with sweet potatoes, which were regarded
by some
Europeans as having aphrodisiac-like
qualities, the tomato
was also viewed in some circles as having
medicinal value. ... Actually, some of these
claims not have been as
farfetched as they seem, since many Old World
ailments were
caused by the lack of fresh fruits and
vegetables. ...
"Tapioca, made from cassava root, eventually
became
a European delicacy, as did a drink made from
the cocoa
plant. By the time that Hernan Cortes and his
men witnessed Aztecs drinking chocolatl,
South and Central
American natives had been consuming the
beverage for hundreds of years. ...
"As diet transforming as all these newly
introduced foods
became, sugar, perhaps, had the greatest
impact of all. As
ever-increasing amounts of sugar were
transported from
New World plantations to Europe, the types of
foods that
were eaten, and just as significantly, the
ways in which they
were cooked, were changed forever. Before the
early 1500s,
sugar was sold in European apothecary shops
where,
because of its scarcity, only the rich could
afford it. But as
sugar-laden ships arrived in Old World ports,
prices tumbled
and sugar became an important foodstuff for
the masses. At
the time, honey was both expensive and in
short supply, but
even if that had not been the case, most
people found sugar
to be a much more desirable sweetener, As a
result, tea and
coffee drinking gained a popularity that
would never
diminish.
"Even more important, the availability of
sugar led to the
proliferation of confections and jams that
soon graced tables
throughout Europe. ...
"Sugar's impact on the European diet went way
beyond jams and confections and the
sweetening of tea, coffee, and other
beverages. Such leftover foods as rice and
bread could now be
given new life and a whole new taste when
sprinkled with
sugar and reheated. Fruits and vegetables
could be inexpensively preserved when
immersed in a sugary syrup. Sugar's
popularity also led to the introduction of a
host of new
cooking utensils and accoutrements, including
new types of
saucepans, pie plates, cookie molds, sugar
pots, sugar spoons, and tongs."
Martin W. Sandler, Atlantic Ocean,
Sterling, Text Copyright 2008 by Martin W.
Sandler, pp. 92-100.