Food Consumed by The Incas
VegetablesAs the Inca Empire was based in the Andes mountain range and the climate was very cold it meant food could not grow well. Very few foods could grow consistently throughout the year, the only foods that reliably grew throughout the year were, Potatoes, Quinoa and Corn. Subsequently these were the three main food's in the Inca cuisine.
Inca Terraces
The way the Inca's chose to grow the crops was in a terrace formation. They were the first civilization to implement such a system and they revolutionized the growing of crops. The advantages of the terrace formation was the improved drainage and irrigation as well as efficient use of shallow soil
CavyAlthough a household pet in countries like Australia, the Guinea Pig was used as food by many civilizations in South America including in the Inca's. Cavy is the name of the signature dish for the Inca's cuisine, it is a deep fried guinea pig that is usually served with baked or fried potatoes.
MeatInca's were renowned for being vegetarians, meat din't play very big role in their diet. The meat that the Inc'as did eat was either llama, alpaca, guinea pig or vicuna (pictured right). The llama, vicuna and alpaca were used by the wealthy, their wool was used to carry their possession's and the meat was frozen and dried before being eaten. The poor ate the guinea pigs, they would cook them by stuffing hot stones inside them. The entrails of the guinea pig would be used in soups or sauces usually with potatoes.
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