TECHNIQUES AND INHERITANCES

GASTRONOMIC USED BY THE

INCA
By: Kerlin Nonajulca

We are neither victors nor the vanquished, we are descendants of the victors and of the
defeated
Don José Antonio del Busto Duthurburu

OBJECTIVE GENERAL Y OBJECTIVES SPECIFIC.

JUSTIFICATION
On July 2 of this year, 500 years of fusion, the book of our beloved chef
Gastón Acurio, who was published in Lima by the newspaper El Comercio, was declared,
Paris, like the best cookbook in the world. On this occasion, Peru also
awarded two other major decorations:

The best book on culinary history with: 'Cusco, the empire of cuisine', by
Rosario Olivas Weston, and the best history book of a drink with: 'Peruvian Chicha.'
"A drink, a culture", by Rafo León.

It was then, motivated by these events, and with the desire to contribute to the
dissemination of our cuisine for the improvement of the global diet that
we decided to carry out this work on the culinary techniques used by the
Incas, show how advanced and important they were and that they still are for the
Andean societies.

Also contribute to the reconstruction of the history of Peruvian cuisine, a cuisine

mixed-race, so that she may be valued, for we believe that failing to do so will deprive the nation
and to the world an important contribution to the food security of our century.

INTRODUCTION:
The population success of the Tahuantinsuyo was mainly due to the nutritious diet.
nutritional that its people enjoyed, which draws attention due to the difficulties that
they had to face such a rigorous geographical space as the Andes. For
to overcome this challenge, the ancient Andean Peruvians created remarkable engineering works,
how the terraces, irrigation channels, and raised beds are. In this way,
after securing his food source that would allow him in the first place
to subsist and then develop their activities both culturally and scientifically, that the
the humble Inca state embarked on its brief journey to become the State
Universal of Andean civilization.

BACKGROUND

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Therefore, we theorize that the Incas, as they were annexing other ethnic groups and
findings, they also saw how their population was no longer increasing arithmetically,
as in their beginnings in Cusco, but geometrically. A situation that moved them to
improve their techniques for obtaining, preparing, and utilizing food
with the aim of creating a nutritious diet.

We propose the hypothesis that these techniques were constantly stimulated to

to develop and improve in the face of latent demographic pressure and its need to
food.

Perhaps this situational framework favored the adoption of various culinary techniques such as roasting,
boil, ferment, roast, sun-dry, and freeze, reached high levels of development

Finally, it should be noted that the Incas did not invent all these techniques, but rather, as
in the case of 'roasting', they learned it from preceding Andean societies such as the
Tiahuanaco, Chincha or Chimú.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOPIC

The technique of 'roasting':

According to Calvo Pérez (2005), currently, the word 'to roast' means to expose the
food directly on the fire or cooking in an oven or enclosed space where,
through the combustion of some material, a high temperature is obtained in order to
to cook, heat, or brown. In Quechua, according to Gonzales de Holguín, the word 'cucani'
(kusay) means both roasting over coals and in an oven.

So, just as in today's menus we can enjoy 'beef roast', of

"roast duck" and "roast chicken", roasting was one of the most popular cooking methods
and therefore of the main ones of the Incan Empire.

There wasn't just one way to roast, but several: this is how roasting was practiced.
grill, to roast over coals, huatia, and to roast in ashes.

Grilling

This roasting method consisted of placing the foods on a grill and exposing them
directly to the fire; the grill or 'barbecue' consisted of four posts on the
they would place a bed of wild cane and above it a roof made of leaves of
palm tree, the fire was ignited underneath the 'barbecue', and the meat was flipped one
or more times. To make fire, wood, coal, branches, and dung were used.
dried camelids.

In his vocabulary, González Holguín names some terms directly.

related to the preparation of this type of barbecue. Thus we find "cancana"
What does 'the grill' or 'grill for roasting' mean, the same as 'cancani' which wants
decir “asar en asador” y “canca” o “cancasca” para “lo asado” y “paru yachini” “asar
with color, flavor, without burning it

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The Andean Peruvian used the grill to roast the meats of guinea pig, llama, and alpaca;
different types of birds, fish, seafood, corn, green ears of tender corn and
dried corn husks.

