Food Origins

There is no dearth of food items in the world and most of them are consumed globally. Interestingly there are many myths and realities associated with the origins of almost countless food items in use and it is usually fun to explore them.

At times such search becomes surprising and amusing though in any case it remains extremely informative and engaging.

Watermelon

Watermelon originated out of various African countries with ancient seeds being found in 5,000-year-old archaeological sites as well as within the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen with evidence suggesting that watermelons were originally not only a food source but also used as a way of storing water.

Coffee

Many stories surround the origin of coffee, with one stating that it was first discovered in Ethiopia over 1,000 years ago when a goat herder noticed his animals becoming excited after eating the beans from a coffee plant.

Thinking he had found something from the heavens, he presented the beans to local monks, who thought they were the devil’s work and tossed the beans into a fire.

The wonderful smell of roasting coffee beans filled the room, and the tea-drinking monks then poured water over the crushed beans, immediately falling in love with the new drink.

Caesar salad

Contrary to popular belief, Julius Caesar was not involved in the creation of this popular side dish. Instead it can be attributed to Caesar Cardini, who was running a restaurant in Tijuana when he began to run out of food during a busier-than-normal weekend. His solution was
to grab what little ingredients he had left and toss them table side into a chef’s salad that he referred to as a Caesar salad.

Needless to say, his diners that night loved the combination of romaine, croutons, parmesan and boiled eggs so the dish stayed on the menu.

Corn

Corn, or maize as it’s known by many, is not a naturally occurring crop but rather one that had to be bred through human intervention.

It is pointed out that all the world’s corn originates from a single domestication in southern Mexico from over 9,000 years ago. Originally, the plant was only about an inch long but selective breeding by the farmers who grew it helped mutate corn into the size it is today.

Chocolate

The use of chocolate dates back to 450 BCE in Central America where many believed that cacao seeds were a gift from the god of wisdom. It was once prepared as a drink that was thought not only to provide strength, but also works as an aphrodisiac.

Chocolate was so valuable that the cacao seeds were often even used as currency throughout the region.

Olives

Evidence has been found to show that olive trees existed between 20-40 million years ago within the Mediterranean.

They were grown commercially as far back as 3000 BCE and may have even been entirely responsible for the Minoan civilisation’s wealth as they traded the popular fruit with others.