Native American cuisine includes all food practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

. Information about Native American cuisine comes from a great variety of sources. Modern-day native peoples retain a rich body of traditional foods, some of which have become iconic of present-day Native American social gatherings (for example, frybread

Frybread

Frybread is a Native American food found throughout the United States. Frybread is a flat dough fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard. The dough is generally leavened by yeast or baking powder....

). Foods like cornbread

Cornbread

Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and leavened by baking powder.-History:Native Americans were using ground corn for food thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the New World...

, turkey

Turkey (bird)

A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

, cranberry

Cranberry

Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...

, blueberry

Blueberry

Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...

, hominy

Hominy

Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization.The English term hominy is derived from the Powhatan language word for maize. Many other Native American cultures also made hominy and integrated it into their diet...

 and mush are known to have been adopted into the cuisine of the United States from Native American groups. In other cases, documents from the early periods of contact with European, African, and Asian peoples allow the recovery of food practices which passed out of popularity.

Modern-day Native American cuisine can somewhat cover as wide of range as the imagination of the chef who adopts or adapts this cuisine to the present. The use of indigenous domesticated and wild food ingredients can represent Native American food and cuisine. North American Native Cuisine can differ somewhat from Southwestern and Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 Cuisine in its simplicity and directness of flavor. The use of ramps, wild ginger, miners' lettuce, and juniper can impart subtle flavours to various dishes. Native American food is one of living flavours and ideas. Different ingredients can change the whole meaning of Native American cuisine. A chef preparing a Native American dish can adopt, create, and alter as his or her imagination dictates.

Native American cuisine of North America

The essential staple foods of the Eastern Woodlands Aboriginal Americans were maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 (also called "corn"), beans, and squash

Squash (fruit)

Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker...

. These were called the "Three Sisters

Three Sisters (agriculture)

The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups in North America: squash, maize, and climbing beans ....

," because they were planted interdependently: the beans grew up the tall stalks of the maize, while the squash spread out at the base of the three plants and provided protection and support for the root system. A number of other domesticated crops were also popular during some time periods in the Eastern Woodlands, including a local version of quinoa

Quinoa

Quinoa , a species of goosefoot , is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family...

, a variety of amaranth

Amaranth

Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold...

, sumpweed/marsh elder, little barley, maygrass, and sunflower

Sunflower

Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...

.

In the Northwest of what is now the United States, Native Americans used salmon and other fish, seafood, mushrooms, berries, and meats such as deer, duck, and rabbit. Rum was popular, having first been introduced to the Western Hemisphere by Chistopher Columbus. In contrast to the Easterners, the Northwestern aboriginal peoples were principally hunter-gatherers. The generally mild climate meant they did not need to develop an economy based upon agriculture but instead could rely year-round on the abundant food supplies of their region. In what is now California, acorns were ground into a flour that was the principal foodstuff for about seventy-five percent of the population, and dried meats were prepared during the season when drying was possible.

Southeastern Native American cuisine

Southeastern Native American

Southeastern tribes

Southeastern Woodlands peoples or Southeastern cultures are an ethnographic classification for Indigenous peoples that have traditionally inhabited the Southeastern United States and the northeastern border of Mexico, that share common cultural traits....

 culture has formed the cornerstone of Southern cuisine from its origins till the present day. From Southeastern Native American culture came one of the main staples of the Southern diet: corn (maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

), either ground into meal or limed with an alkaline salt to make hominy

Hominy

Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization.The English term hominy is derived from the Powhatan language word for maize. Many other Native American cultures also made hominy and integrated it into their diet...

, using a Native American technology known as nixtamalization

Nixtamalization

Nixtamalization typically refers to a process for the preparation of maize , or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater, and hulled. The term can also refer to the removal via an alkali process of the pericarp from other grains such as sorghum...

