List of food origins

Last updated

This is a list of food items by the region of the world they originate or were domesticated in.

Contents

Items common to most regions

Vegetables

A wild raspberry Rubus idaeus -raspberry - Himbeere.jpg
A wild raspberry

Fruits

Meats

Seeds/Nuts

  • Acorn (not present in Africa and South America)
  • Chestnuts (Northern Hemisphere)
  • Hickory nuts (species native to East/Southeast Asia, North America, and South Asia)
  • Pine nuts
  • Walnuts (Northern Hemisphere)

Herbs/Spices

Other

  • Birch syrup (produced from birch trees which are native to Europe, North Asia, and North America)

Africa

East Africa

Workers harvesting teff in Northern Ethiopia The Teff Harvest, Northern Ethiopia (3131617016).jpg
Workers harvesting teff in Northern Ethiopia

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

Four workers sorting coffee beans for size in Hawassa, Ethiopia Four girls sorting coffee beans for size, Hawassa.jpg
Four workers sorting coffee beans for size in Hawassa, Ethiopia

Seeds/Nuts

Other

West Africa

Guineafowl in Kruger Park, South Africa Helmeted guineafowl kruger00.jpg
Guineafowl in Kruger Park, South Africa

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

Meats

Seeds/Nuts

Other

Asia

A Vietnamese rice field Road and paddy fields in Sa Pa, Vietnam, 20240126 1203 3590.jpg
A Vietnamese rice field

East and Southeast Asia

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

An illustration of a peach in different stages Illustration Prunus persica clean no descr.jpg
An illustration of a peach in different stages

Fruits

Meats

Seeds/Nuts

Herbs/Spices

Eggplants that are yet to be harvested Solanum melongena 26 08 2012 (1).JPG
Eggplants that are yet to be harvested

Other

Southern Asia or Indian Subcontinent

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

Indian spice market Indian spice market.jpg
Indian spice market

Herbs/Spices

Other

Western Asia or Middle East

A still life of bread and wine; products of wheat and grapes which were originally cultivated in Western Asia Henri Horace Roland de la Porte (c.1724-1793) - Still Life with Bread and Wine - YORAG , 764 - York Art Gallery.jpg
A still life of bread and wine; products of wheat and grapes which were originally cultivated in Western Asia
Cattle Domestic Cow habitat.jpg
Cattle

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

Meats

Seeds/Nuts

Herbs/Spices

Oceania

Australia

Various stages of the Macadamia nut Starr-081111-0455-Macadamia integrifolia-different stages-Makawao-Maui (24299912723).jpg
Various stages of the Macadamia nut

Vegetables

Fruits

Seeds/Nuts

Meats

Other

Austranesia and New Guinea

Banana tree featuring a full crop Banana tree in Alanya.jpg
Banana tree featuring a full crop

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

Sugarcane for sale in a market in Kerala, India Sugarcane 02.jpg
Sugarcane for sale in a market in Kerala, India

Meats

Seeds/Nuts

Herbs/Spices

Other

Europe

Northern Europe

A head of cabbage Brassica oleracea 2011 G1.jpg
A head of cabbage

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

Meats

A basket of hazelnuts from Galiza, Spain Abelas en Celanova - Galiza.jpg
A basket of hazelnuts from Galiza, Spain

Seeds/Nuts

Herbs/Spices

Southern Europe or Mediterranean

A broccoli plant ready for harvest Broccoli plant.jpg
A broccoli plant ready for harvest

Vegetables

An olive tree in Crete Olea europaea Preveli 01.JPG
An olive tree in Crete

Fruits

Herbs/Spices

Americas

North America

Various squashes such as Turban, Sweet Dumpling, Carnival, Gold Acorn, Delicata, Buttercup and Golden Nugget. Squashes.jpg
Various squashes such as Turban, Sweet Dumpling, Carnival, Gold Acorn, Delicata, Buttercup and Golden Nugget.

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

A wild male turkey with plumage on display Male wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) strutting.jpg
A wild male turkey with plumage on display

Meats

Seeds/Nuts

Herbs/Spices

Other

Central America and Caribbean

A diagram showing a stalk and cob of Maize/Corn Zea mays - Kohler-s Medizinal-Pflanzen-283.jpg
A diagram showing a stalk and cob of Maize/Corn

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

Herbs/Spices

A field of tobacco being grown in Pennsylvania United States Patch of Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum ) in a field in Intercourse, Pennsylvania..jpg
A field of tobacco being grown in Pennsylvania United States

Other

South America

Various chili pepper species presented for sale in a market in Sao Paulo, Brazil Capsicum baccatum in Saude flea market, Sao Paulo, Brazil.jpg
Various chili pepper species presented for sale in a market in São Paulo, Brazil

Grains/Cereals

Vegetables

Fruits

Varieties of potatoes and tubers presented for sale in a market in Huancayo, Peru Mercado Modelo de Huancayo Peru- Solanum tuberosum varieties V.jpg
Varieties of potatoes and tubers presented for sale in a market in Huancayo, Peru

Meats

Seeds/Nuts

Herbs/Spices

Other

See also

References

  1. Carney, Judith (2009). In the Shadow of Slavery. University of California Press. p. 16. ISBN   978-0-5202-6996-5.
  2. Renner, Susanne S.; Wu, Shan; Pérez-Escobar, Oscar A.; Silber, Martina V.; Fei, Zhangjun; Chomicki, Guillaume (24 May 2021). "A chromosome-level genome of a Kordofan melon illuminates the origin of domesticated watermelons". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (23): e2101486118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11801486R. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2101486118 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   8201767 . PMID   34031154.
  3. Francis, John K. "Coffea arabica L. Rubiaceae" (PDF). Factsheet of U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2007.
  4. "Catha edulis (Vahl) Endl. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  5. "Digitaria exilis (Kippist) Stapf | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 29 June 2025.