Hancock, Thomas, 19
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 279–280
Hanna, Gordie “Jack,” 329
haricot (hericoq), 41–42
Hariot, Thomas, 31
Harris, John, 47
Hasbro, Inc., 265
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 9
Heinz, Henry J., 144–145
Hempstead, Joshua, 274
Henderson, Mary, 219
Henderson, Peter, 290
Henry VIII (King of England), 139, 250
Herodotus, 198
Herrick, Robert, 103
Hesiod, 4
heterosis, 130
Heyerdahl, Thor, 249
Hickey, Thomas, 218
Hill, Thomas, 58, 182
Hirschi, Kendal, 27, 91
Hole, Samuel Reynolds, 1
honeydew melons, 183, 186–187
Horry, Harriott Pinckney, 143, 205–206, 319
hot sauces, 232
Hovey & Co., 321
Howden, James, 291
hybrid vigor, 130
I
Indian triad, 31, 278
Ingram, John, 107
inulin, 207
Irish potato famine, 259–261
iron, spinach and, 303–304
isothiocyanates, 74, 295–296
J
jack-o-lanterns, 290
James, Jesse, 238
Japanese radishes, 297–298, 301
Jefferson, Thomas, 4–5, 21, 44, 60, 72, 95, 108, 121, 124, 143–144, 155, 170, 185, 209, 217, 230–231, 256, 265–266, 275, 285, 300, 319, 347
Johnson, Edward, 281
Johnson, Robert Gibbon, 320
Johnson, Samuel, 79, 141
Josselyn, John, 19, 188, 281–282
K
kaempferol, 327
kale, 68
Kalm, Peter, 19, 230, 300
Katz, Solomon H., 36
Keeney, Calvin, 44
Keimer, Samuel, 4
Kellogg, John H. and Will K., 131–133
Kelly, Kirsten, 26
Kelly, Leonard J., 109
Knight, Thomas Andrew, 219–220
kohlrabi, 68–69
Kushajim, 16
L
Lamborn, Calvin, 222
Landreth Seed Company, 308–309, 321
Lane, Nick, 50
Langley, Batty, 72, 141
latex, 165–166, 167
Laughman, J. R., 121
Lavoisier, Antoine, 37, 254
Lawson, John, 19, 280
Leclerc, Georges-Louis, 275
lectins, 51
leeks, 208–209
Lemery, Louis, 23
Lenoir, Bill, 240
lentils, 32–33, 39
Lerner, George, 265
Leslie, Eliza, 6, 47, 142, 156
lettuce
as aphrodisiac, 167
chlorophyll in, 174–176
nutritional value of, 176–177
as soporific, 165–166
taxonomy of, 167–168
varieties of, 171–174
lettuce opium, 166
Liébalt, Charles Estienne and Jean, 137, 141
Lily family, 14
lima beans, 46–47, 49–51
Lincoln, Abraham, 73
Lindley, John, 261
Linnaeus, Carl, 55, 114
Lippman, Zach, 336
Little, John, 95
Lobrano, Alexander, 41
local eating, 26–27
loofah sponges, 273
Loudon, John, 8, 22, 191–192
Louis XIV (King of France), 17–18, 105, 155, 169, 216, 307
Louis XV (King of France), 17, 18, 102
Lovelock, Yann, 86
Lumière, Auguste and Louis, 268
lycopene, 189, 327–328, 335
Lycurgus, 66–67
Lynde, Isaac, 124
M
Machaiah, Jammala, 49
MacKinnon, J. B., 27
MacNeish, Richard, 116
mallow, 4
Mandeville, John, 153
mandrake, 154, 316
mangel-wurzel, 62–63
mango melons, 193
Marggraf, Andreas, 61
Marquis, Frederick, 349
Martial, 39
Martineau, Harriet, 125
Martyr, Peter, 231
Mather, Cotton, 128–129
Mattioli, Pietro Andrea, 315
McNeill, William, 258
McWilliams, James, 291
meat, 3, 5, 7
melons, 181–183, 186–187, 192–193. See also Watermelons
