CBSE Class 10 · The Making of a Global World

Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato Class 10 Explained

Updated 14 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Food Travels shows long-distance cultural contact in the pre-modern world. Noodles may have gone west from China to become spaghetti, or Arab traders may have taken pasta to Sicily. Potatoes, maize, tomatoes, chillies and groundnuts reached Europe and Asia only after Columbus reached the Americas. The potato fed Europe's poor, but its failure caused Ireland's famine.

Understand Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato

The idea of this section. Food is one of the clearest proofs that distant peoples were in contact long before modern globalisation. Traders and travellers carried new crops to the lands they visited, and even cooked foods in faraway places can share a common origin.

Spaghetti and noodles: a possible journey. The NCERT text offers two guesses:
1. Noodles may have travelled west from China and turned into spaghetti.
2. Arab traders may have carried pasta to Sicily (an island now part of Italy) in the fifth century.
Similar foods were also known in India and Japan, so the true origin may never be known. The point is not to settle the origin. Even such guesswork shows that long-distance cultural contact was possible in the pre-modern world. In exams, write 'it is believed' or 'perhaps': the text does not state either route as a fact.

Foods that came from the Americas. Many everyday foods were unknown to our ancestors until about five centuries ago: potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies and sweet potatoes. They reached Europe and Asia only after Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered the vast continent later called the Americas. (In this chapter, 'America' means North America, South America and the Caribbean.) Many of these foods came from America's original inhabitants, the American Indians.

New crops could mean life or death.

Gain: with the humble potato, Europe's poor began to eat better and live longer.
Danger: Ireland's poorest peasants came to depend so heavily on potatoes that when a disease destroyed the crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation.

The picture (Fig. 4). 'The Irish Potato Famine', from the Illustrated London News of 1849, shows hungry children digging in a field that has already been harvested, hoping to find leftover potatoes. Its caption says that during the Great Irish Potato Famine (1845 to 1849) around 1,000,000 people died of starvation in Ireland and double that number emigrated in search of work.

Why this matters for the chapter. Food travel links the silk route story (goods and ideas moving) to the next section, Conquest, Disease and Trade, where the same contact with the Americas also carried smallpox. Together they show that global exchange brought both benefits and terrible costs. Only Sections 1 to 1.3 of this chapter are in the 2026-27 board exam; the later food and technology story of the nineteenth century belongs to the internal project.

Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato: key facts

Spaghetti: two possible origins: Noodles from China travelled west to become spaghetti, OR Arab traders took pasta to fifth-century Sicily; Both are guesses; similar foods existed in India and Japan.
Foods from the Americas: Potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes; Unknown in Europe and Asia until about five centuries ago.
Route of arrival: After Columbus accidentally reached the Americas; many came from the American Indians; Use 'introduced', not 'invented'.
Potato's gain: Europe's poor ate better and lived longer; Evidence for 'new crops affect well-being'.
Potato's cost: Irish Potato Famine 1845-1849: about 1,000,000 starved, about double emigrated (Fig. 4 caption); Main text: hundreds of thousands died when disease hit the crop in the mid-1840s.

How to answer Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato questions

Questions here ask how food shows long-distance contact, how traders introduced new crops, or how a new crop could decide survival. Each point should carry a named food and a place.

1For 'food and cultural contact', use the spaghetti-noodles example and say it is a belief or guess.
2For 'traders introduced new crops', list foods from the Americas and say they came after Columbus, from the American Indians.
3For 'new crops affect survival', give both sides: the potato helped Europe's poor, and its failure starved Ireland.
4Quote one figure when it helps: the Fig. 4 caption's 1,000,000 deaths in 1845-1849.
5Keep to the pre-modern sections; do not drift into nineteenth-century trade or technology.

Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Depending on a single crop

Imagine a village where almost every family grows and eats only one crop because it is cheap and fills the stomach. One year a crop disease spreads through all the fields.

Use the Irish potato story to explain the danger this village faces and suggest one way to reduce it.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Identify the gain: one cheap crop can improve diets, as the potato did for Europe's poor.
Identify the risk: total dependence means one disease can wipe out the food supply.
Link to Ireland: when disease destroyed potatoes in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands starved.
Suggest a safeguard: grow and eat a mix of crops.

Answer: Like Ireland's poorest peasants, the imagined villagers rely on one crop. It feeds them cheaply, as the potato helped Europe's poor eat better, but a single disease can destroy the whole food supply. In Ireland, disease in the mid-1840s led to mass starvation. Growing several different crops would mean that one disease could not take away all their food.

Memory hook: One crop can feed you, and one blight can starve you.

Tricks to remember Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

PSG-MTCS from America
Potatoes, Soya, Groundnuts; Maize, Tomatoes, Chillies, Sweet potatoes: 'Please Send Groceries, More Tomatoes, Chillies, Sweets'.
Use it when: MCQs on which foods came from the Americas.
Two roads to pasta
China walks West, Arabs sail to Sicily.
Use it when: Spaghetti origin answers.
45 to 49
The Irish famine ran 1845-49; one million starved, two million left.
Use it when: Potato famine MCQs.

Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The famine country · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Which country was the worst affected by the potato famine of 1845-1849?
(a) England
(b) Ireland
(c) Sicily
(d) Spain

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The NCERT text and Fig. 4 name Ireland, whose poorest peasants depended on potatoes (1 mark).

Answer: (b) Ireland

Example 2: Traders introduced new crops (2 marks) · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

'Traders and travellers introduced new crops to the lands they travelled.' Substantiate the statement with two illustrations. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Noodles are believed to have travelled west from China to become spaghetti, or Arab traders took pasta to fifth-century Sicily (1 mark).
Potatoes, maize, tomatoes, chillies, groundnuts, soya and sweet potatoes reached Europe and Asia only after Columbus reached the Americas, from the American Indians (1 mark).

Answer: Noodles are believed to have travelled west from China to become spaghetti, or Arab traders may have carried pasta to Sicily in the fifth century. Potatoes, maize, tomatoes, chillies, groundnuts and sweet potatoes reached Europe and Asia only after Columbus reached the Americas.

Example 3: New crops and survival (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

'New crops could make the difference between life and death.' Analyse the statement with reference to the potato. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The potato came from the Americas and was unknown in Europe until about five centuries ago (1 mark).
With it, Europe's poor began to eat better and live longer (1 mark).
Ireland's poorest peasants became so dependent on it that when disease destroyed the crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands starved (1 mark).

Answer: The potato, brought from the Americas after Columbus, was unknown in Europe until about five centuries ago. It let Europe's poor eat better and live longer. But Ireland's poorest peasants came to depend on it so heavily that when disease destroyed the crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands died of starvation.

Example 4: Assertion-reason: the origin of spaghetti · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

Assertion (A): Historians cannot be certain where spaghetti first came from.
Reason (R): Similar foods were known in China, India and Japan, and pasta may also have been taken to Sicily by Arab traders.
(a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true, but R is false.
(d) A is false, but R is true.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Because several regions had similar foods and more than one route is possible, the true origin may never be known; R explains A (1 mark).

Answer: (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

Example 5: Source: the Irish Potato Famine picture · 4 marks · Source-basedHOTS / competency

Read the source and answer the questions.

Source (NCERT Fig. 4 and its caption, in summary): A drawing from the Illustrated London News of 1849 shows hungry children digging in a potato field that has already been harvested. They hope to find a few potatoes left behind. The caption adds that during the Great Irish Potato Famine of 1845 to 1849 about 1,000,000 people in Ireland died of starvation, and about twice that number left the country to look for work.

(i) Why were the children digging in a field that had already been harvested? (1)
(ii) What does the caption say about migration during the famine? (1)
(iii) Explain how dependence on a crop brought from the Americas turned into a disaster for Ireland's poor. (2)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) They were starving and hoped to find leftover potatoes (1 mark).
(ii) About twice the number who died, roughly two million, emigrated in search of work (1 mark).
(iii) The potato, from the Americas, helped Europe's poor eat better, so Ireland's poorest peasants came to rely on it almost entirely (1 mark).
(iii) When disease destroyed the crop in the mid-1840s, they had nothing else to eat, so mass starvation and emigration followed (1 mark).

Answer: (i) They were hungry and hoped to find potatoes left behind after the harvest. (ii) About double the number who died, roughly two million people, emigrated in search of work. (iii) The potato from the Americas helped Europe's poor eat better, so Ireland's poorest peasants came to depend on it almost entirely. When disease destroyed the crop in the mid-1840s, they had no other food, so about a million starved and many more emigrated.

Example 6: Food and cultural contact (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

'Food offers many examples of long-distance cultural exchange in the pre-modern world.' Examine the statement with examples, and assess both the benefits and the dangers of such exchange. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Traders and travellers carried new crops to the lands they visited, and even ready foods in distant places may share a common origin (1 mark).
Spaghetti: noodles may have travelled west from China, or Arab traders may have taken pasta to fifth-century Sicily; similar foods in India and Japan make the origin uncertain (1 mark).
Foods from the Americas: potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies and sweet potatoes, introduced after Columbus, from the American Indians (1 mark).
Benefit: Europe's poor ate better and lived longer with the potato (1 mark).
Danger: Ireland's dependence on potatoes meant mass starvation when disease destroyed the crop in the mid-1840s (1 mark).

Answer: Traders and travellers carried new crops wherever they went, so even foods in distant places may share an origin. Noodles are believed to have travelled west from China to become spaghetti, or Arab traders may have taken pasta to Sicily in the fifth century; since India and Japan had similar foods, the origin is uncertain. Potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies and sweet potatoes reached Europe and Asia only after Columbus reached the Americas, many from the American Indians. The benefit was real: with the potato, Europe's poor ate better and lived longer. The danger was dependence: when disease destroyed Ireland's potato crop in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands starved.

