Inca Foods
The Incas were masters at growing agriculture. They even had special terraces built that had several different atmospheric levels in order to grow a great variety of plants. They had the greatest success with the potato, a main component of most dishes. In fact, the Incas cultivated over 4,000 species of potatoes, a vegetable that was later introduced as a main staple to Europe and the Americas.
The Incas also had a useful system for storing and distribution. Storehouses of food were placed in strategic locations so that an incoming army would always be fortified. In order to maintain the food the Incas came up with the earliest method of freeze-drying that kept the food fresh for up to a year.
Potatoes, the staple of their diet, would be left outside to freeze, and then during the day when the temperatures rose the water evaporated to make a dried pulp called chuno. This could last for up to a year. They also developed a similar method for beef called charqui, or commonly known today as beef jerky.
The Incas rounded out their diet with a variety of meat: guinea pig, llama and alpaca, and deer. Their main starch was maize and quinoa. A popular gruel was made out of chuno, water, salt and pepper and soup consisted of maize or quinoa that was ground into flour and cooked with vegetables.
Yuca and oca were also freeze-dried and later ground up and mixed with water to make gruel. Dried condiments, such as aji and mani peppers, were used extensively by both commoners and royalty and added to most foods. In some regions, especially near Lake Titicaca and the coast, fish was also a mainstay of the diet as well as certain fruits, depending on the location. In certain areas ducks were also raised for consumption.
Meals were eaten twice a day, usually just after dawn and then again about an hour or two before sunset. The food was cooked in an earthenware pot over a small hole in a fire pit stove and the family would typically eat on the floor together. After dinner the Incas would enjoy coca leaves and a mild alcoholic drink called chica.
All classes of the population drank the traditional chicha. In fact, according to one prominent researcher, the Incas would only drink water when they ran out of chica. Most Incas, however, would at least wait until after they ate to consume the drink. Made from the quinoa grain, this cloudy beer was especially revered during festivals and was drunk generously.
The Inca Royalty had a more elaborate diet than the common people. They often had runners bring them fresh delicacies such as wild duck and partridges, mushrooms, frogs from nearby lakes, snails, fish, and Pacific shellfish. They would add these ingredients to potatoes, vegetables, and grains for specialty dishes.
The efficiency of the Inca food system is thought by experts to be one of the main reasons their empire was rewarded with such a long stretch of prosperity. This prosperity, however, was no match for the European diseases brought by the Spanish that spared only 20 percent of the population.
Get the most from your Peru Vacation.
Let the travel professionals at AR Tourism arrange the perfect vacation for you, while saving you money and eliminating the inconvenience of handling overseas arrangements.
AR Tourism Peru - Peru Vacation Travel Agency
Visit Peru
Enjoy the best hotels, tours and activities when you visit Peru on a vacation organized by AR Tourism Peru.
> More
