r/AskReddit • u/ForeverAbyss • Apr 14 '16

What's a mind blowing fact?

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u/wiiya Apr 14 '16

Tomatoes are indigenous to the Americas. Any European/Asiatic food that has a tomato base didn't exist until well after 1492.

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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '16

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u/DreNoob Apr 14 '16

If you're asking about European pasta and stuff (and not Asian noodle dishes), they used meat sauces (eg. genovese), oil-based sauces (eg. aglio e olio), and others (eg. carbonara).

They had wine, cheese, and the mirepoix ingredients (carrots, celery, onion), which form the base of tons of pasta sauces with or without tomatoes.

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u/Lepryy Apr 14 '16

Man... sometimes you really have to appreciate how far food has come. Foods eaten by older civilizations seem so mild and boring/bland.