Imagine Florida without oranges, Colombia without coffee and Switzerland without chocolate. That was the world before European explorers began introducing new crops and livestock across both hemispheres. Known as The Columbian Exchange, the shift transformed eating habits worldwide as people incorporated newly transplanted species into their way of life. This is covered early on in a class offered this spring called The History of Food in America by Rebecca Sharpless, associate professor of history.

“As the French epicure Jean Brillat-Savin famously observed, ‘Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are,’ ” Sharpless says. “American food is an amalgam of substances native to the North American continent and those brought by 500 years of immigrants and, recently, transnational businesses.”

Students in the course investigate the ways Americans have used food to define their national character and how food in the U.S. has changed over time. The course begins by looking at the origins of foods Americans eat every day.

Identify the native continent for the following foods:

1. Apples
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

2. Pork
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

3. Rice
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

4. Potatoes
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

5. Sesame
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

6. Corn
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

7. Wheat
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

8. Grapes
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

9. Okra
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

10. Tomatoes
A. North America
B. Africa
C. Europe

Key: 1. C  2. C  3. B  4. A  5. B  6. A  7. C  8. C  9. B  10. A