Christopher Columbus’ landing in the Americas on October 12, 1492 was a watershed moment for European cuisine. The Italian explorer encountered new people, new cultures, new landscapes, and special types of food that he and his crew had never seen before. They couldn’t even fathom the taste of tomatoes or cocoa beans. 

Just like later explorers, Columbus wrote extensively about food in his travel journal, providing descriptions of every item he encountered and how local people prepared it. Corn, tobacco, chocolate, potatoes, avocados, pineapple, vanilla, and blueberries among other things, slowly trickled into the Old World, dramatically changing its recipes and traditions. Today, all of these ingredients are familiar to Europeans, and it is fascinating to imagine the moment when they first tasted these new foods.