. Corn was used to make all kinds of dishes from the familiar cornbread and grits to liquors such as whiskey, which were important trade items. Though a lesser staple, potatoes were also adopted from Native American cuisine and were used in many ways similar to corn.
Native Americans introduced the first non-Native American Southerners to many other vegetables still familiar on southern tables. Squash

Squash (fruit)

Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker...

, pumpkin

Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...

, many types of beans, tomatoes (though Europeans initially considered them poisonous), many types of pepper

Capsicum

Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...

s, and sassafras

Sassafras

Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...

 all came to the settlers via the native tribes.

Many fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

s are available in this region. Muscadine

Muscadine

Muscadines are a grapevine species native to the present-day southeastern United States that has been extensively cultivated since the 16th Century. It differs from Vitis spp. in its number of chromosomes and its morphology...

s, blackberries

Blackberry

The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...

, raspberries

Raspberry

The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...

, and many other wild berries were part of Southern Native Americans' diet.
Southeastern Native Americans also supplemented their diets with meats derived from the hunting of native game. Venison

Venison

Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...

 was an important meat staple, due to the abundance of white-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

 in the area. They also hunted rabbits, squirrels, opossums, and raccoons. Livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

, adopted from Europeans, in the form of hogs and cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 were kept. When game or livestock was killed, the entire animal was used. Aside from the meat, it was not uncommon for them to eat organ meats such as liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

, brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

s, and intestine

Intestine

In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...

s. This tradition remains today in hallmark dishes like chitterlings

Chitterlings

Chitterlings are the intestines of a pig, although cattle and other animals' intestines are similarly used, that have been prepared as food. In various countries across the world, such food is prepared and eaten either as part of a daily diet, or at special events, holidays or religious...

, commonly called chitlins, which are the fried large intestine

Intestine

In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...

s of hogs; livermush

Livermush

Livermush is a Southern United States food product composed of pig liver, head parts, and cornmeal. It is commonly spiced with pepper and sage...

, a common dish in the Carolinas made from hog liver; and pork brains and eggs. The fat of the animals, particularly of hogs, was rendered and used for cooking and frying. Many of the early settlers were taught Southeastern Native American cooking methods.

Dishes

• Acorn
  Acorn
  The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
  
   bread
• Acorn mush, from the Miwok
  Miwok
  Miwok can refer to any one of four linguistically related groups of Native Americans, native to Northern California, who spoke one of the Miwokan languages in the Utian family...
  
   people
• Akutaq
  Akutaq
  Akutaq or agutak , also known as Eskimo ice cream, is a common food in western Alaska, consisting of whipped fat mixed with berries, with optional additions such as fish and sugar...
  
  , also called "Eskimo ice cream," made from caribou or moose tallow and meat, berries, seal oil, and sometimes fish, whipped together with snow or water.
• Bean bread, made with corn meal and beans, popular among the Cherokee
  Cherokee
  The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
  
  
• Bird brain stew, from the Cree
  Cree
  The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
  
   nation
• Black drink
  Black drink
  Black drink was the name given by colonists to a ritual beverage called Asi, brewed by Native Americans in the Southeastern United States...
  
   or asi, a Southeastern ceremonial drink made from the yaupon holly
  Yaupon Holly
  Ilex vomitoria, commonly known as Yaupon or Yaupon Holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America. The word yaupon was derived from its Catawban name, yopún, which is a diminutive form of the word yop, meaning "tree". Another common name, Cassina, was borrowed from the...
  
  
• Buffalo stew, from the Lakota people, also called tanka-me-a-lo
• Chinook olives
  Chinook olives
  The aboriginal people of the Columbia river valley used urine to cure acorns. The settlers of European origin in that region gave the dish the name Chinook Olives....
  
  , a type of cured acorn eaten by the aboriginal people of the Columbia River Valley.
• Cornbread
  Cornbread
  Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and leavened by baking powder.-History:Native Americans were using ground corn for food thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the New World...
  
