What did they plant?

[mogarden]

Did ya ever wonder what the people in Europe planted before Columbus? I know they had barley and other grains and they must have had greens, but none of the list below:
CORN, beans (except broad beans and green peas) chocolate, vanilla, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and I'm sure I'm leaving something off.
It's no wonder they were searching for other lands.

[ChileFarmer]

I to have always wondered that. What did the Italians eat before the tomato? They smother everything in tomatoes. CF

[kansasterri]

Europe DID raise a lot of grains, but during the mini ice age most countries got heavily into raising roots like turnips, as they were a more reliable crop.

They were apparently heavy into cabbage as well: I have seen old woodcuts of people raising cabbages and I have seen old recipes for cooking cabbage as well. I saw an old recipe for pottage that said to boil cut up cabbage for HOURS, and then add "spoon meat enough".

Lastly, English puddings are an old staple. Basically, a cloth bag would be buttered and floured to make it waterproof, and the pudding batter would be poured in. A knot would be tied in it and it would be suspended by a hook set into the fireplace into a pot of boiling water. The fire would be arranged to go for some hours, and then people could leave the house to do their work.

They would come back at lunchtime and the pudding would be cooked and hot and ready to be sliced for their lunch.

They made Pease pudding (of course), spotted dick (which had raisins and suet in it), plum pudding (a holiday treat with dried fruit and rum and nuts) and I do not know what else.

[mogarden]

Thanks for that info, still it seems like a bland diet. Especially since only royalty could legally hunt in many places.

[jack]

Gidday

And the tough jokers ate haggis.

[coppice]

A lot of mangles turnip and cabbage...

Mardi Gras and lent (a feast before a substantial fast) was a reality of what there was.

[Pharmer Phil]

Jan 28, 2012 20:56:22 GMT -6 jack said:

Gidday

And the tough jokers ate haggis.

Most likely Jack
and Most the tough jokers I know are poor..
I found this interesting tid-bit about tomatoes back in the 1500's...

Most Europeans thought that the tomato was poisonous because of the way plates and flatware were made in the 1500's.

Rich people in that time used flatware made of pewter, which has a high-lead content.

Foods high in acid, like tomatoes, would cause the lead to leech out into the food, resulting in lead poisoning and death.

Poor people, who ate off of plates made of wood, did not have that problem, and hence did not have an aversion to tomatoes. This is essentially the reason why tomatoes were only eaten by poor people until the 1800's, especially Italians.