Grill over embers:

The high Andean inhabitants, Bollinger (1993) points out, placed thin fillets of
alpaca meat directly over the coals for a few seconds before then
turning it over, that way they obtained a juicy meat. It is a traditional way of cooking the
meat that is still practiced by shepherds in the province of Canchis, in Cusco

Huatia:

In 1608, Diego González Holguín attributed the Quechua term 'huatiyani' to the
meaning of 'to grill on a barbecue, on stoves or in embraced holes'. Then, it
they removed the fire and the ashes, arranged the food, and covered it with
land. This is evident today when this technique is used to roast potatoes,
those that, once ready, are called 'huatiya' or 'huatiyasca'

In their vocabulary, other variants of the word can also be found:

“huatiyana” “el hoyo abrasado para asar”, huatiyarini “comenzar a asar así”,
“huatiyarcuni” “acabar de asar”; chau huatiyasca “medio asado”; “huatiyapuni” “tornar a
to burn more the badly roasted

To ash the ashes:

It consisted of bringing the food close to the stove or barbecue, so that it would be cooked with
the small ember protected by the ash. In this way, the tubers were cooked
with skin and whole corn wrapped in their own leaves. González Holguín
presents a word directly related to this technique, 'ñupuni' or 'to grill'
hot embers

2. The technique of 'boiling':

All or almost all foods are susceptible to being cooked in water or another.
liquid. Boiling (t'impuq) was the most important and common cooking technique among the
inhabitants of the Inca State. It was used for the preparation of various foods such as
suckers, puddings, and spicy dishes. Likewise, as it is read in the work of Bernabé Cobo, for the
preparation of mote, "ordinary bread of the common people", and of chicha (aswa or
aqha) which was the most common drink.

The impromptu was also used in the cooking of many foods: meats and
interiors (livers, lungs, intestines, stomach, heart, kidneys); fish;
tubers (potatoes, oca, cassava, achira, sweet potatoes); cereals (corn, quinoa, beans,
pumpkins, squashes, etc.

3. The technique of 'fermenting':

La técnica de fermentación era empleada para la preparación de la “aqha” o “aswa”

(corn chicha). It was a very popular drink for the Incas, as it was not
they used to drink pure water to quench their thirst, but only chicha, and always

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after eating or between meals. About this original Inca custom of not
drinking pure water we recommend consulting the book Good to Eat by the anthropologist
American Marvin Harris.

According to Bernabé Cobo, different types of chicha were prepared, for example,
fermenting corn they obtained corn chicha, fermenting quinoa chicha of
quinoa, also occa, molle, among others were fermented.

Fermentation was also used for the preparation of tocosh, whether from potatoes.
or corn. Regarding tocosh, it was a highly valued preparation as it had the
property of preventing or curing skin infections and respiratory diseases
caused by the cold temperatures of the mountain; currently used to relieve
stomach ulcers.

Finally, this culinary technique was used in the preparation of the "tunta" and the
"moraya"; two preservation processes of potato that are still practiced in the
Andes.

4. The technique of 'toasting'

The Inca Garcilaso de la Vega states that this gastronomic custom was used
to prepare toasted corn; to prepare "pisancalla" or cancha, as well as
also the today world-famous popcorn; likewise for the 'inchik'
hamka” or roasted mani; and for the bean hamka or roasted beans.

In his book Food Techniques of Pre-Columbian Peru, Ciro Hurtado Fuentes (1982)
add that quinoa, cañihua, kiwicha, and pumpkin and squash seeds
they were toasted and then consumed. In this way, by toasting the seeds,
they obtained new dishes for the menu. We also see how the technique of 'toasting'
allowed the Incas to make use of even the seeds, rich in proteins, as food.

It is important to note that the procedure followed for roasting was not uniform throughout the
Tahuantinsuyo, thus, Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (1981) points out that in the Andes it was
it is common to use toasters made from clay, but especially on the coast,
To roast, they buried the grains in the embers or in the hot ashes.

5. The technique of 'freezing'

The main food that was prepared in the Inca Empire using this technique was the
frozen or fresh chuño.
Norio Yamamoto, who in 1986 observed peasant communities in the Andes
cooking fresh chuño, he says that its preparation was simple, as it consisted only of
to scatter sweet or bitter small potatoes over a covered ground of
straw for one or two nights until they are frozen. In the early morning, before
from dawn, they were taken inside the house, where after squeezing them and
All the liquid was extracted and placed in water. Finally, they were served and eaten.

6. The technique of 'sun exposure'

The sun-drying was generally used when one wanted to enhance the sweet flavor of
vegetable foods, such as oca and sweet potatoes. Antúnez de Mayolo asserts that

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some tubers, such as the 'mauca', would become tasteless and difficult to cook if
they were not exposed to the sun before.

7. The preparation of quinoa.

Another technique was the preparation of quinoa. Currently, quinoa is considered

a cereal of very high nutritional value, various campaigns managed by the State
they are trying to boost their national and international consumption. Quinoa was in
truth appreciated, thus Garcilaso our Incan historian claims it was even more
appreciated by those natives who lived in the highest and coldest lands where
corn could not be cultivated. It also points out that Europeans consumed
they gladly used their grains and leaves in different dishes, as they regarded them as healthy and
tasty.

