How fruits and vegetables changed throughout history

The fruits and vegetables we all know and eat looked really different a long time ago. However, farmers domesticated these crops and adapted them to new tastes.

Wild banana

The first bananas may have been cultivated at least 7,000 years ago. They looked very different from modern bananas and had large seeds, like the ones in this photo. Credits: https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/06/19/how-your-food-would-look-if-not-genetically-modified-over-millennia/

Modern banana

Today’s banana has a handy, graspable shape and tastes better.

Wild watermelon

The typical summer fruit looked strikingly different in 17-th century, as depicted by this painting by Giovanni Stanchi. It appears to have swirly shapes embedded in six triangular pie-shaped pieces. Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pasteques,_extrait_d%27un_tableau_de_Giovanni_Stanchi.jp

Modern watermelon

Modern watermelon look different from the past, apart from the seeds, which some varieties still feature. In addition, the pulp looks redder.

Wild eggplant

Some of the earliest eggplants were cultivated in China. They have come in a wide array of shapes and colours, such as white, azure, purple, and yellow. Primitive versions used to have spines on the place where the plant’s stem connects to the flowers. Credits: https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/06/19/how-your-food-would-look-if-not-genetically-modified-over-millennia/

Modern eggplant

Today, eggplant has gotten rid of the spines, is larger and purple-colored.

Wild carrot

The earliest known carrots were grown in the 10th century in Asia Minor. They were purple or white with a thin, forked root, like those shown here. Credits: https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/06/19/how-your-food-would-look-if-not-genetically-modified-over-millennia/

Modern carrot

Today, carrots are orange and an annual winter crop.

Wild corn

Forget cobs. The erliest known corn appeared in 7000 BC, was about 19 mm long and tasted like a potato. Credits: https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/06/19/how-your-food-would-look-if-not-genetically-modified-over-millennia/

Modern corn

Today, corn is 1,000 times larger, is sweet and much easier to peel.