Food geography: where things actually grow
Almost every ingredient people think of as belonging to a cuisine arrived there from somewhere else, usually within the last five hundred years, and the growing of it has since concentrated into a handful of countries that rarely get the credit.
Where did the potato originate?
The Andes
Potatoes were domesticated in the Peru-Bolivia highlands thousands of years ago and reached Europe only in the 1500s. Peru still grows several thousand varieties.
Source: International Potato Center, Lima
Which country produces most of the world's vanilla?
Madagascar
Madagascar grows roughly three-quarters of the world's vanilla, though the orchid is native to Mexico and needs hand pollination outside its original range.
Source: FAO production statistics
Chillies are central to Indian and Thai cooking. Where are they from?
The Americas
Chillies were domesticated in Mesoamerica and carried to Asia by Portuguese traders in the 1500s. Every cuisine now defined by them adopted them within the last five centuries.
Source: Columbian Exchange scholarship; archaeobotany of Capsicum
When did tomatoes reach Italy?
After 1500
Tomatoes are American in origin and arrived in Europe in the sixteenth century. They were grown as ornamentals for decades before anyone ate them widely.
Source: Columbian Exchange scholarship
Kiwifruit is named after a New Zealand bird, but where is the plant from?
China
It was called Chinese gooseberry until New Zealand exporters renamed it in 1959 for the American market, partly for Cold War marketing reasons.
Source: New Zealand horticultural export records
Which country eats the most rice per person?
Bangladesh
Bangladesh consumes well over 200 kg per person a year, among the highest anywhere. China produces the most in total but eats less per head.
Source: FAO food balance sheets
Why can sparkling wine from California not be sold in the EU as Champagne?
The name is tied to a region
Protected designation of origin rules restrict the name to wine from the Champagne region made to defined methods. Similar rules cover Parma ham and Roquefort.
Source: EU protected designation of origin register
Why is saffron the most expensive spice by weight?
It is all picked by hand
Roughly 150,000 flowers are needed for a kilogram of dried saffron, and every stigma is picked by hand in a short season. Iran produces the large majority.
Source: FAO; Iranian agricultural ministry
Which country's most famous export beer is brewed under licence in dozens of countries?
Ireland, with Guinness
Guinness is brewed in many countries, and Nigeria has long been among the largest markets. The Nigerian version is brewed locally and is stronger than the Irish one.
Source: Diageo brewing operations
The Banda Islands were once the only source of what?
Nutmeg
For centuries nutmeg grew only on this tiny Indonesian group, making them worth wars. The Dutch traded Manhattan to the English in 1667 partly to secure one of them, Run.
Source: Treaty of Breda, 1667; Dutch East India Company records
Which country notably has no McDonald's at all?
Bolivia
Bolivia's outlets closed in 2002 after years of losses, widely attributed to a preference for local food culture. A number of countries have never had one at all, including several in Africa.
Source: Contemporary business reporting; McDonald's market listings