I'm not certain of the veracity of the sources I've uncovered (mainly nutrition blogs, unfortunately), but apparently the Incan armies were sustained on the march by "war balls", a mixture of quinoa and fat. What other "powerbars" existed in other pre-industrial ethnic groups and civilizations, for either military use or food security? Bonus: create your own powerbar using foods available to given peoples at various points in history.
Powerbars of the ancient world
- Thread starter cincpac overboard
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Pemmican/pimihkan? It was a mix of principally berries, dried meat, and animal fat used by Native Americans in northwestern America.
Mincemeat? In terms of ingredients, early instances were fairly similar to pemmican or "war balls," consisting of minced meat (hence the name), dried fruits, and edible fat (plus spices and sometimes brandy or vinegar or the like). Over time the meat often was dropped, but originally it was more or less the same idea.
In practical terms, my guess (and it is a guess) is that the "march food" role was filled by various types of pies, using very thick crusts that would keep the ingredients edible for fairly long periods of time.
My own first attempt at a Mesoamerican powerbar would be the following: Amaranth and beans (for protein) mixed into a base of queso de tuna (high-carb jelly made from the fruit of the prickly pear cactus) wrapped in a roasted maguey leaf for preservation. I didn't add fat because a don't know of a vegetable source in Mesoamerican agriculture plus I don't know how widespread turkey and rabbit husbandry was in the region.