Nachos – corn chips, tomatoes, olives, cheese, onions, cilantro and a large dollop of sour cream. This is quintessentially American food and it can be a fun way to think about the history of the American continents.

Corn

Corn probably developed in the highlands of central Mexico (the debates rage – some would include Guatemala) as a grass and was cultivated into a domesticated grain about 7ooo years ago. Evidence in ruins found from Copper Canyon in the South to the San Juan River in the north show evidence of corn based trade and migration. This migration continued into the northeastern portion of the America’s. Corn cultivation in northeast has been thriving for the last 1000 years.

Columbus returned to Europe with corn seed stalk. Corn was cultivated and soon spread throughout the European continent. It took about a century but corn became a staple grain in Europe.

Tomatoes

To find indigenous tomatoes one has to travel even further south to Peru. A member of the night shade family, wild tomatoes grew in the Peruvian highlands. This plant produced small green fruit. There is some evidence that pre-historic humans transported the tomatoe plant to central Mexico.

The Aztecs propagated the first modern tomato, a small yellow fruit they called “‘xitomatl”. Tomatoes eventually were transported to Europe. There is a running debate over who brought the tomatoes to Europe firs, Columbus or Cortez. The first mention of tomatoes in European literature shows up in the writings of Italian physicist and botanist Pietro Andrea Mattioli. He gave the aztec “‘xitomatl” the name pomi d’oro (golden apple). Tomatoes were quickily incorporated into the Mediterranean diet and were soon a staple.

Olives and more to come!