Hey YouTube, Jim here!
Welcome to Top10Archive!
Immediately, you recognize what I’m eating.
The orange color, the lengthy body – carrots are a common staple in our grocers these days.
But if I took this carrot back to more than 100 years ago, I’d probably confuse the
masses, be labeled a warlock, and sentenced to death.
Not everything we eat is as it was 100 years ago, and we’ve compiled this list just to
show you how much has changed.
But…
why does it look so different?
Anyway, we’ll likely get to that, but before we do, why not subscribe and click the bell
to be notified of future videos.
If you liked what you watched – or are terrified of what you’ve been putting into your stomach
all these years – let us know in the comment section below!
8.
Watermelon Look to this 17th century Giovanni Stanchi
painting and chances are you won’t immediately recognize the larger subjects.
What looks to be a deformed watermelon is actually what watermelons used to look like
before humans started to selectively breed their fruit.
Original watermelon used to sport pockets of seeds and weren’t very fleshy.
The pale-white color was replaced with a redder, more appealing hue thanks to the inclusion
of lycopene. 7.
Bananas Even before the creamier, tastier bananas
of Gros Michel were wiped out by fungus, bananas had a very different look.
In fact, trypophobes beware.
The wild banana, before evolving with some help from mankind into the stark yellow variety
we know today, were ripe with seeds and were generally hard and not very pleasant to eat.
Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata, South and Southeast Asian fruits, are an ancestor
to the modern banana, or the Cavendish. 6.
Eggplant Eggplant are such a distinct vegetable nowadays
that it’s impossible to mistake one for any other veggie.
There was a time, possibly dating back to 300 B.C., when eggplants were less purple
and less oblong.
Wild eggplants, which are similar to ancient and untouched varieties, can actually come
in a variety of colors and look a lot like an apple, orange, or peach.
As people got their hands on the plant, however, it started to take on a more distinct shape
and color.
5.
Apples There are so many varieties of apples out
there, but one you won’t see anymore is the Esopus Spitzenberg.
This antiquated apple was first found during the 18th century and retained popularity well
into the 20th century.
They’re large and tart and, admittedly, look a lot like regular apples that we’re
used to.
Slightly spicy but incredibly juicy, Esopus Spitzenberg apples were popular for making
ciders.
The issue with the Esopus, which are commercially extinct but still can be found in the wild,
is that they were susceptible to disease.
4.
Carrots Vibrant and orange, carrots are a pleasure
to the eyes and the palate, but before they were Bugs Bunny’s favorite treat, they looked
and tasted completely different.
Go back far enough, to Ancient Greece or Rome, and you’ll find depictions of carrots that
simply don’t look right.
Sporting a dark to pale purple color scheme, these ancient carrots were also incredibly
thick and grew on a forked root.
Then came along Dutch farmers who started breeding the bright orange variety we now
know.
The reason for the change relates directly to a 16th-century royal family, the House
of Orange.
3.
Corn Today, corn is a robust vegetable that goes
well with barbecues.
There was a time, though, when the sweet veggie was no more appealing looking than fields
of wheat.
When looking at the origin of corn, all paths seem to lead to a Mexican grass known as teosinte.
Originally thought to be closer to rice than corn, Cornell University graduate student
George W. Beadle determined that maize and teosinte have similar chromosomes.
Like corn, teosinte could also be popped like corn kernels.
2.
Peach We enjoy the robust fleshiness of peaches,
but the peaches of yore, dating back to 4,000 B.C., were far smaller and had an Earthy,
salty, and sour taste that often overpowered the sweetness.
Peaches originally were small and consisted of about 64% of edible flesh (compared to
90% today) and 36% stone.
The exterior was waxy and not soft as it is now.
Through selective breeding, farmers have increased the size of peaches for a juicier, more pleasant
experience.
1.
Tomato Is it a fruit?
Is it a vegetable?
Though it’s scientifically known to be a fruit, you’ll still find those that insist
otherwise.
But, debating the biology of the tomato isn’t why we’re here.
Early tomato plants sprouted green or yellow fruits that grew to about the size of a cherry.
These “golden apples,” as they were known, were initially widely known to be used by
the Aztecs before finding their way to Italy and Spain.
During the 18th century, they were actually thought to be poisonous.
Turns out, however, that the acidity in them soaked up lead from pewter plates which led
to lead poisoning.
Thanks for watching!
Why did we list only eight fruits in this Top10Archive?
Because we’re leaving room for you to add two more foods that are different today yourselves
in the comment section!
And while you’re at it, if you please, give this video
a thumbs up!