Part 1: The Columbian Exchange and
its Consequences
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, forever changing the world economically, socially, and politically. Due to his discovery of the Americas, the Columbian exchange emerged and became the new global trading system. Nathan Nunn and Qian Nancy’s “The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas” express that “the Columbian exchange refers to the exchanges of diseases, ideas, food, crops, and populations between the New World and Old World following the voyage to the Americas.” Diseases including syphilis, small pox, measles, chicken pox, the Bubonic plague, Typhus, and Malaria spread by this triangular trade route caused significant demographic effects on populations in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. The Columbian exchange allowed exotic crops to easily enter the European diets long with several fruits and vegetables that transformed European agriculture and cooking. These foods and crops included the tomato, potato, corn, pimiento, turkey, coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, tobacco, and many more. The consequences of the Columbian exchange proved both positive and negative, affecting different places and people oppositely. Negatively, the spread of diseases demolished native populations, the trade route created the Slave Trade, and the issue of rubber in the Congo region created many issues for several ethnicities that have still not recovered from these impacts. On a more positive not, the triangular trade allowed an increased cultivation of products using better soil, lowered the overall market prices due to an increase in supply, created the availability of new products globally, and stimulated economic profits between Europe and the Americas. Furthermore, the Columbian exchange fueled an entire trade revolution, and evolved food production, preparation, and consumption into new culinary practices that still exist today.
Part II: The Tomato History in Italy
It can be argued that one of the most important and influential crops in European cooking was the tomato, in that it completely transformed culinary customs and practices worldwide. Originating in South America, the tomato was discovered by Cortes after his conquest of the Mayans and Aztecs. It was brought from the Americas to Europe through the Columbian exchange to Sardini, and although it took three centuries to become accepted, was finally appropriated in Italy. In the sixteenth century, tomatoes were thought of as a botanical curiosity and were thought to be acidic and poisonous because of their moist, cold, and sour make-up. Their proximity to the ground also contributed to the low standard in relation to social standing, meaning that only poor people ate foods that grew so close to the ground. These Galenic conceptions and classifications of tomatoes were misconstrued and proved wrong as time progressed. Through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, changed attitudes towards fruits and vegetables enabled the tomato to become a more popular ingredient in Italian kitchens. The emergence of chemical and mechanical medicine led to the separation of dietetics and medicine, creating gastronomy. This new practice involved appreciating the taste of food, and focusing more on the pleasure from food consumption. “ Tomato Recipes” from Antonio Latini’s La Vita Di Uno Scalco explained the main ways in which Italians preserved tomatoes. They either sundried them, with the ability to use them year-long or made a tomato paste in which they could use to make sauce and pizza. Further adaptations and new recipes incorporated the tomato more and more, becoming a staple ingredient in the Italian and Mediterranean diet as a whole.
Part III: The Tomato in Italy Today
Currently, the tomato is widely-used in Italian recipes and dishes. My experience in Florence has ultimately proved the importance of the tomato. In almost every item on the menu in practically every restaurant I enter, tomatoes are part of each dish. Similarly, outdoor and indoor markets alike flourish with hundreds of tomatoes, all different kinds, shapes, and colors of this rich fruit. In class, we discussed Serao’s “They are What They Eat,” talking about the history of pizza and its relation to regions in Italy. I found it extremely interesting to learn about the different authentic regional cuisines and practices that transform each Italian food culture from one city to the next. The differences between Northern, Central, and Southern Italy may not be evident from an outside perspective, but living in Italy has allowed me to experience this first hand. In Florence specifically, the Mercato Centrale is filled with so many variations and types of tomatoes that I became overwhelmed in searching for the perfect tomato. I decided to play it safe and choose a small cherry tomato, simply because I am not very fond of tomatoes, tomato sauce, or anything about tomatoes really. I was hoping that coming to Italy would change this, if I was brave enough to try one. As an extremely picky eater, this is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and even though I can’t say that I loved the experience, I can say that I tried. The tomato was cold, moist, juicy, very fresh, with a soft red color and small seeds inside. I was not very fond of the squishy texture or acidic flavor, but based on the amount of tomatoes used in dishes in the Mercato alone, its safe to say that this product revolutionized Italian cooking and the culinary world.