Week 1 Reflection

           Upon learning that I would be travelling to Italy this fall, I immediately thought about all the delicious food that I would finally be able to try. When I think of Italian food, I automatically envision full plates of spaghetti and meatballs with a glass of wine on the side. However, after being in Florence for a little over a week now, I realize that my initial impression of Italian food was a heavily Americanized and misinformed view of Italian food. Spaghetti and meatballs is an entirely American created dish, along with many other “Italian” foods that I am familiar with. The Italian cuisine that many are familiar with today is drastically different than what Italians ate centuries ago. The major factor in this dramatic change in food was the introduction of new food products due to the Columbian Exchange.

      The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of food, diseases and people between the New and Old Worlds, mainly the Americas and Europe. The Columbian Exchange introduced many foods that had been previously unheard of into cultures that quickly adapted these foods into their daily cuisines. A prime example of this phenomenon is the tomato. Although many people, including myself, assume that the tomato is a crop native to Italy due to its significant role in Italian cuisine, the tomato is actually not indigenous to Italy. The tomato was brought over to Italy from the Americas where it naturally grows through the Columbian Exchange. Initially, the tomato was not a vital part in Italian cuisine as it is today due to the fact that many people believed it to be poisonous. It took approximately three centuries before the tomato became a mainstay in Italian cuisine. This is extremely surprising to me considering how much modern Italian cuisine relies on the tomato. One of the reasons that tomatoes are so prominent within Italian cuisine is due to their massive versatility. On one hand, tomatoes can be used as a flavor enhancer to a main dish. Many pasta dishes include tomatoes in the sauce to enrich the flavors of both the pasta and other ingredients used in the sauce. On the other hand, tomatoes can be used as the main ingredient in a dish. One of the common patterns I have notice so far is that whether the tomato is being used as a side or main ingredient, it is always used simply as to maintain its flavor. One of my favorite Italian foods is bruschetta, which is seasoned tomatoes over toasted bread. Although this is a fairly simple dish, it is one of my all-time favorites because the true flavor of the tomato is allowed to shine.

         Not only did the Columbian Exchange introduce many new food items, but it also created entirely new types of cuisines such as the Mediterranean diet. Contrary to popular thought, much of the foods that make up the Mediterranean diet do not actually originate from the Mediterranean. Instead, many of the staples of the Mediterranean diet are crops introduced through the Columbian Exchange. Furthermore, the Mediterranean diet is actually a fairly recent invention that was made popular by American media in 1975. The idea that the Mediterranean diet is essentially an American creation is extremely interesting. The origins of the Mediterranean diet are prevalent as you walk around Florence and there is a lack of restaurants advertising serving a Mediterranean diet.