page_title: Inca cuisine
section_title: Vegetables
hierarchical_section_title: Inca cuisine / Foods / Vegetables
caption_attribution_description: English: Different potato varieties. – The potato is the vegetable of choice in the United States. On average, Americans devour about 65 kg of them per year. New potato releases by ARS scientists give us even more choices of potatoes to eat. Deutsch: Verschiedene Kartoffelsorten
context_page_description: Inca cuisine originated in pre-Columbian times within the Inca civilization from the 13th to the 16th century. The Inca civilization stretched across many regions, and so there was a great diversity of plants and animals used for food, many of which remain unknown outside Peru. The most important staples were various tubers, roots, and grains. Maize was of high prestige, but could not be grown as extensively as it was further north. The most common sources of meat were guinea pigs and llamas, and dried fish was common.
context_section_description: The Inca realm stretched north-south, encompassing a great variety of climate zones. In Peru in particular, the mountain ranges provide highly varied types of growing zones at different altitudes. The staples of the Incas included various plants with edible tubers and roots like potato and sweet potato, in hundreds of varieties. Slightly over 4,000 types are known to Peru and were domesticated in the region since middle to early 3000 B.C. There was also oca (oca), which came in two varieties, sweet and bitter. The sweet variety could be eaten raw or preserved and was used as a sweetener before the arrival of sugar made from sugar cane. Similar to oca in purpose, paiko (Dysphania ambrosioides), was a part of Inca diet for flavoring and edible leaves. Species of the Chenopodium family in the Inca cuisine were Chenopodium pallidicaule, also known as cañihua, and Chenopodium quinoa, or quinoa, due to their ability to survive in the high altitudes of the Andes. Quinoa has grown popular in the modern world beyond the Andes due to its adaptability, nutritional value, and many uses. Another high-altitude plant in Inca cuisine is Lupinus mutabilis, also known as tarwi or chocho. High in protein, this plant was often eaten with chiles and onions after being carefully treated, since improper treatment can leave the crop poisonous. Like chocho in protein count, Ahipa (Pachyrhizus ahipa) was another crop in Inca cuisine. It grows rapidly and has a high yield rate of the tubers that was cherished for its sweet taste like water chestnuts. Another tuber consumed in the Andes was Tropaeolum tuberosum, also known as mashua and añu in Quechua, due to its resistance to droughts and frost. It specially prepared and cooked to bring out the flavor that was desired as it was very bitter before doing so. So much so that it was considered an aphrodisiac and given to the Inca soldiers during campaigns to make them forget about their spouses. Other roots that could be found in the Inca cuisine were the maka (Lepidium meyenii) and the yacón (Polymnia sonchifolia). Maka was capable of surviving in the coldest and highest areas of the Andes, thus giving it high value. Yacón was documented to be similar to a turnip in texture but was very sweet and kept well, making them popular on sea voyages. The insipid, starchy root ullucu, and arracacha, something like a cross between carrot and celery, were, like potatoes, used in stews and soup. Achira, a species of Canna, was a sweet, starchy root that was baked in earth ovens. Since it had to be transported up to the power center of Cuzco, it is considered to have been food eaten as part of a tradition. Although the roots and tubers provided the staples of the Inca, they were still considered lower in rank than maize (Zea mays). It has been found that the Inca conquered lands were often transitioned from potato fields to maize fields, more than likely due to it being the main ingredient of chicha.
  Several species of seaweed, such as Porphyra, Durvillaea antarctica, and Ulva lactuca were part of the Inca diet and could be eaten fresh or dried. Some freshwater algae and blue algae of the genus Nostoc were eaten raw or processed for storage. In post-colonial times it has been used to make a dessert by boiling it in sugar. Pepino, a refreshing and thirst-quenching fruit, was eaten by common folk, but scorned by "pampered folk" and were considered difficult to digest. Another fruit that was available to the Incas was the passion fruit (Passiflora spp.) which was actually named so by the Spanish conquistadors and explorers due to the claim that the flowers of the plan contained the symbols of the passion of Christ. The fruit itself is like a pomegranate as they both have a mass of seeds covered by juicy flesh. A fruit that was described as an interesting snack available in the Andes during the time of Inca Empire was the paqay (Inga feuillei), or the guaba, which was known for it sweet, spongey substance that covers it seeds. A lesser valued fruit within Inca cuisine was the lucuma (Lucuma bifera) which was difficul
caption: The people of the Andes developed hundreds of varieties of potatoes. Most of them are still unknown in the rest of the world.
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