Pizza sauce isn’t Italian, croissants aren’t French and vindaloo was not invented in India – the origin of many national dishes might surprise you

A new book by a food historian has revealed that the countries of origin of many famous national dishes are not the countries you might think.

In a new book called La Cucina Italiana Non Esiste — which translates as Italian Cuisine Does Not Exist — food historian Alberto Grandi claims that Italians discovered tomato sauce in America.

Mr. Grandi says this happened when they immigrated to the region where tomatoes are native in the 19th century.

In conversation with the Italian newspaper La Repubblicasaid Mr. Grandi, “Pizza turned red in America.”

‘Before that it was plain focaccia, sometimes decorated with pieces of tomato.’

A lecturer in business and European history at the University of Parma, Grandi has made a career of busting myths about some of Italy’s most celebrated culinary foods.

Although he has never questioned the quality of Italian food products, he added: “We confuse identity with the roots, which we cross.”

Tomatoes are an example of this. They were initially unpopular in Europe because they resembled their deadly cousin, the nightshade, and because of an early example of fake news.

This was due to rumors circulating that some upper-class Europeans died after eating them, when in fact this was the result of lead poisoning from their pewter dishes.

Grandi suggests that tomato-based pizza actually became popular in the US after Italians immigrated to the United States in the 19th century.

The food historian expert added that there were more pizzerias in America than in Italy during World War II.

However, the story of foods being wrongly adopted by countries they did not originally come from is not just limited to Italy.

What may come as a shock to many pastry chefs is that croissants are not French.

They were actually invented in the Austrian capital of Vienna, where some say they were presented as a Christmas treat to Duke Leopold in 1227.

Croissants were actually invented in the Austrian capital of Vienna, where some say they were presented to Duke Leopold as a Christmas treat in 1227

Others claimed that the pastries that mimicked the moon on the Turkish flag were prepared to celebrate the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century.

Parisians are said to have adapted the recipe after the first Viennese bakery closed in 1838.

Perhaps the best-known story about the croissant’s origins is that Queen Marie Antoinette – born in Vienna – missed the Austrian pastry so much that she asked French bakers to make them for her.

Another example of mistaken food origins is people who associate tempura with Japan or vindaloo with India, as both dishes are of Portuguese origin.

Catholic missionaries brought the frying method to Japan in the 16th century, while vindaloo is derived from the Portuguese ‘vinha de alhos’, which refers to the dish’s two main ingredients, wine and garlic.

Vindaloo originated because wine and garlic helped Portuguese sailors preserve fresh ingredients.

Vindaloo originated because wine and garlic helped Portuguese sailors preserve fresh ingredients

They chose to transform it after arriving in Goa by using local spices and chillies, making it one of the most popular and fiery curries in the world.

Even Portugal cannot escape guilt when it comes to claiming a food product that actually comes from elsewhere.

The infamous piri piri spice, which itself has become popular in Britain thanks to its use by Nando’s, was discovered in the Americas in the 15th century during the Portuguese trading era and brought back to the colonies in Africa.

It only reached Portugal relatively recently, but did not arrive in the country until the late 1960s.