Mendel, Gregor, 220
Miller, Phillip, 77
mint, peas and, 218–219
miomimetics, 73
M’Mahon, Bernard, 108, 142, 171, 256, 308, 321
Monroe, Marilyn, 268
Montezuma, 226, 315
moon, 81, 141
Moore, Michael, 26
Moriyama, Naomi, 298
Morse, Samuel F. B., 156
Morton, J. B., 6–7
muskmelons, 182–183, 193
mustard oils, 74
N
NASA, 80
National Plant Germplasm Center, 159
Native Americans. See American Indians
niacin, 126–128
night blindness, 89
nitrogen fixation, 36, 37
Nix, John, 323
nixtamalization, 128
Nobel Prizes, 238
Nottingham, Stephen, 56
nutraceuticals, 207
O
Obama, Barack and Michelle, 54
O. Henry, 204
Olympic athletes, 7
onions, 197–209
ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) analysis, 50
P
Paris green, 161
Parkinson, John, 86–87, 105–106, 140, 153, 187, 343
Parkinson’s disease, 38
Parmentier, Antoine-Augustin, 253–254
parsnips, 92–93, 104
peas
breeding of, 219–221
cooking of, 214–215, 218–219
mythology of, 212–213
origin of, 213
preservation of, 222–223
sugar in, 220–221
sugar snap, 222
taxonomy of, 213–214
varieties of, 215–218, 219, 221–222
pectins, 335
Pednekar, Mrinal, 49
Peel Robert, 259–260
pellagra, 126–128
Penn, Robert, 203
peppers
Aztecs and, 229–230
black, 226–227
chili and, 238
coloration of, 237–239
heat of, 231–235
hot sauces and, 232
medicinal uses of, 240–241
nutrients in, 239–240
origin of, 228–229
taxonomy of, 227–228
varieties of, 230–231
Pepsi, cucumber-flavored, 147
Pepys, Samuel, 3, 18, 71, 137
Perrault, Charles, 277
Perry, Matthew C., 297
Peru, 25–26
petioles, 107
phenolics, 158–159
pheromones, 102–103
Phillips, Henry, 239
photosensitizers, 103
Phytophthora infestans, 261–264
pickles, 142–144
Pilgrims, 217, 282, 283
Pinkwater, Daniel, 150
pirates, 228
Pisanelli, Baldassare, 36
Pizarro, Francisco, 46, 246
Pleiades, 201
Pliny the Elder, 13, 15, 38–39, 57, 67–68, 93, 102, 138, 164, 165, 181–182, 199–200, 203, 279, 296–297
Plutarch, 34
Poisson, Jeanne Antoinette, 17
Pollan, Michael, 2, 8
Polynesia, 249–250
pomegranate melons, 193
Pompadour, Madame de, 17, 18, 102
Pompeii, 14, 199
Pons, Jacques, 184
Popeye, 303
Post, C. W., 132–133
Post, Emily, 126
postage stamps, 267–268
Potage Parmentier, 254
Potager du Roi, 17–18
potatoes
alkaloids in, 250–251
in colonial America, 254–255
cultivars of, 255–256, 262–264
dehydrated, 266–267
dislike of, 244–245, 250–252
domestication of, 245–246
fried, 265–267
Ireland and, 258–261
Mr. Potato Head toy and, 265
nutrients in, 256
Parmentier and, 253–254
Phytophthora infestans and, 261–264
propagation of, 257–258
Prussia and, 252
Quechua names for, 246
starch in, 267–268
sweet, 248–250
taxonomy of, 247–248
potato famine, 258–261
Potato War, 252
Potter, Beatrix, 84, 138
Prentice, Jessica, 27
preservation, 9, 144
Proust, Marcel, 23
psoralens, 103–104
psoriasis, 103
pumperkin, 282