  
• Dried meat
  Dried meat
  Dried meat is a feature of many cuisines around the world. Examples include:* Bakkwa or rougan a Chinese salty-sweet dried meat product made in the form of flat thin sheets* Biltong, a kind of cured meat that originated in South Africa...
  
  s like jerky
  Jerky (food)
  Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then been dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed. The word "jerky" is a bastardization of the...
  
   and smoked salmon
  Salmon
  Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
  
   strips
• Filé
  File
  File or filing may refer to:Tools:* File * Filing * Nail filePaper or computer records:* File folder, a folder for holding loose papers* Filing cabinet or file cabinet...
  
   powder, made from sassafras leaves, used by the Choctaw
  Choctaw
  The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
  
   for flavoring and thickening soups and stews as well as for herbal medicine
• Frybread
  Frybread
  Frybread is a Native American food found throughout the United States. Frybread is a flat dough fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard. The dough is generally leavened by yeast or baking powder....
  
  , a dish made from ingredients distributed to Native Americans living on reservations
  Indian reservation
  An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
  
  
• Green chili stew
• Mutton stew, from the Navajo people
• Nokake, Algonquian
  Algonquian peoples
  The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
  
   hoecakes made of cornmeal
• Pemmican
  Pemmican
  Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree word pimîhkân, which itself is derived from the word pimî, "fat, grease". It was invented by the native peoples of North America...
  
  , a concentrated food consisting of dried pulverized meat, dried berries, and rendered fat
• Piki bread, from the Hopi
  Hopi
  The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
  
   people
• Psindamoakan, a Lenape
  Lenape
  The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
  
   hunter's food made of parched cornmeal mixed with maple sugar
• Pueblo bread
• Salted salmon, an Inuit dish of brined salmon
  Salmon
  Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
  
   in a heavy concentration of salt water, left for months to soak up salts.
• Sapan (ˈsaːpːʌn), cornmeal mush, a staple of Lenape cuisine
• Stink fish, an Inuit dish of dried fish, kept underground until ripe, for later consumption; also done with fish heads.
• Succotash
  Succotash
  Succotash is a food dish consisting primarily of corn and lima beans or other shell beans. Other ingredients may be added including tomatoes and green or sweet red peppers. Because of the relatively inexpensive and more readily available ingredients, the dish was popular during the Great...
  
  , a dish of beans and corn
• Tiswin
  Tiswin
  Tiswin is a North American Indian alcoholic beverage brewed from corn. Tiswin is the sacred saguaro beer/wine of the Tohono O'odham, a group of aboriginal Americans who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico....
  
  , a term used for several fermented beverages in the Southwest, including a corn or fruit beer of the Apache
  Apache
  Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
  
   and a saguaro
  Saguaro
  The saguaro is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California, U.S...
  
   sap beer of the Tohono O'odham
  Tohono O'odham
  The Tohono O'odham are a group of Native American people who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico...
  
  
• Walrus flipper soup, an Inuit dish made from walrus
  Walrus
  The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
  
   flippers
• Wojape, a Plains Indian pudding of mashed, cooked berries

Native American cuisine of the Circum-Caribbean

This region comprises the cultures of the Arawaks, the Caribs, and the Ciboney

Ciboney

The Ciboney were pre-Columbian indigenous inhabitants of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The name Ciboney derives from the indigenous Taíno people which means Cave Dwellers; evidence has shown that a number of the Ciboney people have lived in caves at some time. Over the years, many...

. The Taíno

Taíno people

The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...

 of the Greater Antilles

Greater Antilles

The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...

 were the first New World

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...

 people to encounter Columbus. Prior to European contact, these groups foraged, hunted, fished. The Taíno cultivated cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, sweet potato

Sweet potato

The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

, maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, beans, squash, pineapple

Pineapple

Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...

, peanut

Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

, and peppers

Capsicum

Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...

. Today these groups have mostly vanished, but their culinary legacy lives on.

