WEEK 3 LESSON 4 - resources.escoffier.edu

WEEK 3 LESSON 4EXCHANGING FOODS

WEEK 3, LESSON 4 2

INTRODUCTIONThere are few ‘exotic’ foods left in the world today, but back in the 1400s, much of the world was unknown. Europeans had never seen a potato or an ear of corn before, and had no idea what to think of them. American natives had never seen riding animals, such as horses, and initially thought that men on horseback were some kind of human-animal hybrid.

NORTH AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA

EUROPE ASIA

AUSTRALIA

AFRICA

NEW WORLD OLD WORLD

Atlantic Ocean

Indian Ocean

Paci�c Ocean

Paci�c Ocean

FROM THE OLD WORLD■ Wheat■ Horses■ Cattle■ Pigs■ Goats■ Chickens■ Bananas■ Garlic■ Lettuce■ Sugarcane■ Rice

FROM THE NEW WORLD■ Maize■ Tomatoes■ Potatoes■ Turkeys■ Guinea pigs■ Cocoa■ Chilies■ Pineapples■ Squash■ Cassava■ Sweet potatoes

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TOMATOESThe tomato was cultivated by the Aztecs around 700 AD, but wasn’t introduced to Europe until the 1500s. Southern Europeans accepted it immediately, but many northern Europeans thought the tomato was poisonous. In a way, they were right—at the time, most cutlery and plates were pewter, which contains lead, and the tomatoes’ acid would leach the lead out of the pewter. Anyone eating tomatoes with pewter silverware would eventually get lead poisoning. Ironically, poor people had no problem eating tomatoes, since their plates were usually made of wood.

Auguste Escoffier, a proponent of canning, was careful to keep lead out of the process when canning tomato products.

POTATOESAt first, Europeans were suspicious of potatoes, which were strange, lumpy plants that looked sick even when they were perfectly healthy. Gradually, though, people realized its usefulness as a staple crop—especially as one that could be grown in rocky or infertile soil. Before potatoes, famines were frequent in Europe; after potatoes, the food supply (in terms of calories) doubled. It was nutritious and cheap, which made it the perfect food for people who could afford nothing else.

By 1840, Ireland’s population had grown from 500,000 to 9 million, thanks to potatoes. 40% of the Irish ate no other solid food. However, the 1840s brought a potato disease that all but wiped out the Irish potato supply. Over a million Irish died of starvation and disease, and a million more emigrated to the New World.

PINEAPPLESUnlike potatoes and tomatoes, pineapples could only be grown in tropical conditions. Explorers like Columbus and Magellan brought them from America to Europe, but there was nowhere in Europe warm enough to grow them. Only the wealthiest could afford to custom-build hothouses to grow pineapples in, and pineapples became a symbol of wealth and power. The British Empire controlled most of the pineapple-growing land in the Americas, so it came to symbolize British naval superiority as well. When the English and French

were fighting over territory in Central America, the British king Charles II held a banquet; he cut up a pineapple and offered it to the guests, including the French ambassador to England. The message was clear: England controlled the pineapple-growing lands, and intended to keep it that way, no matter what the French wanted.

King Charles II, being presented with a pineapple.

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PIGSPigs were the perfect animal for explorers and settlers to bring to the New World. They grew quickly, reproduced rapidly, and ate anything. Europeans brought pigs on their expeditions as a way to convert their trash and food scraps into fresh meat. Once they arrived, many pigs were released into the wilderness—either by accident or deliberately, to hunt when other food became scarce (to save the cost of feeding them in the meantime).

Eventually, though, these wild pigs became a problem. Colonists’ grain fields in New York were regularly attacked by wild hogs. The wall that Wall Street is named after was originally built to keep out rampaging pigs.

RICEAfter they came to the Americas, many European colonists died of disease. However, the survivors were convinced that most of these deaths were caused by malnutrition, brought on by eating strange local foods, so they started bringing their own crops. Rice was one of the most successful. A large part of this was because of slavery—West Africans already grew rice, and the ones sold into slavery knew more about rice production than most other crops.

Later, during the California Gold Rush of 1849, Chinese immigrants brought small amounts of grain to grow for themselves. With 40,000 Chinese immigrants coming to California, the rice added up.

GLOBAL FOODSToday, food cultures have only gotten more intermixed. Many staple foods of the Columbian Exchange are now staples worldwide:

■ Rice. Rice gets its nutrients from water, rather than soil, so it can be easily grown alongside other crops.

■ Lettuce. First grown in Europe, lettuce has become a prolific vegetable across the world.

■ Corn. It can be grown in poor soil, and growing it takes less effort than other crops.

■ Beans. Beans are one of the oldest crops of human civilization, and are a good source of protein in diets without meat.

■ Chicken. Chickens are cheap to breed, and their mild flavor works in a wide variety of cuisines.

■ Potatoes. The potato is inexpensive, nutritious, and will grow in almost any soil.

While the Columbian Exchange resulted in disease, slavery, war, and cultural conflict, it also made a permanent impact on global cuisine.

IMAGE SOURCESIllustrations (infographic) of New World & Old World courtesy of Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts™.

Photo of tomatoes courtesy of Pexels and licensed under the Pexels License.

Photo of potatoes courtesy of Pexels and licensed under the Pexels License.

Image (painting) of King Charles II being presented with a pineapple courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and licensed under Public Domain.

Photo of wild pig courtesy of Pexels and licensed under the Pexels License.

Photo of rice fields courtesy of Pexels and licensed under the Pexels License.

Photo of farmers market courtesy of Pexels and licensed under the Pexels License.

CONTENTClick here to see sources used to create the course content.