Tomatoes Come from Ecuador

Consider Italian cuisine without tomatoes. Yes, there are many delicious dishes that do not contain tomatoes, but you would lose a lot. The same is true with Spanish food. Despite being so common in European cooking, tomatoes are not indigenous to the region. They were first found growing untamed in the Andes of Central and South America. They have been linked to Ecuador going back as far as 80,000 years. Around 500 BC, they relocated to Mexico, where they established themselves as a culinary mainstay.

The tomato would have traveled to Europe with Columbus and Cortez. When tomatoes first came in the 16th century, the English didn't like them because they believed they were poisonous, but they thrived in the Mediterranean and by the 17th century, they had become a staple of Spanish cuisine.