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, forever changing the world economically, socially, and politically. Due to his discovery of the Americas, the Columbian exchange emerged and became the new global trading system. Nathan Nunn and Qian Nancy’s “The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas” express that “the Columbian exchange refers to the exchanges of diseases, ideas, food, crops, and populations between the New World and Old World following the voyage to the Americas.” Diseases including syphilis, small pox, measles, chicken pox, the Bubonic plague, Typhus, and Malaria spread by this triangular trade route caused significant demographic effects on populations in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. The Columbian exchange allowed exotic crops to easily enter the European diets long with several fruits and vegetables that transformed European agriculture and cooking. These foods and crops included the tomato, potato, corn, pimiento, turkey, coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, tobacco, and many more. The consequences of the Columbian exchange proved both positive and negative, affecting different places and people oppositely. Negatively, the spread of diseases demolished native populations, the trade route created the Slave Trade, and the issue of rubber in the Congo region created many issues for several ethnicities that have still not recovered from these impacts. On a more positive not, the triangular trade allowed an increased cultivation of products using better soil, lowered the overall market prices due to an increase in supply, created the availability of new products globally, and stimulated economic profits between Europe and the Americas. Furthermore, the Columbian exchange fueled an entire trade revolution, and evolved food production, preparation, and consumption into new culinary practices that still exist today.
Part II: The Tomato History in Italy
It can be argued that one of the most important and influential crops in European cooking was the tomato, in that it completely transformed culinary customs and practices worldwide. Originating in South America, the tomato was discovered by Cortes after his conquest of the Mayans and Aztecs. It was brought from the Americas to Europe through the Columbian exchange to Sardini, and although it took three centuries to become accepted, was finally appropriated in Italy. In the sixteenth century, tomatoes were thought of as a botanical curiosity and were thought to be acidic and poisonous because of their moist, cold, and sour make-up. Their proximity to the ground also contributed to the low standard in relation to social standing, meaning that only poor people ate foods that grew so close to the ground. These Galenic conceptions and classifications of tomatoes were misconstrued and proved wrong as time progressed. Through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, changed attitudes towards fruits and vegetables enabled the tomato to become a more popular ingredient in Italian kitchens. The emergence of chemical and mechanical medicine led to the separation of dietetics and medicine, creating gastronomy. This new practice involved appreciating the taste of food, and focusing more on the pleasure from food consumption. “ Tomato Recipes” from Antonio Latini’s La Vita Di Uno Scalco explained the main ways in which Italians preserved tomatoes. They either sundried them, with the ability to use them year-long or made a tomato paste in which they could use to make sauce and pizza. Further adaptations and new recipes incorporated the tomato more and more, becoming a staple ingredient in the Italian and Mediterranean diet as a whole.
Part III: The Tomato in Italy Today
Currently, the tomato is widely-used in Italian recipes and dishes. My experience in Florence has ultimately proved the importance of the tomato. In almost every item on the menu in practically every restaurant I enter, tomatoes are part of each dish. Similarly, outdoor and indoor markets alike flourish with hundreds of tomatoes, all different kinds, shapes, and colors of this rich fruit. In class, we discussed Serao’s “They are What They Eat,” talking about the history of pizza and its relation to regions in Italy. I found it extremely interesting to learn about the different authentic regional cuisines and practices that transform each Italian food culture from one city to the next. The differences between Northern, Central, and Southern Italy may not be evident from an outside perspective, but living in Italy has allowed me to experience this first hand. In Florence specifically, the Mercato Centrale is filled with so many variations and types of tomatoes that I became overwhelmed in searching for the perfect tomato. I decided to play it safe and choose a small cherry tomato, simply because I am not very fond of tomatoes, tomato sauce, or anything about tomatoes really. I was hoping that coming to Italy would change this, if I was brave enough to try one. As an extremely picky eater, this is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and even though I can’t say that I loved the experience, I can say that I tried. The tomato was cold, moist, juicy, very fresh, with a soft red color and small seeds inside. I was not very fond of the squishy texture or acidic flavor, but based on the amount of tomatoes used in dishes in the Mercato alone, its safe to say that this product revolutionized Italian cooking and the culinary world.
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