It’s kind of funny, I think, that a plant so closely associated with America is actually not native at all.

    • Drusas@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      16
      ·
      22 days ago

      Sure, but the same applies to so many foods in so many cultures. What was Italian food like before they had access to tomatoes? Eastern, Central European, or Irish before potatoes? Chinese, Southeast Asian, or Korean before they had chili peppers?

      Now each of those countries have dishes we associate with them but which use those non-native ingredients.

      • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        22 days ago

        The more impressive thing is how the British had a global empire for roughly 400 years, and their cuisine remained awful.

        • Rubanski@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          9
          ·
          21 days ago

          I think that’s because British food we commonly see as awful stems from food rationing that went on during and after WWII, as far as I know well in the 1970s

          • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            21 days ago

            That seems like a poor excuse, every country experienced rationing and they didn’t revert to awful food. There’s even a few dishes like fried spam and ramen that are actually pretty good.

            • Drusas@fedia.io
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              20 days ago

              American cuisine also suffered dramatically in the post-war period due to a reliance on, for example, canned vegetables. A whole generation or two (boomers and Gen X) grew up not knowing what spices are, practically.

              • Rubanski@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                19 days ago

                Then they somehow put everything in Jello in the 50s because apparently decent cuisine was completely forgotten

        • Drusas@fedia.io
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          20 days ago

          Hey now, it’s thanks to them that we have chicken tikka and butter chicken.

      • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        21 days ago

        Blows my minds that Indian and Asian food at one point wasn’t spicy, and it wasn’t until Europian trade from the America’s that changed the cuisine