Vegetable was very dull, typically comprising mainly some staple product made from rice, rye, barley, wheat, millet or maize. The addition of vegetable matter provided some variety to the diet. The staple diet of the Aztecs in Central America was maize and they cultivated tomatoes, avocados, beans, peppers, pumpkins, squashes, peanuts, and amaranth seeds to supplement their tortillas and porridge. In Peru, the Incas subsisted on maize in the lowlands and potatoes at higher altitudes. They also used seeds from quinoa, supplementing their diet with peppers, tomatoes, and avocados. In Ancient China, rice was the staple crop in the south and
Vegetable bouquet Sala describes a sophisticated housekeeper in the 19th century London: "She would be just the person for the upper end of Sloane Street. She has a neat hand for cutting vegetable bouquets out of carrots, turnips and parsnips for garnishing." Since the 20th century, numerous attempts have been made to use vegetable bouquets to promote a healthy lifestyle and raise the nutrition consciousness of the population. Nowadays, the art of creating vegetable bouquets is much more accessible with numerous online courses available for vegetable bouquet designers. In recent years, vegetable bouquets have gained some popularity as an alternative to traditional