What's the most widespread American food?

Not Unitedstatesian, I mean in terms of foodstuffs native to the Americas that have been adopted most widely by other cultures.

I'm guessing it's the chili pepper. Chilis are used a fair amount in Europe (think of pimentón in Spanish cooking, or paprika in Hungary, or the general prevalence of it in southern Italy). And they've become indispensable in southern Asian cooking. Hunan and Szechuan cooking use it in huge amounts, and it's ubiquitous in Thai or Lao cooking. Anyone who's ever eaten a hot curry knows that it's been gleefully taken up by Indians. It's used a fair amount in Korean food as well. What other foods from the Americas are as common worldwide as the chili pepper?

I think you're right about chili peppers, but tomatoes and potatoes are probably both right up there too. They're both all over European cuisine, at least.

Potatoes show up all over Indian cuisine: in samosas and aloo mattar, and stuffed into dosas. And I know I've had potato in Thai Massaman curry.

My first thought was tomatoes, but I think you may be right about the peppers. It's kind of funny to think that there are so many old-world cultures that rely so heavily on new-world ingredients for their cuisine.

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Originally posted by Orual

Potatoes show up all over Indian cuisine: in samosas and aloo mattar, and stuffed into dosas. And I know I've had potato in Thai Massaman curry.

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Yeah, potatoes are everywhere in India. And aside from Massaman curry, it's used in Japanese curry, and I think I've read that it's pretty widely eaten by Chinese Muslims. And of course it's everywhere in Europe.

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Originally posted by Sarahfeena

My first thought was tomatoes, but I think you may be right about the peppers. It's kind of funny to think that there are so many old-world cultures that rely so heavily on new-world ingredients for their cuisine.

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Yeah, tomatoes definitely caught on big in Europe but AFAIK I don't think they're used all that much in most Asian cuisines.

Thinking about this again, though, probably the real answer is chocolate. I think that's popular pretty much everywhere.

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Originally posted by Exy

Thinking about this again, though, probably the real answer is chocolate. I think that's popular pretty much everywhere.

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Is it? I never thought it made much inroads in India or East Asia.

Wait, really? I'd be surprised if that's true. I know there are plenty of Japanese candy bars with chocolate. I guess I'm not sure about the rest of East Asia but I'd be surprised if they didn't eat chocolate.

I guess I was thinking more of it being incorporated into local cuisine. I mean, sure, they've probably got candy bars, but I don't know that it's become entwined with traditional food the way potatoes and peppers have.

What about vanilla? Is it used in non-western cuisines?

It might actually be Coffee or Chocolate. I would have thought potato though.

Coffee is from Africa.

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Originally posted by Exy

Coffee is from Africa.

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I did not know that. I always thought it was American as among other things it never made it Europe until post Columbus.

So anyway, ignorance fought and all, there is still chocolate then.

Tobacco has to be the most ubiqitious thing to emerge from the America's, but save for a very few specialty dishes nobody really eats that. What about peanuts? They seem to be pretty popular and according to Wiki they were first cultivated in Peru.

Oh, peanuts -- I didn't realize those were American. That's pretty good -- they're widely eaten at least in Chinese and Thai cuisine, and they're huge in Africa.

I was discussing this thread with my husband, and we were thinking of Thai food, at least as it is known here. Can you imagine it without chilis and peanuts? Makes you wonder what some of these cuisines were like before the new world was discovered.