Domesticated plants of Mesoamerica
Domesticated plants of Mesoamerica, established by agricultural developments and practices over several thousand years of pre-Columbian history, include maize and capsicum.
Before people settled into villages and began farming, the amount of time it took to invest in maize was too great.
The output of wild maize did not justify the time and work needed to grow the crop.
Improved bioavailability of maize was discovered using a special process involving limewater, which also added calcium.
Ritual events or festivals, such as ball games, feasts, and calendar turnings, involved the royal members who took part in the sacrifice of blood-letting and piercing as repayment to the gods for having given maize to the people that year.
In Mesoamerica, the capsaicin spice was also used to relieve joint pain, and as an intestinal stimulant, so capsicum is also known as a medicinal plant.
During the Middle Archaic Period or the Coxcatlán phase, between 5700 and 3825 BC, the domestication of plants, such as the chile, was thought to have begun.
Chiefs or other elite members would use foods and stews spiced with chiles when involved in a feast.
The chile plant was featured in different stews including vegetables, turkey, and dog meats and in chile-spiced tomato salsa with tortillas.
[1] Originally cultivated by Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.
[2] Attempts to cultivate the vanilla plant outside Mexico and Central America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between the tlilxochitl vine that produced the vanilla orchid and the local species of Melipona bee; it was not until 1837 that Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant.
[4] There are currently three major cultivars of vanilla grown globally, all derived from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern-day Mexico.
Despite the expense, it is highly valued for its flavor, which author Frederic Rosengarten Jr. described in The Book of Spices as "pure, spicy, and delicate" and its complex floral aroma depicted as a "peculiar bouquet".
[citation needed] Despite its high cost, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume manufacture and aromatherapy.
Originally from southern Mexico, particularly Chiapas and Veracruz, Central America and northern South America, the papaya is now cultivated in most tropical countries, such as Brazil, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Philippines and Jamaica.