Where students lose marks in Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Stating the spaghetti origin as a fact
Students remember one route and present it as certain.
Wrong working
Spaghetti was invented in China.
Right working
It is believed noodles travelled west from China to become spaghetti; perhaps Arab traders took pasta to Sicily.
Do this: Use 'it is believed' or 'perhaps'.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Saying potatoes came from Asia or Africa
Confusion about the direction of food travel.
Wrong working
Potatoes reached Europe from India.
Right working
Potatoes came from the Americas after Columbus, from the American Indians.
Do this: All seven 'new' foods came from the Americas.
Usually costs: 1 mark in MCQs.
Mistake: Giving only the benefit of the potato
Questions on 'life and death' need both sides.
Wrong working
The potato made Europe's poor healthier.
Right working
It made them healthier, but dependence on it caused the Irish famine.
Do this: Benefit plus danger.
Usually costs: 1-2 marks.
Mistake: Mixing up the famine's dates and figures
Two numbers appear: the text's 'hundreds of thousands' and the caption's 1,000,000.
Wrong working
The Irish famine of 1945 killed ten million.
Right working
1845-1849: about 1,000,000 died (caption); hundreds of thousands starved (text).
Do this: Learn 'mid-1840s' and 'one million died, two million left'.
Usually costs: 1 mark.

Exam tips

When a question says 'substantiate', give one spaghetti point and one potato or Americas point.
Name at least three foods from the Americas; groundnuts, maize and chillies are easy to remember.
Use Fig. 4's caption for source questions: 1845-1849, one million starved, double emigrated.
Stay within the pre-modern sections; food and technology in the nineteenth century is not board-assessed this year.

Practice questions on Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Which one of the following foods was NOT known to our ancestors until about five centuries ago?
(a) Rice
(b) Wheat
(c) Groundnuts
(d) Barley
Hint
Which of these came from the Americas?
Answer
(c) Groundnuts
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
'New crops can significantly affect survival and well-being.' Provide two pieces of evidence for this statement. (2 marks)
Hint
One good effect, one bad effect, both about the same crop.
Answer
With the potato, Europe's poor began to eat better and live longer. But when disease destroyed the potato crop in Ireland in the mid-1840s, hundreds of thousands of the poorest peasants, who depended on it, died of starvation.
Q3 · 2 marks · Very short answerHOTS / competency
Why does the NCERT text say the true origin of spaghetti 'may never be known', yet still uses it as evidence? Explain. (2 marks)
Hint
Uncertain origin, but what does the guesswork show?
Answer
Noodles from China, pasta taken by Arab traders to Sicily, and similar foods in India and Japan all fit, so no single origin can be proved. Even so, every possible route involves distant regions sharing food, so the guesswork itself shows long-distance cultural contact in the pre-modern world.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Suppose your grandmother says, 'Our village dishes have always used tomatoes and chillies.' Using the NCERT text, explain why historians would question this. (3 marks)
Hint
When and from where did these foods arrive?
Answer
Tomatoes and chillies were unknown to our ancestors until about five centuries ago. They, along with potatoes, maize, groundnuts and sweet potatoes, reached Europe and Asia only after Columbus reached the Americas, and many came from the American Indians. So the dishes may be old, but not older than about five hundred years in their present form.
Q5 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level
Who were the American Indians, and what was their contribution to the world's food, according to the chapter? (2 marks)
Hint
Original inhabitants; list two foods.
Answer
They were the original inhabitants of America. Many common foods, such as potatoes, maize, tomatoes, chillies and groundnuts, came from them and spread to Europe and Asia after Columbus.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Compare the spaghetti example and the potato example. How does each show the effects of long-distance contact in a different way? (3 marks)
Hint
One shows cultural contact; the other shows effects on life and death.
Answer
The spaghetti example shows cultural contact: a food may have travelled from China westwards or with Arab traders to Sicily, though its origin is uncertain. The potato example shows material effects: a crop from the Americas improved the diet and lifespan of Europe's poor, but dependence on it led to starvation in Ireland in the mid-1840s. One shows exchange of tastes; the other, effects on survival.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Which island might Arab traders have taken pasta to?Show answer
Sicily, now in Italy, in the fifth century.
2.Which foods reached Europe and Asia after Columbus?Show answer
Potatoes, soya, groundnuts, maize, tomatoes, chillies, sweet potatoes.
3.Who were the original inhabitants of America?Show answer
The American Indians.
4.When did disease destroy Ireland's potato crop?Show answer
In the mid-1840s (the famine of 1845-1849).
5.What does 'America' mean in this chapter?Show answer
North America, South America and the Caribbean.

Food Travels: Spaghetti and Potato: frequently asked questions

How did spaghetti reach Europe according to Class 10 History?

The NCERT text gives two possibilities: noodles may have travelled west from China, or Arab traders may have taken pasta to Sicily in the fifth century. The origin may never be known.

How did the potato reach Europe?

It came from the Americas, grown by the American Indians, and reached Europe after Columbus accidentally reached that continent, about five centuries ago.

What was the Irish Potato Famine?

A famine in Ireland (1845-1849) after disease destroyed the potato crop on which the poorest peasants depended. About a million died of starvation and about twice as many emigrated.

Why is food used as an example of globalisation in the pre-modern world?

Because crops and dishes moved with traders and travellers between distant lands, showing long-distance cultural contact long before modern globalisation.