Our third part of the series celebrating Latino heritage month highlighting interesting things about Pre-Columbian America is dedicated to the wonderful foods of the Americas. We are also highlighting some of the unique qualities of these foods.

Loroco

1. Loroco is native to Central America.
2. In El Salvador it is used in pupusas, a very popular Salvadoran dish.
3. Loroco was also called “quilite” by the Pre-Columbian inhabitants of Central America.
4. Loroco can be planted from cuttings, or from seeds.
5. This plant has flowers and it is used as an herb.

Tomato

1. Tomatoes are native to the Americas.
2. The name tomato comes from the Nahuatl word tomatl.
3. There are 360 varieties of tomatoes.
4. Tomatoes were thought to be poisonous.
5. Tomatoes did not reach Europe until the 1550’s.

Potato

1. Potatoes were domesticated in the Andes Mountains in South America.
2. Potatoes are tubers, they are not roots.
3. Potatoes were only consumed in the Andes Mountain until the year 1531.
4. There are 4,000 varieties of potatoes and 180 wild potatoes.
5. Potatoes can be cultivated up an elevation of 4700 meters above sea level.

Lucuma

1. The trees that grow the fruit live on the coastal plain as well as the Andes Mountains.
2. It has 2 large brown seeds inside the fruit.
3. The lacuna is used to make fruit drinks and ice cream.
4. The flavor is described as similar in taste to butterscotch or maple syrup.
5. In Peru they make a dessert with it called "manjar de lúcuma".

Chocolate

1. The seeds were used as currency in the Aztec empire, even to pay taxes.
2. Cacao is originally from Mexico.
3. It was consumed as a spicy beverage.
4. The Aztec term for cacao was cacahuatl.
5. The Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs all drank the product from cacao.

Corn / Maize

1. Corn was domesticated in the Americas 10,000 years ago.
2. In some parts of Mexico, the wild grass that corn was domesticated from called teosinte still exists.
3. The difference between wild and domesticated corn is one gene.
4. Teosinte is a word of Nahuatl origin and it can be interpreted to mean “grain of the gods".
5. Maize, domesticated corn, requires humans to plant it to grow.

Chayote / huisquil

1. Native to Mexico and Central America.
2. The tuber of the plant is eaten once boiled.
3. The plant can grow by using seeds or by cuttings.
4. It can be planted year round.
5. It can be a vegetable and spice. It is high in vitamin C and amino acids.

Sweet Potatoes

1. From the West Indies.
2. This potato grows in hot climates.
3. Thor Heyerdahl proposed that Pre-Columbian Incas took sweet potatoes as they traveled to Polynesia.
4. The sweet potato may be as old as 8,000 BCE.
5. The roots can be boiled, baked, cooked, or eaten.

Quinoa

1. Was called “chisaya mama” by the Incas.
2. Quinoa is high in lysine and isoleucine.
3. Quinoa was used in religious ceremonies by the indigenous population.
4. It can be used in desserts, soups, and tamales.
5. Quinoa is known as a superfood.

Chili Peppers

1. There are 26 types of chili peppers, of which two were domesticated in Mexico; the tabasco pepper and the rocoto pepper.
2. Pre-Columbian trade brought chili peppers to the Caribbean.
3. They were domesticated in Mexico 5,800 to 6,500 years ago.
4. The peppers were used as spices for maize.
5. Chili peppers can grow in the Highlands of Mexico.

Tobacco

1. The tobacco plant is part of the same family of plants as the potato and the pepper.
2. Tobacco began growing in the Americas in 6,000 BCE.
3. Tobacco leaves were chewed for medical properties.
4. The cigarette was created in the mid 19th century.
5. Tobacco was used as an antiseptic in the Americas.