• Barbacoa
  Barbacoa
  Barbacoa is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, from which the term "barbecue" derives. In contemporary Mexico it generally refers to meats or a whole sheep slow-cooked over an open fire, or more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground covered with...
  
  , the origin of the English
  English language
  English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
  
   word barbecue
  Barbecue
  Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
  
  , a method of slow-grilling meat over a fire pit
• Jerk
  Jamaican jerk spice
  Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica in which meat is dry-rubbed or wet marinated with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. Jerk seasoning is traditionally applied to pork and chicken. Modern recipes also apply jerk spice mixes to fish, shrimp, shellfish, beef, sausage,...
  
  , a style of cooking meat that originated with the Taíno of Jamaica
  Jamaica
  Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
  
  . Meat was applied with a dry rub of allspice
  Allspice
  Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
  
  , Scotch bonnet pepper, and perhaps additional spices, before being smoked over fire or wood charcoal.
• Casabe, a crispy, thin flatbread made from cassava root widespread in the Pre-Columbian Caribbean and Amazonia.
• Bammy
  Bammy
  Bammy or bami is a traditional Jamaican cassava flatbread descended from the simple flatbread eaten by the Arawaks, Jamaica's original inhabitants. Today, it is produced in many rural communities and sold in stores and by street vendors in Jamaica and abroad.Bammies have been consumed since...
  
  , a Jamaican fried bread made from cassava and coconut milk or water.
• Guanime, a Puerto Rican
  Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
  
   food similar to the tamale
  Tamale
  A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...
  
  .
• Funche or fungi, a corn mush traditional to Puerto Rico.
• Cassareep
  Cassareep
  Cassareep is a thick black liquid made from cassava root, often with additional spices, which is used as a base for many sauces and especially in Guyanese pepperpot. Besides use as a flavoring and browning agent, it also acts as a preservative...
  
  , a sauce, condiment, or thickening agent made by boiling down the extracted juices of bitter cassava root.
• Pepperpot
  Guyana Pepperpot
  Not to be confused with the Jamaican name for Callaloo, a soup or stew made with dark greens.Guyanese Pepperpot is an Amerindian derived dish popular in Guyana...
  
  , a spicy stew of Taino origin based on meat, vegetables, chili peppers, and boiled-down cassava juice, with a legacy stretching from Jamaica
  Jamaica
  Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
  
   to Guyana
  Guyana
  Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
  
  .
• Bush teas, popular as herbal remedies in the Virgin Islands
  Virgin Islands
  The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
  
   and other parts of the Caribbean, often derive from indigenous sources, such as ginger thomas, soursop
  Soursop
  The Soursop is tripti broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree native to Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, Colombia and Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Soursop is also native to sub-Saharan African countries that lie within the tropics. Today, it is also grown in some areas...
  
  , inflamation bush, kenip, wormgrass, worry wine, and many other leaves, barks, and herbs.
• Ouicou, a fermented, cassava-based beer brewed by the Caribs of the Lesser Antilles
  Lesser Antilles
  The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
  
  .
• Taumali
  Tomalley
  Tomalley or lobster paste is the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of lobsters, that fulfills the functions of both the liver and the pancreas. Tomalley corresponds to the hepatopancreas in other arthropods...
  
   or taumalin, a Carib sauce made from the green liver meat of lobsters, chile pepper, and lime juice.

Native American cuisine of Mesoamerica

The pre-conquest

Spanish colonization of the Americas

Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...

 cuisine of the Native Americans

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 of Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...

 made a major contribution to shaping modern-day Mexican cuisine

Mexican cuisine

Mexican cuisine, a style of food that originates in Mexico, is known for its varied flavors, colourful decoration and variety of spices and ingredients, most of which are native to the country. The cuisine of Mexico has evolved through thousands of years of blending indigenous cultures, with later...

. The cultures involved included the Aztec

Aztec

The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

, Maya

Maya civilization

The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...

