Today let’s all appreciate the fact that humanity has grown close enough to one another to take on each others food. So let’s look at eight foods and their wacky origins, this is guaranteed to be better than the Wolverine origin story.
Carrots originally came from Iran and Afghanistan, although the carrot that they knew and the carrot that we know are two completely different things. The food that they knew of was bitter and had a woody core, since their time we have bred out those traits and made it a much more appetizing treat.
Wheat may now be a staple of civilization, thanks to our very distant ancestors who domesticated this cereal. Archaeologists say that wheat was domesticated in Turkey around 7500 BC, and it’s become one of the most important food stuffs since.
Many may not recognize this, but I’m sure your cat would do an excellent job. Nepeta cataria, or catnip to we laymen, was found originally in the Mediterranean region. This feline treat is beloved by cats worldwide because it contains nepetalactone, a natural feline attractant. This plant is also used as an attractant and repellent for several different types of insect.
Everyone loves tomatoes, they’re tasty and go great with everything. Little did you know that the beloved tomato is indigenous to the Americas. When they were first introduced to Europe they were considered poisonous, because of their unlucky placement in the nightshade family. Thankfully we’ve become much more tolerant of the tasty food.
For many people their day doesn’t start til their first cup of coffee. Thanks to the cradle of civilization, Africa, we have this wonderful beverage. Coffee comes from Ethiopia, where they came up with the genius idea of taking this beans off of a tree and making some sort of energy soup. So when you’re having a cup of coffee today remember to pour one out for the great minds that made this possible.
Strawberries are a strange fruit, they hail from several places on the planet, from Europe to America they’ve seen it all. Since their domestication they have been cross-bred to create the perfect fruit that we know of today.
Rhubarb hails from the fertile land of China, where it was used for medical purposes. It didn’t reach Europe til the 14th century, thanks to the Silk Road. Since then it’s become a tasty tart treat, many use it in conjunction with strawberry to make it more palatable.
Kale comes to us from Greece where it grew with its leafy brethren. Until the middle ages it was considered one of the most common green vegetables in Europe, and now it’s become quite the popular green. You can find kale in chip form, mixed with other dishes to make them even tastier/heartier, and even just boiled and served as a side dish.
