By all accounts, life aboard a Spanish galleon in the early 16th Century was brutal. Sailing west in the Gulf of Mexico on the last leg of a conquistador’s voyage halfway around the globe would have left any crew surly. Forget the close quarters onboard or the fact that the ship’s surgeon was likely a barber or that bathing was considered to cause disease and sickness, more importantly, the food onboard was horrific. With most meals consisting of rancid salted meat, stale biscuits and some moldering horse beans, it’s perhaps not surprising that the conquistadors arrived in the New World in a sour mood.
Rampaging through indigenous cultures up and down the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea for gold and silver led to the holds of these galleons filled with plunder, but unknown to these men at the time were the real treasures hidden below decks — the seeds to grow tomatoes, paprika and cayenne peppers.
Chefs and well heeled foodies often list devices such as ovens or refrigeration or the fishing net as crucial culinary innovations, but there is scant mention of the boat. Recreational boating didn’t come into existence until the 19th century and for most of history, boats were strictly utilized for mobility, commerce and warfare. In these roles, they were also the first man-made mechanism that opened up the world and…
