Mother Nature does not always give you what we need. It needs a little help from humans. Do you believe that? Some of our favorite vegetables and fruits were not naturally created but were modified by man to become edible and delicious for our diets.
- Broccoli. This vegetable from the cabbage family was created in the fields in the Roman era. It has been evolving ever since until it got to the desired and delicious vegetable it is today.
- Cauliflower. This is a veggie that was not man-made but man-influenced in natural breeding (not laboratory). The colorful versions of cauliflowers were created in the 1970s.
- Corn. Modern-day corn was achieved through the selective breeding of teosinte over extended periods of time.
- Bananas. They are a result of crossing Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana (which were not edible by themselves).
- Carrots. The bright orange carrots were not always that color. The original carrot is purple and white. Farmers bred carrots with beta carotene (found in pumpkins) until they got the product we love today.
- Watermelons. They have been around for more than 4000 years in Egypt. They were colorless non-red and lots of seeds in them. Today we have more than 1200 varieties of watermelons, including the seedless watermelons that kids love today.
- Apples. True, they all come from one source Malus sieversii, but each region of the world has had farmers modify tastes and colors of all the apple varieties.
- Peanuts. 10,000 years ago, South americans brought the Arachis ipaensis over to the Andean Valleys and therefore pollination occurred with the Arachis duranensis.
- Eggplants. Shape and deep color purple were developed throughout the years of man-made breeding. Original eggplants were yellow and light purple.
- Oranges. China made a cross between a mandarin and a pomelo, resulting in the oranges we know today. Commercial traders distributed them throughout the world.
- Tomatoes. Small and yellow, tomatoes were first found in Aztec land, traveling to Spain and Italy when conquistadors discovered them.
- Strawberries. Originated in France in 1764, smaller type of strawberries (pale color) were modified in breeding until the bright red strawberries were developed by American and British botanists during the French Revolution.
Do you feel weird learning about this? Well, this is stuff that is good to know.
