Foods America gave the world
Subtitle: the strange, fascinating and often romantic histories of many native American food plants, their origin and other interesting and curious facts concerning them.
By: By A. Hyatt Verrill ... Appendices in collaboration with Otis W. Barrett ... Illustrated by the author.
Contributors: Barrett, O. W. b. 1872.
Publisher: L. C. Page & Company
Published: 1937
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 289
Subjects: Food supply -- Latin America.; Indians -- Food.; Indians of South America -- Food.; Tropical plants.; Tropical fruit.
First sentence: TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE GRASS WE CALL CORN....... 1
II. THE GRAIN OF THE GODS....... 10
III. WHAT CORN HAS DONE FOR CIVILIZATION . . 18
IV. THE STRANGE STORY OF THE POTATO .... 25 
V. FIRST COUSINS OF THE SPUD...... 83
VI. THE MOST VALUABLE ROOT FOOD ..... 42
VII. FOODS OUR SOUTHERN NEIGHBORS LOVE ... 49
VIII. FOOD MADE FROM POISON....... 58
IX. THE STORY OF CHOCOLATE....... 67
X. THE TEA OF THE GAUCHOS....... 75
XI. PUMPKINS AND THEIR KIN....... 83
XII. WHO DOESN'T KNOW BEANS?...... 88
XIII. THE MIGHTY PEANUT........ 95
XIV. OUR EDIBLE WEEDS......... 101
XV. THE MOST USEFUL TREES....... 110
XVI. THE FRUIT OF HOSPITALITY...... 120
XVII. FRUITS THE ROSES GIVE US....... 126
XVIII. THE ORCHID THAT FLAVORS OUR CAKES . . . 138
XIX. FRUITS WE SELDOM SEE........ 144
XX. NUTS FOR DESSERT......... 172
XXI. STRANGE FOODS OF STRANGE PEOPLE . . . . 183
XXII. THE THANKSGIVING BIRD....... 189
APPENDIX—CHECK LIST OF ALL AMERICAN FOOD-PLANTS. DERIVATION AND MEANINGS OF PLANT NAMES. LIST OF
AMERICAN FOOD ANIMALS........197-279
INDEX..............280-289
Description: THE CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL review from May 1938
Foods America Gave the World. A. H. Verrill. 289 pp., $3.00. L. G. Page, Boston, .1938. How interesting a thing is food! Its sources, its variety, its history—all make up an absorbing picture, and the author of the book has made the most of his splendid subject. He concerns himself only with native American food plants, but that is a large "only". Not the least interesting point brought out is that our modern methods of curing and treating such food stuffs as cocoa, or vanilla, or of preparing various dishes from such a food as maize, were all thoroughly understood by the ancient American Indians. One admires also the little clearcut drawings of vessels and cooking implements in the shapes of various fruits and vegetables, such as the pineapple, corn, chocolate, beans, etc., all dating thousands of years back.
A good point is made of the fact that many tropical and subtropical fruits and vegetables are really of great value as being extremely good to eat, and yet are not brought to more northerly countries as much as they should be. Some of course are too delicate and can only be enjoyed in the tropics, but there are still a good many which should be more popular. The avocado pear for example is delicious and nutritious, but its introduction into Canada and the Northern States is slow. Incidentally, the author is a little hard on the genip which does not receive the praise it should as a delicious fruit. The book is well written and is full of an extraordinary amount of material, all well presented.