pumpkin floods, 284, 285
pumpkins. See also Squashes
alcohol and, 282
bush cultivars of, 289
in colonial America, 281–283
cooking of, 283
four main species of, 274
giants, 275–278
jack-o-lanterns and, 290
medicinal uses of, 283–284
origins of, 278–279
taxonomy of, 272–274
uses of, 280
pungency, 232–234
Puritans, 43
Pythagoras, 4, 33–34
Q
Queen Anne’s lace, 86, 94, 95, 96
Queen Anne’s pocket melons, 193
quercetin, 207, 327
Quintinie, Jean-Baptiste de la, 18, 105
R
Rabelais, Francois, 344
radishes, 294–301
Rafald, Elizabeth, 141–142
Raleigh, Walter, 245, 247, 250, 258
ramification, degree of, 86
Randolph, John, 77, 172, 346
Randolph, Mary, 21, 60, 95, 156, 170, 218, 308, 317, 319
rapeseed, 342–343
Rapunzel, 299
Reid, Robert, 129
restaurants, 204
Rhizobia bacteria, 37
Rhodes, A. M., 122
Rick, Charles, 332–333
Riley, James Whitcomb, 277
Riley, Nancy, 180
Rister James, 276
Robiquet, Pierre Jean, 24
rocambole, 209
Rogers, Will, 238, 311
Roosevelt, Alice, 306
Root, Waverly, 138, 183
Rorer, Sarah, 156
Ross, Betsy, 60
rouge, 59, 60
Rozin, Paul, 236
rutabaga, 347–348
Ryan, O’Neill Jr., 175
S
Sahagún, Bernardino de, 288, 315
Salmon, William, 299, 318–319
Samorini, Giorgio, 167
Sandburg, Carl, 347
sauerkraut, 75–76
Savoy spinach, 309–310
Say, Thomas, 160
Schrager, Victor, 275
Schultz, Charles, 277
Scott, Walter, 92, 258
Scoville Organoleptic Test, 233
scurvy, 238, 256
seed corn, 116
seedless melons, 189–190
seed potatoes, 257
semi-savoy spinach, 310
Serries, Olivier de, 285, 318
Seven Years’ War, 252, 253
Sewall, Richard, 251
shallots, 208
Shaw, George Bernard, 6
shrunken 2 gene, 121
Shull, George Harrison, 130–131
Shulman, Martha Rose, 46
Simmons, Amelia, 44, 45, 60, 95, 143, 189, 209, 218, 255, 283, 300, 319
“The Simpsons,” 232
Sleeper (movie), 8
smart breeding, 338
Smith, Alisa, 27
Smith, Andrew, 318
Smith, Bruce D., 31
Smith, John, 31, 170, 217, 281, 320–321
snap beans, 44–45
snow peas, 221–222
Socrates, 86
solanine, 250
Son-of-a-Bitch Stew, 238
spaghetti squash, 287–288
Spargelzeit, 25
spinach, 303–311
Spirit Cave, 136, 213
squashes, 31, 273, 283–289. See also Pumpkins; Zucchini
squmpkins, 273
stamps, 267–268
Standish, Miles, 114–115
starch, 120–121, 221, 229, 253, 267–268
Stoker, Bram, 202
Stommel, John, 159
Strabo, Walafrid, 298
Stradivari, Antonio, 14
strawberries, 23
Sturtevant, Edward, 157–158
sucrose, 61
sugar beets, 61–62
Sullivan, John, 121
super carrots, 91
supersweet corn, 121
Swain, Roger, 93
sweet corn, 121
sweetness of carrots, 91–92
of corn, 121–122
of fruits, 181
of melons, 192–193
peas and, 220–221
sugar beets and, 61–62
temperature and, 93–94
tomatoes and, 336
sweet potatoes, 248–250
Swift, Jonathan, 146–147
Switzer, Stephen, 107–108
Szent-Gyorgi, Albert, 238
T
Tacitus (Roman Emperor), 164–165
Tacuinum Sanitatis, 152, 168–169, 306
Talmud, 59, 200
taproots, 94–95, 348
