Tomatoes: In 1544 the Sienese botanist Pietro Andrea Mattioli reported that pomi d'Oro were boiled, cut in slices, dredged in flour, and fried. (An unnamed herbalist said they were cooked in a pot in oil or with garlic, but he thought they were noxious and harmful.)
Potatoes: In 1588, the Dutch botanist Clusius (aka Charles LeCluse) received two tubers as a gift from the governor of Mons in what is today Belgium. In the second half of the 16th century, potatoes were being shipped to the Lowlands to supply the Flemish garrisons of King Phiip II of Spain. The plant spread quickly through the Netherlands and the Rhineland. They were also listed in 1573 among the provisions of the Sangre hospital in Seville, to supplement the diet of the ailing poor.
Corn/Maize: 1516: three ears of maize are in the upper frieze of Raffaello Sanzio's "Cupid & Psyche" fresco in the Villa Farnese in Rome. Grown in Andalusia in 1520, spread to Galicia and Catalonia before spreading to France. Spread rapidly through Asia and Africa. Extensively consumed by peasants. 1536: French herbalist Jean Ruel mentioned it. 1542, German Leonhart Fuchs mentioned it: "It is already found in all German gardens"; he called it Turcicum. 1550: ears of corn adorn the columns of the Doge's palace in Venice. 1573-1591: five paintings by Arcimboldi include ears of corn, peppers, and tomatoes. Maize replaced millet, sorghum, barley and buckwheat in the making of polenta.
Beans: introduced with corn, 1542 described by Fuchs, Tragus, and Mattioli. Lodovico Castevetro (1505-1574) described beans at length; used for soups and for ravioli filling when made into a puree with chestnuts and honey.
Pumpkin and zucchini were brought to Italy in the 16th century. Mattioli says pumpkin was boiled, fried in the pan, or roasted, and suggested eating it with oregano. Before the American plants were brought in, a European variety called zucca was used; an anonymous 14th century recipe says to boil them, then pound them with pork fat, add cheese, eggs, pepper and saffron and bake in pastry shell. In he 15th century, Martino wrote: cut zucca across as thin as a knife blade; put in water, bring to a boil, remove and dry the slices, salt them, dredge in flour and fry in oil. sauce with fennel, garlic, and bread crumbs, and saffron for color.
Sweet peppers and hot peppers: brought by Columbus, who looked immediately for spices and wrote that the peppers on Haiti were better than the pepper then in use in Italy. They spread rapidly but were not documented in culinary dictionaries, as they, like potatoes and tomatoes, were eaten primarily by poor people. In 1781, Corrado wrote that peppers were a rustic food but many like them; eaten green, fried, or roasted.
Turkey: Cortes described turkeys in his reports. Early in the 16th century turkey was offered to King Henry VII of England. Turkey was served at the marriage of King Charles IX of France in 1570. They were raised at the Jesuit convent in Bourges on a large scale, therefore called a coq d'inde, a jesuite, and later a dindon. Dutch artist Beuckelaer (1530-1573) painted a turkey. By 1525, it was being raised and eaten in England. Recipes for stuffed and roasted turkey ('rooster of india') were printed in 1580 by Scappi and 1581 by Cervio.
Cocoa: 1528, Cortes sent some chocolate beans to Spain, writing that a single cupful of chocolatl would keep a man marching all day. Regular shipments of cocoa beans to Spain began in 1528 and were never interrupted. Cardinal Brancatio proclaimed it an essential beverage, and it became the national drink of Spain.
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