Inca French Fries/Chips?

Would it have been possible for the Tawantinsuyo, led by its monarch the Inca, to have invented this variation of the potato before the Spanish came along? And would there be any significant changes due to an earlier introduction of it to Europe?
 
It could emerge as an early form of fusion cuisine, with Incans adopting the use of pork and beef tallow for their cooking, with the dish ultimately being introduced to Europe through Spanish sources.
 
They'd have animal fat, I'd suppose. The problem is that wasn't there a lack of protein, and didn't they make that up....with....and I really don't like the way this is going already:eek:
Turkeys definitely, probably capybaras, and i hear they bred dogs for consumption. Were guinea pigs in Mexico? If so, them too.
 
The Incas did not have turkeys. They had Guinea Pigs, and Llamas. Plus whatever they could hunt.

To answer the main question: I guess so. Probaly just a random series of butterfly effects.
 
People in this thread seem to have the Inca confused with the Aztecs. The Aztecs lived in what's now Mexico, while the Inca lived in what's now Peru (generally Western South America).

And it was the Aztecs who practiced cannibalism. Actually, I'm not sure that the Inca didn't, but the Aztecs are sort of famous for it. It's theorized that that was one of the ways they made up for the lack of protein in their diets.
 
Well, French Fries wouldn't be called like that, right? Inca Fries? mmm sounds strange... maybe just "fried potatos" like in spanish. But what if they really made them in OTL? There are many things we don't know about andean cultures ;)

Yeah, they had guinea pigs. We still have them in Peru and breed them for food.

I remember reading that the Wanka had a doglike god called Wallallu Carwinchu, and in his honor they ate dogs. But there are other cultures that cared about the dogs as much as human beings, to the point of mummyfying and burying them just like a person. The custom disappeared between the Wanka at some point (A legend tells that Wallallu was defeated by another god, and was enclosed inside a mountain).

And yes, Mexico is very far away from Peru. I've noticed that the confussion is very common. By the way, the spanish chroniclers wrote about some places where they practiced cannibalism, but the Incas forbade it when they conquered them.
 
We're still skirting the edge of the real problem here. Of course in Inca had fat - no human civilisation can survive without it. Animal fats can be rendered from almost any species (very efficiently from many marine mammals and birds, with the penguin being named for the fact). Thousands of plants make more or less effective oilseeds.

To get the oil to the required temperature is a different issue. You can do it by heating a pottery vessel *in* hot coals. Eventually (if you're nuts enough) this can be brought to red heat. Regulating it is tricky. Unglazed porttery, even of the highest quality, has a way of lettting liquids seep in, and you hae to deal with occasional flameouts from fat diffusing through the walls. Deep-frying in pottery of any kind is a risky proposition because if the vesels splits (as pottery will, sooner or later, no matter how good you are) you're nmot just looking at a loss of some perfectly good food, but also a major fire hazard. Glazed or unglazed earthenware only makes a marginal difference. Real porcelain or hot-fired stoneware are much better. But the thing that makes deep-frying an easy and relatively risk-free technique is a metal vessel - 100% fatproof, high heat conductivity, not prone to bursting or serious overheating and able to work with even a relatively small fire.

I'm not sure gold is the ticket.

So while it is possible for Pre-Columbian Andean civilisations to invent chips, making them would be the preserve of seriously skilled cooks and probably very wasteful of fuel and time. Given the narrow margin of survival that characterised most of them, it would be the quintessential luxury food.
 
Actually, appart from the odd bit of cannibalism, the Aztec diet was mostly vegetarian...

[MrP] :):):):) [/MrP] :p

The Incas had a bit more meat in their diet, but then they had the advantage of large(ish) domestic animals to slaughter...

I can't think of an example of Incan cannibalism, though...
 
People in this thread seem to have the Inca confused with the Aztecs.
Oops.

That's the amusingly named Wanka tribe of Peru you're thinking of there. Most of the Tawantinsuya considered that (and them) taboo.
See above. I was thinking about the Aztecs for some strange reason. And now, I feel stupid.

But the thing that makes deep-frying an easy and relatively risk-free technique is a metal vessel - 100% fatproof, high heat conductivity, not prone to bursting or serious overheating and able to work with even a relatively small fire.

I'm not sure gold is the ticket.
How about copper? The Chimu were quite good at copper working. I was reading that they could do bronze as well. I'm not sure how expensive copper kettles would be to them, but i'm guessing very.
 
I get the image of some incas eating chips in front of a TV-like box with no content, like the ones you see in shows like the Flintstones.
 

MrP

Banned
So while it is possible for Pre-Columbian Andean civilisations to invent chips, making them would be the preserve of seriously skilled cooks and probably very wasteful of fuel and time. Given the narrow margin of survival that characterised most of them, it would be the quintessential luxury food.

That's a splendid image - the luxury food exported to Europe after first contact, and assorted monarchs nibbling on chips and dips. :D
 
That's a splendid image - the luxury food exported to Europe after first contact, and assorted monarchs nibbling on chips and dips. :D

It makes perfect sense, really - deep-frying was a status cooking technique in Renaissance Euroipe. Recipe books from the time give instructionsd on how to deep-fry every root, tuber, vegetable or fruit they can come up with, so it fits very nicely.

Copper does well for deep-frying. Still pricey, though.
 
And it was the Aztecs who practiced cannibalism. Actually, I'm not sure that the Inca didn't, but the Aztecs are sort of famous for it. It's theorized that that was one of the ways they made up for the lack of protein in their diets.

The Incas didn't practice cannivalism. It was taboo. They were horrified with those who did. They claim that before they came to rule Peru, the people were savages, and some practiced cannivalism. This may show cannibalism was practiced in the area before them; but possibly it's just something they made up to highlight thir roll as "civilizers".

I think cannivalim was indeed practiced by some tribal groups in the jungle with whom the Incas had contact, but I'm not certain.
 
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