List of food origins - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Food origins play a role in nutrition

Nutrition

Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....

and sustainability

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

as foods with common geological origins have a greater tendency to survive and be valued by the locals. Importance in food therapy is also involved, as allergies to certain foods can be attributed to race. In this way it's a part of the local food

Local food

Local food or the local food movement is a "collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular...

movement. An example would be lactose intolerance among Polynesians and Native Americans who were not accustomed to breeding cattle as much as Europeans. Combined with seasonal cooking

Seasonal Food

Seasonality of food refers to the times of year when a given type food is at its peak, either in terms of harvest or its flavour. This is usually the time when the item is the cheapest and the freshest on the market. The food's peak time in terms of harvest usually coincides with when its flavour...

, food origins can be used in predicting the tendency of ingredients to work well together, like wine and cheese or rice and tofu. Some foods have a tendency to develop with predominant civilizations like Chinese herbs in Asia and fertile crescent

Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent, nicknamed "The Cradle of Civilization" for the fact the first civilizations started there, is a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia. The term was first used by University of Chicago...

agriculture in the middle east. Many culinary fruits have global origins, especially berries, more so than vegetables. Fowl are also common on many different continents, like geese and ducks. Different variations of vegetables can be found on different continents, like yams in Africa and Potatoes in South America. Another example would be walnuts in Europe and pecans in North America.

America

Corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, beans and squash were domesticated in Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...

around 3500 BCE. Potatoes and manioc were domesticated in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. In what is now the eastern United States, Native Americans domesticated sunflower

Sunflower

Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...

, sumpweed and goosefoot around 2500 BCE.

Ancient American Crops
Cereals	Maize (corn) Maize Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable... , maygrass, and little barley
Pseudocereals	Amaranth Amaranth Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold... , quinoa Quinoa Quinoa , a species of goosefoot , is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family... , erect knotweed, sumpweed Polygonum erectum Polygonum erectum is an annual plant species with upright or ascending stems. It is a common weed in disturbed locations with dry soils in the North Eastern USA where it is called Erect knotweed.-Description:... , and sunflowers
Pulses	Common beans, tepary beans, scarlet runner beans, lima beans, and peanuts Peanuts Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
Fiber	Cotton Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal.... , yucca Yucca Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North... , and agave Agave Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
Roots and Tubers	Jicama Jícama Pachyrhizus erosus, commonly known as Jícama , Yam, and Mexican Turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Jícama is one species in the genus Pachyrhizus. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as yam bean,... , manioc (cassava), potatoes, sweet potatoes, oca Oca Oxalis tuberosa is an herbaceous perennial plant that overwinters as underground stem tubers. These tubers are known as oca, oka, or New Zealand Yam. The plant was brought into cultivation in the central and southern Andes for its tubers, which are used as a root vegetable... , mashua Mashua The mashua is a perennial plant grown in the Andes for its edible tuber, which is eaten as a root vegetable. It is a major food source there. The tuber is rather peppery in flavor when raw, but this quality disappears when cooked... , ulloco, arrowroot Arrowroot Arrowroot, or obedience plant , Bermuda arrowroot, araru, ararao, is a large perennial herb found in rainforest habitats... , yacon Yacón The Yacón is a perennial plant traditionally grown in the Northern and Central Andes from Ecuador to Argentina for its crisp, sweet-tasting tuberous roots. The texture and flavour are very similar to jicama mainly differing in that yacon has some slightly sweet resinous and floral undertones to... , leren Léren Léren is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-References:*... , and groundnuts
Fruits	Tomatoes, chili peppers, avocados, cranberries Cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right... , blueberries, huckleberries, cherimoyas, papaya Papaya The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae... s, pawpaw Asimina triloba Asimina triloba, the pawpaw, paw paw, paw-paw, or common pawpaw, is a species of Asimina in the same plant family as the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang and soursop... s, passionfruits, pineapples and strawberries
Melons	Squashes
Meat and poultry	turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... , bison Bison Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized... , muscovy ducks, dog Dog The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in... s and guinea pigs
Nuts	Peanuts Peanuts Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward... , black walnuts, shagbark hickory Shagbark Hickory Carya ovata, the Shagbark Hickory, is a common hickory in the eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large deciduous tree, growing up to 27 m tall, and will live up to 200 years. Mature Shagbarks are easy to recognize because, as their name implies, they have shaggy bark... , pecans and hickory nuts
Other	Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC... , Canna Canna (plant) Canna is a genus of nineteen species of flowering plants. The closest living relations to cannas are the other plant families of the order Zingiberales, that is the gingers, bananas, marantas, heliconias, strelitzias, etc.Canna is the only genus in the family Cannaceae... , tobacco Tobacco Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines... , Chicle Chicle Manilkara chicle is a tropical evergreen tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree ranges from Veracruz in Mexico south to Atlántico in Colombia... , rubber Rubber Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined... , maple syrup Maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then... , birch syrup Birch syrup Birch syrup is a sweetener made from the sap of birch trees, and used in much the same way as maple syrup. It is used for pancake or waffle syrup, to make candies, as an ingredient in sauces, glazes, and dressings, and as a flavoring in ice cream, beer, wine, and soft drinks... and vanilla Vanilla Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...

Timeline of American Crop Cultivation
Date	Crops	Location
7000BC	Maize	Central America
5000BC	Cotton	Mexico
4800BC	Squash Chili Peppers Avocados Amaranth	Mexico
4000BC	Maize Common Bean	Central America
4000BC	Ground Nut	South America
2000BC	Sunflowers Beans

North America

Domestic turkey
Pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
Black Walnut
Black Walnut
Juglans nigra, the Eastern Black walnut, is a species of flowering tree in the hickory family, Juglandaceae, that is native to eastern North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central...

, Pecans
Maple syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
Echinacea
Echinacea
Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The nine species it contains are commonly called purple coneflowers. They are endemic to eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have...

America

North America

Fruits of North American origin

Pacific North West

Central America

South America

Europe

Vegetables

Continental

Mediterranean

Mediterranean and subtropical fruits

Minoans

Africa

Middle East

Neolithic founder crops

Cereals and Pseudocereals

Pulses

Other

Asia

Indus Valley

Fruits of Australian origin

See also