The culinary treatment that quinoa received before being consumed had the purpose of
the purpose is to eliminate a very bitter substance called "saponin" that was found in
the skin of its grains.

Antúnez de Mayolo points out that four forms were practiced:

The first method consisted of washing the seeds in several waters.

The second procedure consisted of rubbing the grains on the grinding stone.

The third procedure was to introduce the quinoa into sand and subject it to insolation.
Having done this, the mixture of sand and quinoa was then trampled, and then subjected to the wind,
which separated the sand, the grain, and the skin.

The fourth method was to roast the grain a bit and then place it in wool bags or
leather, where it was rubbed until the skin was removed

The Culinary Legacy of the Incas

The culinary customs practiced by the Incas are still preserved in the
current knowledge used by the high Andean communities to
surviving the harshness of life in the Andes. Likewise, the national cuisine is
enriching diets by gradually revisiting ancient techniques in preparation
from the foods, obtaining nutritious and delicious results.

For example, we can name:

THE UCHUS is the word used to designate all those dishes based on chili.
or better known on today's menus as 'spicy of..., or chili of...'.

Regarding chili, or known in Quechua as UCHU, Garcilaso pointed out that such was
the appreciation that was given to this condiment that the natives of Peru refused to
to eat a stew that didn't have a piece of uchu on the side.

The use of uchu or ají successfully survived the forgetfulness of national history, and today
it is still enjoyed in the mixed national foods, which have even given rise to the
proliferation of establishments and food stalls very popular with the name
depicanterías, recreation areas, gardens and cevicherías (ceviche is a type of spicy dish).

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We also usually enjoy the flavor of 'uchus' in the RESTAURANTS OF
TYPICAL FOOD or TOURIST RESTAURANTS, tasting aají de gallina, a
spicy lamb, among other delicious stews based on indigenous ingredients.

CHARQUI with mote or cancha is a dish also very consumed in the

Andes of our country. Traditionally it is prepared based on meat or fish with
mote, which is boiled corn, or cancha, which is toasted corn.

Apparently, its consumption occurred throughout Tahuantinsuyo. We make this statement

based on what was said by Francisco de Jerez in his work The True
relation of the conquest of New Castile adds that all the peoples of the Empire
Inca, from Motupe to San Miguel de Piura there was only one way to eat, and
it consisted of meat and dried fish with corn.

THE PACHAMANCA is a very ancient cooking technique that generally consists of

use hot stones and put them in contact with solid foods. The word
Pachamanca is also understood as the EARTH POT.

According to Rosario Olivas Weston (1993), this method of food preparation arrived
to Lima in the early 20th century coming from the central Andes of the country,
convirtiéndose en muy poco tiempo en el plato predilecto de los paseos campestres
limeños, even more preferred than anticuchos. Likewise, it was usually placed in the
pachamanca a well-seasoned suckling lamb or a large kid wrapped in leaves
of banana. Also included were stuffed birds wrapped in the pachamanca and one or two
goat cheese molds. In addition, corn with their respective daughters, sweet potatoes,
cassava, potatoes, and a pot of rice well seasoned with salt, ground chili, and water
necessary.

The preparation method of pachamanca consists of first choosing a place of

dry and slightly stony land. A hole must be dug with a certain depth and width
it will depend on the amount of food that will be cooked. On the coast, it is customary to
dig a deep and narrow hole, while in the central sierra more is dug than
twenty to thirty centimeters and the pachamanca extends wide and upwards.

At the bottom of the hole, a stone stove is made which is filled with firewood, branches,
dry leaves that must burn until the stones turn from red to ash gray.

Once the stones are heated, the oven is disassembled and all the rest is removed.
hot material with a lamp. Then the hot stones are placed at the bottom
from the hole and interspersed between the different layers of food.

According to tradition, before opening the pachamanca, one must ask for permission from the
earth, offering her a bit of chicha or beer. The most important person of the
meeting gives the first lamp and then the pachamanqueros and helpers proceed to
open it and place the food on the platters that are available on the tables
dining guests or at a side table where the dishes are served. The only accompaniment
what the pachamanca accepts is the chili sauce. In the past, the official drink for this
the preparation was chicha. One could also drink wine and a glass of pisco as
digestive. Now beer is being drunk.

COURT OR TOASTED, a small bag of toasted corn was in the times

pre-Columbian and colonial the most common provision among the Indians who roamed the
roads, as noted by Bernabé Cobo in his History of the New World. For his part,

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Murúa claims that the chasquis raised their children by feeding them only corn.
toasted and water with the purpose of making them lighter and faster.

Currently, toasted corn is consumed in Peru, where we know it as

"field", and in Ecuador and Bolivia, where it is called "tostado".

