The most carnivorous country the world has ever known is the United States during the frontier days. Back then the average pioneer man and woman beyond the Eastern seaboard consumed more than 300 pounds of wild game meat a year. And speaking of game meat, in the early 1970s, tiger meat imported from Tanzania was sold here in the United States. The peanut , technically a legume and native to Peru, was introduced to Spain and Africa by the Spaniards. The peanut arrived in this country via Africa during the days of slavery.
Pineapple is original to Latin America.
I'm always on the lookout for good value in wine, and right now the wines of South America offer rich pickings. Falling Star is produced by Bodegas Trapiche in Mendoza, Argentina. It's an excellent blend of Merlot, today's hottest wine, with Malbec, the primary red grape of Argentina. Malbec was once a popular blending grape in Bordeaux, but it shows better in South America, where it ripens well and can take some aging. Falling Star's isn't a keeper, though - this light and elegantly perfumey red is ready to go now.