5 hours ago, Shel_B said:I'd imagine that over almost two centuries there would be some folks traveling to China and bringing with them some items from their new home, both physical and cultural.
There is little if any evidence of that.
You have to remember that for much of those two centuries, China was closed or had only very restricted access. It was at war, both international and civil. It was occupied by the Japanese.
It's also unlikely that early Chinese emigrants to the Americas were in any position economically to pop home bearing 'exotic' foodstuffs as gifts. They were struggling to survive. Many would have been political refugees, too.
The few central American foodstuffs here were introduced, not by returning Chinese, but by European colonisers, particularly the Spanish and Portuguese. Chili peppers were introduced by the latter through their colony in Macao. China has developed its own cultivars. Central American varieties are largely unknown.
Potatoes have long been looked down upon as 'peasants' food' at best. Only the arrival of first KFC, then McDonald's in the 1980s widened their availability. Tomatoes are a recent import, again through Europeans.
Corn/maize was introduced much more than two centuries ago by the Arabs and Persians. More like five centuries.
