Foods and Drinks and When They Became Common

Staple cereal grain from wetland grasses that feeds more than half the world's population as a daily food

Cereal grain from grasses of the genus Triticum that supplies the flour for most breads and pastas worldwide

Mineral sodium chloride that has been mined or evaporated from seawater for food preservation and flavor

Round pome fruit of a temperate tree that is eaten fresh or pressed into cider across Europe and Asia

Edible seed of various legume species that supplies protein in many traditional diets

Small juicy berry of a woody vine that is eaten fresh, dried into raisins, or fermented into wine

Small oily fruit of a Mediterranean tree that is pressed for oil or cured for eating

Pungent bulb of a hardy allium species that is eaten raw or cooked in nearly every cuisine

Layered bulb vegetable whose sharp flavor mellows when cooked and appears in countless savory dishes

Round seed of a climbing legume that is eaten fresh, dried, or split for soup

Aromatic inner bark of certain tropical trees that is rolled into quills and used as a sweet spice

Dried stigmas of a crocus flower that provide the world's most costly spice by weight

Dense leafy head of a brassica plant that is eaten raw in slaw or cooked in many European dishes

Dried berries of a tropical vine that supply the world's most widely used pungent spice

Pungent rhizome of a tropical herb that is used fresh, dried, or candied in sweet and savory foods

Dried leaves of an evergreen shrub that are steeped to produce the world's most consumed hot beverage

Long curved berry of a giant herbaceous plant that is harvested green and ripened for eating worldwide

Orange taproot of a biennial herb that is eaten cooked or raw and valued for its sweetness

Protein-rich legume seed that is pressed for oil and fermented into soy sauce and tofu

Sweet crystalline substance extracted from cane or beet that became a common table condiment after 1700

Hard seed of a tropical tree whose grated flesh flavors desserts and savory sauces

Tall cereal plant whose large ears provide kernels eaten fresh, dried, or ground into meal across the Americas

Fruit of a Capsicum plant whose heat comes from a compound that binds to the receptor for burning

Roasted seeds of a tropical shrub whose brewed drink became a daily stimulant in many cultures

Large seeded flower head of a tall annual plant whose oil is widely used for cooking

Fermented seeds of a tropical tree that are roasted and ground to make chocolate and cocoa powder

Long cured pods of a climbing orchid that supply the second most expensive spice after saffron

Juicy red fruit of a nightshade vine now used worldwide in salads, sauces, and cooked dishes

Starchy root that feeds hundreds of millions in the tropics, and is poisonous until properly processed

Starchy tuber of a nightshade plant from the Andes, grown as a staple crop across much of the world

White liquid produced by mammals, drunk by humans wherever animals were kept for it

Alcoholic drink brewed from fermented cereal grain, and among the oldest made anywhere

Alcoholic drink made from fermented grapes, produced across the temperate world for thousands of years

Drink fermented from honey and water, known from ancient records across Europe and Asia

Fermented apple juice, made wherever there are orchards and drunk still or sparkling

Japanese drink brewed from rice, served anywhere from chilled to hot depending on the style

Korean spirit distilled from rice or sweet potato, sold in green bottles and drunk in small glasses

Clear spirit distilled from grain or potatoes, filtered until almost nothing but alcohol and water

Spirit distilled from fermented fruit juice, usually grapes, and aged in oak

Sweet drink pressed from rice, nuts or seeds, and drunk cold from Valencia to Mexico

Fortified wine from southern Spain, some of it aged under a living film of yeast

Sweetened drink of lemon juice, water and sugar, drunk cold in hot weather

Spirit distilled from blue agave, which by law may only be made in certain Mexican states

Spirit distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks before bottling

Infusion of dried holly leaves drunk through a metal straw from a shared gourd across southern South America

Spirit flavored with juniper and other botanicals, and the base of a great many cocktails

Warm drink of cocoa or melted chocolate mixed into milk or water

Spirit distilled from sugarcane juice or molasses, long tied to the Caribbean plantations

Sparkling wine from one region of France, made by fermenting a second time inside the bottle

Sweet fortified wine from the Douro in Portugal, aged in oak or in the bottle

Wine fortified and flavored with herbs and spices, drunk as an aperitif and used in cocktails

Anise-flavored spirit made with wormwood, and the drink of nineteenth-century Parisian bohemia

Carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger, drunk on its own and used as a mixer

Carbonated water containing quinine, faintly bitter, and the standard mixer for gin

Carbonated soft drink flavored with kola nut and coca leaf extract, sold in almost every country

Sweet juice pressed from apples, pasteurized so that it will not ferment in the bottle

Concentrated coffee made by forcing hot water through finely ground beans under pressure

Espresso with steamed milk and a thick head of foam, in roughly equal parts

Espresso lengthened with a large quantity of steamed milk, under a thin layer of foam

Tea fermented with a culture of bacteria and yeast until it turns sour and slightly fizzy

Baked loaf of flour and water, usually leavened with yeast, and a staple across most of the world

Dough wrapper enclosing meat, vegetables or a sweet filling, then boiled, steamed or fried

Tiny steamed granules of rolled semolina, served under a stew of meat and vegetables

Triangular pastry filled with spiced potato, peas or meat, and fried until golden

Sheets of pasta layered with sauce, cheese and a meat or vegetable filling, then baked

Marinated meat grilled on a skewer, or minced, shaped and cooked over coals

Many layers of thin pastry with chopped nuts between them, soaked in honey or syrup

Fresh cheese made by stretching curd in hot water until it turns elastic and glossy

Seafood or vegetables in a light batter, fried briefly so the coating stays pale and crisp

Spiced sauce of meat, vegetables or pulses, served with rice or with flatbread

Chicken pieces coated in seasoned flour or batter and deep fried until the crust is crisp

Rice cooked flat in a wide shallow pan with saffron, and with seafood, meat or beans

Flat cake of batter cooked on a griddle, served with syrup, butter, fruit or sugar

Vinegared rice combined with raw fish, vegetables or egg, sometimes rolled in seaweed

Long thin strands of pasta, usually served with a tomato sauce or with oil and garlic

Solid block of sweetened cocoa mass and cocoa butter, molded into a portable rectangle

Layered butter pastry rolled into a crescent and baked until the leaves separate

Frozen dairy dessert churned with sugar and flavorings, served in cones, cups or on sticks

White fish in batter deep fried with thick-cut potatoes, sold wrapped and eaten out of the paper

Flatbread topped with tomato, cheese and other ingredients, baked fast in a very hot oven

Sausage served in a sliced bun, with mustard, ketchup, relish or fried onions

Deep-fried balls of ground chickpeas or fava beans, eaten in flatbread with salad and sauce

Ground beef patty served in a sliced bun, usually with cheese, lettuce, tomato and condiments

Marinated meat stacked on a turning vertical spit and shaved off into flatbread

Corn tortilla folded around meat, vegetables, cheese and salsa, eaten in the hand

Large flour tortilla wrapped around beans, rice, meat and salsa, folded closed at both ends

Wheat noodles in a long-simmered broth, topped with sliced pork, egg and vegetables

Tortilla chips under melted cheese and jalapenos, sometimes with beans or meat

Rice noodles stir-fried with egg, tofu, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts and tamarind

Bowl of rice under vegetables, meat, egg and chili paste, stirred together before eating