Likewise, the cheese is usually eaten alone or with cow, goat, or sheep cheese or as
complement of jerky, of pork cracklings, of ceviche, also as
dessert with a piece of chancaca. Another way to consume it is to eat it in
replacement of bread, with milk, with honey and with soups.

THE CHICHA This drink has earned the title of 'the wine of the Incas', in part
because the Incas did not drink pure water, as Garcilaso says, to quench their thirst but
only chicha. It is probably due to its widespread consumption that chicha was
made by fermenting various vegetables such as corn, from which it was made the
corn chicha, quinoa to obtain quinoa chicha, cassava, oca and also the
soft.

However, the preparation of all varieties of chicha followed the same

procedure, which consisted of grinding the basic ingredient (corn, quinoa, or cassava),
then dissolve it in water and put it on the heat until it boils. Once boiled, the
prepared was emptied into vessels where it was kept until its fermentation.

Thus, for example, the preparation of corn chicha was done by chewing a part.
of corn to then mix it with the rest of the ingredients, so that it
it obtained the special flavor of the drink. This chicha also had its variants of
according to the level of intoxication that was intended to be experienced. In Quechua, the chicha
corn was known by the name 'aqha' and 'aswa'.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSIONS

Inca culinary techniques were constantly driven to

develop due to the latent increase in population.

Thanks to the high level of development achieved by its culinary techniques, the Inca state
managed to avoid widespread population famines in the Tahuantinsuyo.

Through their advanced culinary techniques, the Incas managed to take advantage of the
different ecological opportunities that eco-floors offered while living with
prosperity.

The culinary techniques of the Incas allowed them to embark on military campaigns.
great distances being too limited by food.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Since the culinary legacy of the Incas is part of our history, it must be
considered and valued as cultural heritage of the nation.

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The different techniques for preparation, preservation and must be disseminated
utilization of the foods used by the Incas since with their use
It is possible to contribute, at low costs, to the enrichment of the diet.
national saving the public treasury important sums of money in vain
wasted trying to implement foreign agricultural and culinary techniques not
suitable for the geographic space of Peru.

The anthropologist Marvin Harris stated in his book 'Good to Eat' that many
Sometimes we do not eat what we want and can, but what our way of life and
culture allows us to eat, under this premise we can assert that the Incas ate
lo que sus costumbres y creencias gastronómicas les permitían comer y no lo que
they wanted or could (physiologically) eat.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANTÚNEZ DE MAYOLO, Santiago E.

1981 Nutrition in ancient Peru. Lima: Central Reserve Bank
from Peru.

BOLLINGER, A.
1993 This is how the Incas were fed. Peace: The friends of the book.

BRAVO QUINTANA, A. AND BRAVO BELTRÁN

2007 Food and nutrition with Andean crops. Lima: UNMSM.

CALVO PÉREZ, J.
2005 Peruvian cuisine Semantic analysis of the lexicon of cooking in
Quechua language. Texas: University of Texas.

COBO, C.
1956 History of the New World. Madrid: library of authors
Spaniards.

CORREA GUTIÉRREZ… [Et al.]; director José Antonio del Busto Duthurburu; Jorge
Rosales Aguirre coordinator.
2004 History of Piura. Piura: UDEP. Research Institute
Humanities.

DEL BUSTO DUTHURBURU, J.

1994 General History of Peru. Volume I. Lima: Brasa.
1988 Inca Peru. Lima: Studium
1998 Three Peruanist Essays. Lima: PUCP.

GONZALES DE HOLGUÍN, D.
1989 Vocabulary of the general language of all of Peru called language
Quechua or of the Inca. Lima: UNMSM.

HARRIS, M.
1999 Good for Eating: Enigmas of Food and Culture. Madrid:
Alianza Editorial.

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HERRERA, C.
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stuffing and cooked for the devil. Lima: USMP.
CÓRDOVA, H.
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PUCP.

HURTADO FUENTES, C
1982 Food technology in pre-Hispanic Peru. Lima: UNMSM.
2000 The food in Tahuantinsuyo. Lima: UNMSM.

JEREZ, F
1968 TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE CONQUEST OF NEW
CASTILLA. Peruvian Library. Volume I. Lima. Technical Publishers
Associates, pp. 191 – 272.

MURÚA, Friar Martín de

1992 History of the Incas, kings of Peru. Lima: Sanmarti. Collection
of books and documents related to the history of Peru. Volume
IV, second series.

MURRA, J.
1975 Economic and political formations of the Andean world. Lima:
IEP.

OLIVAS WESTON, R.
1993 Culture, identity, and cuisine in Peru. Lima. USMP.

PEASE, F.
1998 The Incas. Lima: PUCP.
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YAMAMOTO, N.
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