, Olmec

Olmec

The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....

, and many more (see the List of pre-Columbian civilizations).

Some known dishes

• Alegría, a candy made from puffed amaranth and boiled-down honey
  Honey
  Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
  
   or maguey sap, in ancient times formed into the shapes of Aztec
  Aztec
  The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
  
   gods
• Balché
  Balché
  Balché is a mildly intoxicating beverage common among ancient and indigenous cultures in areas of what is now Mexico and upper Central America. Today the drink is still common among the Yucatec Maya, and is made from the bark of a leguminous tree , which is soaked in honey and water, and fermented...
  
  , Mayan fermented honey drink
• Champurrado, a chocolate drink
• Chili
  Chili pepper
  Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
  
  
• Guacamole
  Guacamole
  Guacamole , is an avocado-based dip that originated in Mexico. It is traditionally made by mashing ripe avocados with a molcajete with sea salt. Some recipes call for limited tomato, spicy Asian spices such as white onion, lime juice, and/or additional seasonings.-History:Guacamole was made by...
  
  
• Mezcal
  Mezcal
  Mezcal, or mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant native to Mexico. The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl metl and ixcalli which mean 'oven cooked agave.'...
  
  
• Mole
  Mole (sauce)
  Mole is the generic name for a number of sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces...
  
  
• Pejelagarto
  Pejelagarto
  Pejelagarto is the Spanish name for the large freshwater gar very common in the Mexican Southeast and particularly in the state of Tabasco. They are notable for their primitive appearance, and the family to which they belong, the Lepisosteidae, appeared during the Cretaceous and have survived to...
  
  , a fish with an alligator-like head seasoned with the amashito chile and lime
• Pozole
  Pozole
  Pozole is a ritually significant, traditional pre-Columbian soup or stew from Mexico. Pozole was mentioned in Fray Bernardino de Sahagún's "General History of the Things of New Spain" circa 1500 CE. It is made from nixtamalized cacahuazintle corn, with meat, usually pork, chicken, turkey, pork...
  
  
• Pulque
  Pulque
  Pulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
  
   or octli, an alcoholic beverage of fermented maguey juice
• Salsa
  Salsa (sauce)
  Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine, particularly those used as dips. In British English, the word typically refers to salsa cruda, which is common in Mexican ,...
  
  
• Taco
  Taco
  A taco is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety...
  
  s
• Tamale
  Tamale
  A tamale — or more correctly tamal — is a traditional Latin American dish made of masa , which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. The wrapping is discarded before eating...
  
  s
• Tepache
  Tepache
  The tepache is a drink made out of the flesh and rind of the pineapple, sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon and sometimes beer. Tepache does not have a high quantity of alcohol, since it is left to ferment for only about three days. The alcohol comes mostly from the addition of a small amount...
  
  , pineapple beer
• Tlacoyo
  Tlacoyo
  Tlacoyos are oval shaped fried or toasted cakes made of masa. They are similar to fresh corn tortillas, but are somewhat torpedo-shaped and fatter. Tlacoyos are stuffed with refried beans, cheese, fava beans, chicharron or other ingredients. Tlacoyos are often served as an accompaniment to soups...
  
  s (gordita
  Gordita
  A gordita in Mexican cuisine is a corn cake made with masa harina and stuffed with cheese, meat or other fillings. It is similar to a pasty and to the Colombian/Venezuelan arepa. Gordita means "little fat one" in Spanish. A gordita is typically fried in a deep wok-shaped comal or baked on a...
  
  )
• Tortilla
  Tortilla
  In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
  
  s
• Pupusa
  Pupusa
  A pupusa is a traditional Salvadoran dish made of thick, hand-made corn tortilla that is usually filled with a blend of the following: cheese , cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency...
  
  s, thick cornmeal flatbread from the Pipil culture of El Salvador
  El Salvador
  El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
  
  
• Xocolātl

Native American cuisine of South America

Andean cultures

This currently includes recipes known from the Quechua, Aymara and Nazca

Nazca culture

The Nazca culture was the archaeological culture that flourished from 100 to 800 CE beside the dry southern coast of Peru in the river valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca drainage and the Ica Valley...

 of the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

.

