It’s kind of funny, I think, that a plant so closely associated with America is actually not native at all.

    • Drusas@fedia.io
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      2 months ago

      Sure, but the same applies to so many foods in so many cultures. What was Italian food like before they had access to tomatoes? Eastern, Central European, or Irish before potatoes? Chinese, Southeast Asian, or Korean before they had chili peppers?

      Now each of those countries have dishes we associate with them but which use those non-native ingredients.

      • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        The more impressive thing is how the British had a global empire for roughly 400 years, and their cuisine remained awful.

        • Rubanski@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          I think that’s because British food we commonly see as awful stems from food rationing that went on during and after WWII, as far as I know well in the 1970s

          • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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            2 months ago

            That seems like a poor excuse, every country experienced rationing and they didn’t revert to awful food. There’s even a few dishes like fried spam and ramen that are actually pretty good.

            • Drusas@fedia.io
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              2 months ago

              American cuisine also suffered dramatically in the post-war period due to a reliance on, for example, canned vegetables. A whole generation or two (boomers and Gen X) grew up not knowing what spices are, practically.

              • Rubanski@lemm.ee
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                2 months ago

                Then they somehow put everything in Jello in the 50s because apparently decent cuisine was completely forgotten

        • Drusas@fedia.io
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          2 months ago

          Hey now, it’s thanks to them that we have chicken tikka and butter chicken.

      • MataVatnik@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Blows my minds that Indian and Asian food at one point wasn’t spicy, and it wasn’t until Europian trade from the America’s that changed the cuisine