Tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes are native to the Americas. That means that before Transatlantic trade, there were no hot peppers in China, no potatoes in Ireland, and not tomatoes in Italy.
Imagine many common Indian dishes without tomatoes or chilis. How about the popular trope of a Native American on horseback? Horses went extinct in the US many thousands of years before Europeans arrived with a different kind. It's amazing how quickly the cultural exchange happened so long ago.
Tangential fact: syphillis originated in the Americas, likely from llamas. It's the only instance of a transmittable disease to be imported to the old world.
This also makes me a bit annoyed at the show 'Apothecary Diaries" as it depicts syphillis existing in China in the 700AD