A lot of "traditional" national foods are like that, especially if you consider pre-columbian food traditions. If you just limit it to chocolate, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, potatoes, and beans, none of which were used or available in Europe until after importation, you see that it gets murky pretty quickly. Funny how we associate potatoes with Ireland, tomatoes with Italy, and chocolate with Switzerland when they're actually all indigenous American foods.

[–] Vivendi@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago (3 children)

What are some actual European foods that people ate hundreds of years before that?

[–] SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

From what I can find, there was a lot of barley, wheat, rye. Meat and fish. Peas, cabbage, apples, pears, grapes, honey, legumes, herbs, cheese.

Recipes turn out to be a lot of bread with cheese, meat or stews, with wine or beer. And also things like pancakes and other baked goods.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

Take veel other motoun and smyte it to gobettes. Seeth it in gode broth; cast therto erbes yhewe gode won, and a quantite of oynouns mynced, powdour fort and safroun, and alye it with ayren and verious: but let it not seeth after.

—Curye on Inglysch, IV.18.

[–] WoahWoah@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Meat, grains, fruit, and veg. Just different ones and less variety.

[–] BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 month ago

The tartiflette, a very popular traditional meal from Savoy in the Alps, was invented in the 70s !

[–] uienia@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Beans are native to Europe.

[–] WoahWoah@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

One "bean" is native to Europe. The fava or horse bean to be specific.

Pretty shocking, eh?