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For my final project I would like to research the effect crops native to the Americas had on European diets. Some the world’s most popular crops are native to the Americas and I think it would be interesting to look at the diets of Europe before and after their introduction. Dishes like fish and chips, gnocchi and shepherd’s pie are all considered European “classics” but they could not exist without the potatoe, a crop native to South America. So what did the European “classics” look like prior to the introduction of American crops and how quickly were these crops adopted into the European diet.
In my research I would probably go back about five centuries so that I can see the diets of European counties immediately before and after the introduction of these crops and see how quickly they entered the standard diets of Europe’s peoples. It would also interest me to see what crops were left out of specific counties diets after their discovery in the Americas. For example what counties did not adopt corn into their diet and for what reason was it left out, were there cultural reasons? Did it not agree with that county’s palette? Was it not compatible with the dishes already being served in that country?
I realize that this topic is a little broad but I feel like I could cover most of the relevant info in my final project. That being said if you feel that it needs to be narrowed I am willing to cover a small group of crops rather than all of them.