tarantula bites, 237
Tariff Act of 1883, 323
taxes, 25–26, 123, 260, 323
Taylor, George, 108
temperature, sweetness and, 93–94
Tewksbury, Joshua, 235
Thomas, Dylan, 93
Thorburn, Grant, 45, 171, 208, 321
Thoreau, Henry David, 275–276, 277
Thorpe, George, 123
three sisters, 31, 278
Thresh, John Clough, 232
thyroid glands, 74–75
tigers, 202
Titian, 85
Toklas, Alice B., 69
Tolstoy, Leo, 6
tomatine, 317
tomatoes
alkaloids and, 317
as aphrodisiac, 316
in colonial America, 318–322
coloration of, 334–335
as dangerous, 316–317
disease-resistance in, 332–333
diversity of, 331–333
flavor of, 335–336
hybrids of, 332–333
medicinal uses of, 322
nutrients in, 326–328
origin of, 314–315
popularity of, 314
pronunciation of, 339
propagation of, 330–332
ripening of, 333–338
seed dispersal and, 338–339
transgenic, 337, 338
Trophy, 324–325
varieties of, 324–325, 328–330
winter, 336–337
Tomato Genetics Resource Center, 332
tombs, 103
Tournefort, Joseph Pitton de, 228
transmigration, 34
trenches, 12
Trevelyan, Charles, 261
Trithemius, Johannes, 344
Trojan Horse, 87
Trollope, Frances, 5, 47, 125, 190–191
Tshabalala-Msimang, Manto, 60
tubers, 248
tulip
bulbs, 206
Turner, William, 105
turnip-pate, 348
turnips, 343–349
Tusser, Thomas, 215
Twain, Mark, 78, 122, 192, 349
U
umbels, 94–95
urine, 23–24, 59
V
vampires, 127
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 266
Van der Donck, Adrien, 185, 188, 280
vanillyl amides, 232
Van Meeter, James, 320
Vatsyayana, Mallanega, 13
Vauquelin, Louis Nicolas, 24
vegetables
consumption of, 7–8
fruits vs., 180–181, 323
nutrients in, 2
vegetarianism, 4, 6–7
velvet beans, 38
Verrazano, Giovanni da, 30–31
Vespucci, Amerigo, 144
Vienna Vegetable Orchestra, 87
Vilmorin-Andrieux, 86, 96, 145, 157, 171, 221, 264, 273–274, 301, 325, 347
vinegar, 143
Viorst, Judith, 46
vision, 89–90
vitamin A, 89–90, 303
vitamin C, 238–239, 256
vitamins, 2, 326–327
vitiligo, 103
von Arnim, Elizabeth, 9
von Jacquin, Nikolaus, 231
W
Wafer, Lionel, 228, 230
Wagner, Richard, 6
Waring, George E., 324–325
Warner, Charles Dudley, 197
Warnock, William, 276
War of Bavarian Succession, 252
War on Drugs, 25
Warren, Susan, 278
Washington, George, 21, 123–124, 171, 205, 217–218, 282, 285
Washington, Martha, 9, 12, 62
watermelons, 180, 181, 187–192
Waters, Alice, 27
Watson, Ebbie, 127
whiskey, 113, 122–124, 143
Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, 123
Whitaker, Alexander, 205, 346
Whitaker, Bruce, 159
White, E. B., 77
White, Gilbert, 191
White, John, 36, 280
Wilson, E. O., 262
Winckler, John, 77
Winthrop, John Jr., 71–72, 95, 300, 308
Wolff, Emil von, 303
Woolton Pie, 349
World Carrot Museum, 97
World War II, 89–90, 91
Wtewael, Joachim, 88
X
Ximénez, Francisco, 232
Y
yams, 248
Young, Arthur, 256, 258
Z
Ziolkowski, Jan, 345
Ziryab, 16–17
zucchini, 273, 286–287