Inca Cuisine - Foodstuffs

Foodstuffs

Amaranth was one of the staple foods of the Incas, and it is known as kiwicha in the Andes today. In addition, they used amaranth to create effigies of animals that were used in religious ceremonies. Later, the Spanish would ban the use of amaranth for this reason. There were also several types of edible clay, like pasa, which was used as sauce for potatoes and other tubers and chaco something associated with the poor or religiously devout. Just like in the rest of Central and South America chili peppers were an important and highly praised part of the diet.

Quinoa was also an important foodstuff. The Inca Army was able to subsist on quinoa and fat when on long journeys.