tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566468445265119583.post3483397856132221007..comments2023-12-30T23:16:06.627-05:00Comments on Around the Bend: A Botanical FeastDebMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13300704299561968668noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566468445265119583.post-91922179410882588122012-12-05T23:45:49.413-05:002012-12-05T23:45:49.413-05:00South America seems to have made a number of contr...South America seems to have made a number of contributions to the world's cuisine: the potato, the sweet potato, chocolate, vanilla, chili peppers, peanuts, and papaya.<br /><br />And I just read that avocados originated in North America in what's now Mexico, so we have that going for us, too. Mmmm... guacamole. :)<br /><br />DebAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566468445265119583.post-51216520445729846422012-12-05T19:24:02.548-05:002012-12-05T19:24:02.548-05:00Good question! Corn (maize) was most likely bred f...Good question! Corn (maize) was most likely bred from a grass called teosinte, which didn't much resemble the corn we know today, in Mexico many thousands of years ago. Squash also probably originated in Mexico, and beans were probably domesticated in South America. So without a great deal of selective breeding there really wouldn't have been much nourishing plant material in North America before humans arrived. By the time of the Ft Ancient and Adena cultures in Ohio, trade routes from Central America were well established so corn, beans and squash seeds would have been available. Thanks for the comment!Deb Marshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07462338214868102468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566468445265119583.post-89449411316012306782012-12-05T09:15:48.316-05:002012-12-05T09:15:48.316-05:00It was really surprising to learn what plants our ...It was really surprising to learn what plants our foods were developed from. Had our ancestors not been hunter gathers, it sounds like we wouldn't have been able to get enough protein because it took time to develop the plants needed for a vegetarian lifestyle.<br /><br />I'm also trying to square away the paucity of native North American plants with a demonstration garden I saw at Fort Ancient. I photographed bush beans and squash. And wasn't corn developed on this continent? Anyway it was a very interesting post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com