Strange origins of everyday foods

Photo: Contributed

A brazil tree fruit full of nuts.

I want to preface this column by reminding you that April Fool’s Day is past, so as you read these stories, please know I have checked the facts.

They might sound wacky, but they are all true. Sometimes it takes crazy innovations to get to the place – or the taste—we like the most.

The evolution of our species is closely linked with food. Did you know our increased intelligence and ingenuity has much to do with eating a more diverse diet? When early humans started eating cabbage, maize and root vegetables (all rich in nutrients and energy), their brains received more energy and became more developed. Having a bigger brain meant we could distinguish between bitter (possibly poisonous) foods and better-tasting foods that were more nutritious. It also helped us develop social groups, which meant it was easier to protect people’s safety and hunt more successfully.

Sharing ideas helped us innovate with food storage and transportation and generally improved our quality of life. As people have moved around the world, so has our food. When food is adopted by new cultures it is often prepared in new ways.

I recently acquired a new book about the history and stories behind what we eat. I discovered many interesting details that surprised me, so I’d like to share a few highlights and load you up with conversational trivia.

Here are just a few notes about some entries I have read so far:

• Brazil nuts – These nuts are unique in a few ways, coming only from the Amazon rainforest where local bees pollinate them. They grow in a large shell, with 12 to 24 nuts in each shell. The trees are huge, towering as high as 50 metres, which means harvesting must happen when the ripe shells fall naturally to the ground. From this dizzying height however, harvesters must wear hard hats, as the two kilogram-shells can reach speeds of 80 km/h by the time they hit the ground.

• Cacao beans – The coveted source of chocolate has long had great value with humans. Ancient cultures used it like currency in trading and believed it to be a gift of the gods (even its Latin name, “Theobroma cacao” means “food of the gods”). Its consumption began as a bitter drink made with water. It didn’t reach Europe until almost 1600, where eventually its preparation evolved with the addition of honey and eventually milk. Chocolate bars were first made in 1657 but weren’t really perfected or popular until around the mid 1800s when English confectioners combined cocoa powder with cocoa butter and sugar.

• Lettuce – In ancient Greece, cos lettuce was prescribed as a narcotic for sleep disorders. It was first cultivated in 4000 BC and back then grew one metre high. The Egyptians grew a type of romaine in 2000 BC but used it not for salad but for a love potion. Did you know that in France, they started eating lettuce as a cooked vegetable, probably to remove any bitter flavour? The Chinese thought it unsafe to eat raw lettuce in the 7th century, so they developed a stem lettuce that was meant for stir-frying. Today, China is the largest producer of lettuce in the world.

• Tomatoes – At first, they were just a weed in the wilds of South America. When tomatoes were brought to Europe by explorers, they were only grown as an ornamental plant in much of the 17th century, being thought of as poisonous since they were of the nightshade family (like the potato and eggplant, treated similarly at first in Europe.) Did you know that in Naples, Italy, the tradition of spreading cooked tomatoes on flatbread only began in the 19th century? Before that, there was no pizza.

• Crickets – Have you heard that bugs may be one of the new sources of protein for our diets? Crickets are a food source for one quarter of the world’s population (mostly in Asia and Africa), either as a delicacy or a staple item. They are nutrient-rich, with not only protein but also calcium, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and vitamin B12. In case you’re wondering, they are said to have more flavour than grasshoppers. Cricket flour is a product that is now available internationally.

As you can see, time does change our tastes. Trends and transport across cultures offers all kinds of amazing possibilities. Some of the things popular today were not even available just a few decades ago.

Who knows what will be coming up next on the menu as technology and innovations in agriculture continue.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.