Ways that fruits and vegetables have evolved over time

The fruits and vegetables we buy at the supermarket today often look very different from the produce of centuries past. Some 10,000 years ago, as humans shifted from hunter-gatherer societies to permanent settlements, the cultivation and modification of crops began. 

Early farmers usually selected plants based on their harvestability and the size of their fruit. Over time, plants were crossbred to enhance their best traits, and this process gradually improved the taste, size, and yield of their fruit. Today, our modern produce tells the story of the coevolution between humans and the plants we eat.

Carrots used to be white, yellow and purple

Carrots weren’t always the vibrant orange we know today; in fact, the root vegetable originally grew in shades of purple, white, and yellow. According to popular legend, the carrot got its modern hue from Dutch growers in the 17th century paying tribute to William of Orange, a key figure in the Dutch fight for independence. Domesticated carrots originated with farmers in modern-day Afghanistan more than 1,000 years ago. Historians believe these early farmers began to breed carrots to enhance their carotenoids — their natural pigments — though whether it was to increase nutrition, to reduce the veggie’s inherent bitterness, or another reason altogether isn’t exactly known. These early modifications gave carrots a yellow hue, and hundreds of years later, Dutch cultivation deepened their hue yet again, turning them from yellow to dark orange. 

Watermelons were once wild looking

According to genetic study, wild watermelon originated in parts of Africa, but it shared little resemblance to the sweet summer fruit we eat today. The most clear depiction of what the green-skinned gourd once looked like comes from a 17th-century painting by Italian artist Giovanni Stanchi. The watermelon looks similar on the outside to what we see in stores now, but the inside looks truly, well, wild: It featured a pale, rind-like flesh marked by swirling, recessed pockets of seeds. Researchers believe the fruit would likely have been sweet even in its early state, although not as sweet as the selectively bred bright-pink species we enjoy today.

Ancient corn was compared to dry potatoes

Corn's ancient ancestor was teosinte, a grasslike plant that grew kernels in small, tough shells. Cobs weren’t peeled like they are today; the outer shells had to be hammered open, and the kernels are said to have had a starchy texture that resembled dry, raw potatoes. The transformation from teosinte to modern corn was a triumph of selective breeding by Indigenous communities in Mesoamerica. Researchers believe corn was first domesticated around 6,000 to 9,000 years ago in the Balsas River Valley of southern Mexico. Over time, the vegetable was cultivated to be much longer and have bigger kernels, a softer outer layer, and, of course, more sugar content, resulting in the golden sweet corn that’s now a staple crop around the world.

Peaches were harder, less sweet

This popular tree fruit is beloved for its sweet, juicy profile, but it once had hardly any flesh — and what it did have was less juicy with a more earthy taste. Peaches originated in China; fossils indicate that they even predated humans. Originally, wild peaches were greenish and much smaller. The pit took up most of the space, the skin was waxy, and they had 4% less sugar than today’s varieties. Over time, peach cultivation traversed continents and cultures, each refining its best traits to give us the fuzzy, rosy treat we love today.

Bananas were nearly inedible

Bananas are easy to peel, nutritious, and sweet, but in their original incarnation they were tougher, stockier, and full of hard, black seeds. In fact, instead of the banana itself, people once ate the tree’s flowers or shoots. There are now more than 1,000 banana varieties, but the one we’re most familiar with is the Cavendish banana. It was named after English nobleman William Spencer Cavendish, the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Though researchers have traced the domesticated banana’s origins to Papua New Guinea, the Brits were key figures in the variety’s cultivation into the banana found in most grocery stores year-round.