Why you have the Aztec and the Inca to thank for your favourite food

The Aztec flourished from the 14th to the early 16th century and they relied on a structured food system that centred around a small number of main crops.

Farmers in the Valley of Mexico grew maize on artificial islands known as chinampas.

These floating gardens sat on shallow lakebeds, and they allowed for high crop yields in an otherwise swampy environment.

Farmers built them when they layered mud and vegetation into rectangular platforms that willow trees then anchored.

Under ideal conditions, chinampas could produce three to four harvests per year, which made them among the most productive farming methods of the time. 

Maize, beans, and squash formed the basis of daily meals, and were known together as the “Three Sisters”, as they grew best when planted close together.

The maize plants provided height for the beans to climb, whiel the beans returned nitrogen to the soil and improved fertility.

The squash vines spread out to block weeds and preserve moisture. This arrangement supported reliable harvests and provided needed nutrients to the population. 

Aztec cuisine included other plants that added flavour and nutrients, such as chillies, tomatoes, amaranth, and chia seeds.

Chillies gave food a sharp bite and came in many varieties, grown across central Mexico for thousands of years.

Tomatoes, smaller and more acidic than modern types, featured in sauces and stews.

People also consumed amaranth in tamales or cooked it into a type of porridge.

Chia seeds, valued for their energy and protein, were eaten whole or ground into flour.

Each of these ingredients reached urban markets such as the one at Tlatelolco, where thousands of traders exchanged food, goods, and luxuries from across the empire. 

Cacao had a different purpose, though, and the Aztecs used it for ceremonial and elite consumption.

Nobles and warriors drank cacao mixed with chilli, vanilla, or honey during rituals and feasts.

It was a bitter beverage and rarely appeared in common households. The cacao bean was also used as currency in the empire, and was used in religious practices inherited from the earlier Maya society, who also viewed cacao as sacred and associated it with creation myths. 

Finally, meat had a smaller part of the Aztec diet, although protein came from many sources.

People fished in lakes, hunted birds and deer, and farmed animals such as turkeys and dogs.

Insects, grubs, and larvae were also collected and eaten, particularly during festivals.

These protein sources supported the dietary needs of a civilisation that lacked large domesticated animals. 

The Inca Empire, which grew to power in the 15th century and lasted until the Spanish conquest in 1533, spread across mountains, valleys, and coastal plains.

As a result, the people then adjusted their farming methods to suit each environment.

In the highlands of the Andes, they built stone terraces into the mountainsides.

These terraces slowed water runoff, reduced erosion, and allowed crops to grow in places that would have otherwise been barren. 

Potatoes provided the main food source in the Andes. The Inca continued a tradition of cultivation that had developed over thousands of years, and they grew hundreds of varieties that suited different altitudes and soil conditions.

Archaeological evidence suggests that potato cultivation began around Lake Titicaca more than 7,000 years ago.

To preserve potatoes for long periods, they developed a freeze-drying process that created a product called chuño.

Families stored chuño in underground chambers, and they used it during droughts or poor harvests. 

Inca farmers also grew maize in the lower valleys, where the climate allowed it to thrive.

The crop had a ceremonial use and was used to produce chicha, a fermented maize beer consumed during state rituals and festivals such as Inti Raymi, which honoured the sun god.

The Inca viewed maize as a symbol of imperial strength, and the state managed its distribution through a central storage system. 

Quinoa, another highland crop, was a local grain-like food source that met many of the same dietary needs as wheat or rice, though those grains were unknown to the Inca.

It provided protein and grew well in poor soil. Farmers also cultivated sweet potatoes, peanuts, peppers, and tomatoes.

Each of these foods came from different parts of the empire and reached markets along the Inca road network, which linked ecological zones through a system known as the "vertical archipelago."

This allowed the sharing of crops between highlands, valleys, and coastal areas. 

Animal farming also contributed to the Inca food supply, as llamas and alpacas carried goods, supplied wool, and provided meat.

Guinea pigs, or cuy, were a common source of protein and often featured in religious ceremonies.

People in coastal regions added seafood to their diets, which they gathered using nets and reed rafts. 

The Inca government also organised food storage in storehouses known as qollqas which were located along roads and near major population centres.

Officials monitored supplies, and they sent food to areas facing shortages or disaster.

This system, which used knotted cords called quipus, allowed the Inca to support armies, handle food shortages, and keep control over far provinces. 

Before the 16th century, no one in Europe had tasted a tomato, chilli pepper, potato, or peanut.

These foods had never grown on European soil, and cooks relied on wheat, barley, lentils, and turnips.

The arrival of crops from the Americas in the decades after 1492 disrupted those traditions and introduced flavours that enriched European cooking while adding striking colours and textures to dishes. 

Potatoes:

Potatoes changed agriculture across northern Europe. They thrived in cold climates and grew in poor soil, which made them ideal for countries like Ireland and Germany. By the 18th century, the potato had become a key food for peasants and labourers. It fed millions, helped reduce the impact of grain shortages, and contributed to population growth across the continent. 

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes quickly found their way into Italian cooking. By the 1600s, cooks in Naples created sauces that turned pasta into a national dish. Spain adopted chilli peppers into its regional food, especially in areas like Extremadura. The use of chillies spread from peasant soups to cured meats, where they replaced black pepper. 

Peanuts:

Peanuts, once eaten across South America, made their way into baked goods and cooking oils. They became valuable during the colonial period, particularly in African and Asian cuisines that had adopted them through trade routes. Each of these foods travelled far beyond the borders of the civilisations that first farmed them.

Chocolate and vanilla:

Cacao and vanilla became popular in sweets and desserts. Although the Aztecs and Maya drank cacao without sugar, Europeans added cane sugar and milk to make chocolate drinks and confections. Vanilla, taken from orchid pods grown in Mesoamerica, became one of the most popular flavourings in Europe.

Modern meals owe much to the Aztec and Inca. Their farming practices, crop selections, and storage methods introduced foods that now make up diets around the world.

Maize, first grown on chinampas, appears in everything from breakfast cereals to tortillas.

Potatoes, first freeze-dried in the Andes, sit on dinner plates across Europe, North America, and Asia. 

Fast food restaurants serve fries and burgers with tomato slices and chilli sauces.

Chocolate, once reserved for elite Aztec warriors, now fills supermarket shelves.

Vanilla enhances cakes, custards, and ice creams, while quinoa, marketed today as a health food, nourished Inca farmers centuries ago, though its cultivation declined after the Spanish conquest and only recently regained global prominence. 

The Columbian Exchange, which began in the late 15th century, transferred these crops around the globe, and it changed cuisines in every region.

French, Italian, and Spanish cooking would lack their signature ingredients without the foods first grown in Mesoamerica and the Andes.

The dishes people eat today rely on choices made by farmers who lived long before modern nations formed. 

Without the farming skill of the Aztec and the Inca, kitchens around the world would look much emptier.

Every spoonful of tomato soup, every chocolate dessert, and every bite of roasted potato carries the memory of civilisations that once farmed in lakes and mountains.