NUTRITION 97 



of Mocha, knowledge of it spread to Egypt and Constantinople in the 

 sixteenth century, to Venice and then to England in the seventeenth cen- 

 tury. It was then that coffee houses and cafes sprang up in the European 

 centers. Religious zealots denounced coffee as an intoxicating drink. The 

 Arabs kept their secret until the eighteenth century, when coffee was 

 grown successfully in Java. Today Brazil is the world's greatest coffee- 

 producing country. 



Chocolate first became known to the white man when Montezuma, 

 the Aztec Emperor, gave Cortez a drink of the delicious beverage from a 

 golden cup. The Spaniards carried cocoa back to Spain, keeping its source 

 secret for many years, selHng it at a high price, as chocolate, to the wealthy 

 classes in Europe. 



Cinnamon, native of Ceylon, was known to the ancient Hebrews, Greeks 

 and Romans, but was not cultivated by them. It was carried across Asia 

 Minor by the Arabs, who kept its source secret for nearly one thousand 

 years. 



Apricot is native of Armenia, Arabia and the upper portions of Central 

 Asia. The fruit was held in such high esteem that, according to Disraeli, 

 Tradescant joined a crusade against Morocco in 1620 for the sole purpose 

 of steaHng apricots for import to Britain. The cultivation of apricots in 

 England dates from that time. 



In one way or another, we see, then, that foods relished by one group 

 of persons were gradually disseminated to other parts of the world. At 

 times the route was quite circuitous, as in the case of the Irish potato. This 

 food, native of the mountainous regions of Chili and Peru, was unknown in 

 the hotter climate of Mexico, at the time of the discovery of America. 

 From South America it was carried to southern Europe, whence it made 

 its way to Ireland. It was later introduced into New England by a group 

 of Irish colonists. Here was a New World plant, introduced into a differ- 

 ent part of the New World via the Old World. In this way it succeeded 

 in passing the barrier of the tropics, where it does not grow. Its cousin, 

 the tomato, made easier progress northward from South America, since 

 the barrier did not prevent its propagation. Early explorers found the 

 edible varieties in wide use in iMexico, as well as South America, and ac- 

 cording to Jefferson it was being groM'n in Virgina in 1781. It was not, 

 however, until after 18 12 that the tomato came into use as a food in this 

 country. The prejudice against it was probably due to two factors. To- 

 matoes were supposed to be poisonous, possibly because of their relation- 

 ship to the deadly nightshade. Also, the earlier tomatoes which had not 

 been intensively cultivated were by no means as good as they are today. 



The foods which we eat today may be fairly accurately traced back to 

 nearly all parts of the world. To Asia we are indebted for tea, rye, onion, 

 rhubarb, buckwheat, radish, pistachio, licorice, peach, cucumber, almond, 

 grape and the soy bean. Tropical Asia has contributed the citrous fruits. 



