It would seem that a potato is a potato is a potato. Not so. The most common type of potato eaten in the world today is the solanum tuberosum, which is directly traced to Inca agriculture. In fact, the solanum tuberosum was one of several hundred potatoes and tubers grown in the Inca Empire.
Today, most potatoes worldwide fall under one of about seven different potato species. In the Andes, roughly 3,000 different potato varieties are grown and sold. Lima, Peru, is home to the International Potato Center, where some 5,000 potato species have been developed.
The Incas cooked potatoes in stews, baked them in coals, and prepared them for storage. The Incas developed chuno, the first freeze-dried potatoes-a precursor to present-day instant mashed potatoes. The potatoes were sliced thin and placed in neat rows outside, where they froze overnight. Each morning for several days, ice crystals were removed from the potato slices until the potatoes were dry. Freeze-dried potatoes fed Inca families through long winters and famines, and were stored in warehouses for feeding the army or hungry citizens. They were also placed at "rest stops" along Inca roads to feed travelers on their trips.
A main ingredient in many over-the-counter medicines people take today for the same problems. Inca cooks added salt and pepper to their foods for flavor and because salt is a dietary necessity. They also consumed mineral lime to add calcium for strong bones.
Every household, whether rural or urban, produced a type of beer made from corn and local berries. The beer, called chicha, was made in large pottery vats and cooled by burying urns partially in the ground or by placing them in icy cold mountain streams. Inca people also drank water from clean mountain springs.
World History