• Grilled guinea pig
  Guinea pig
  The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
  
  , a native to most of the Andes
  Andes
  The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
  
   region this small rodent has been culivated for at least 4000 years
• Fried green tomatoes
  Fried green tomatoes (food)
  Fried green tomatoes are a side dish usually found in the Southern United States, made from unripe tomatoes coated with cornmeal and fried.-Traditional preparation:...
  
  , a nightshade relative native to Peru
  Peru
  Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
  
  
• Saraiaka, a corn liquor.
• Chicha
  Chicha
  For the musical genre, see Peruvian cumbiaChicha is a term used in some regions of Latin America for several varieties of fermented and non-fermented beverages, rather often to those derived from maize and similar non-alcoholic beverages...
  
  , a generic name for any number of indigenous beers found in South America. Though chichas made from various types of corn are the most common in the Andes, chicha in the Amazon Basin
  Amazon Basin
  The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
  
   frequently use manioc. Variations found throughout the continent can be based on amaranth
  Amaranth
  Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold...
  
  , quinoa
  Quinoa
  Quinoa , a species of goosefoot , is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family...
  
  , peanut
  Peanut
  The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
  
  , potato
  Potato
  The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
  
  , coca
  Coca
  Coca, Erythroxylum coca, is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. The plant plays a significant role in many traditional Andean cultures...
  
  , and many other ingredients.
• Chicha morada
  Chicha morada
  Chicha morada is a non-alcoholic beverage originally from Peru. The drink is made from purple corn, a variant of Zea mays native to the Peruvian Andes. Its use and consumption dates back to the pre-colonial era of Peru, even prior to the creation of the Inca empire...
  
  , a Peruvian, sweet, unfermented drink made from purple corn, fruits, and spices.
• Colada morada
  Colada morada
  Colada morada is a typical Ecuadorian beverage prepared with black corn flour and fruits such as naranjilla, babaco, pineapple, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries...
  
  , a thickened, spiced fruit drink based on the Andean blackberry, traditional to the Day of the Dead
  Day of the Dead
  Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality...
  
   ceremonies held in Ecuador
  Ecuador
  Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
  
  . It is typically served with guagua de pan
  Guagua de pan
  A guagua de pan is a type of roll shaped and decorated in the form of a small child or infant. They are generally made of wheat and sometimes contain a sweet filling...
  
  , a bread shaped like a swaddled infant (formerly made from cornmeal in Pre-Columbian times), though other shapes can be found in various regions.
• Quinoa
  Quinoa
  Quinoa , a species of goosefoot , is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family...
  
   Porridge
  Porridge
  Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...
  
  
• Ch'arki
  Charqui
  Charqui or charque, is a form of jerky common in South America made from dried and salted meat, originally llama where this animal roamed, nowadays mostly beef. Llama is still widely used in Bolivia. This curing was done so the meat could be stored for a long period. This was a very popular way to...
  
  , a type of dried meat
• Humitas, similar to modern-day Tamales, a thick mixture of corn, herbs and onion, cooked in a corn-leaf wrapping. The name is modern, meaning bow-tie, because of the shape in which it's wrapped.
• Mate de coca
• Pachamanca
  Pachamanca
  Pachamanca is a traditional Peruvian dish based on the baking, with the aid of hot stones , of lamb, mutton, pork, chicken or guinea pig, marinated in spices...
  
  , stew cooked in a hautía oven
• Pataska, spicy stew made from boiled maize, potatoes, and dried meat.
• Ceviche
  Ceviche
  Ceviche is a seafood dish popular in the coastal regions of the Americas, especially Central and South America. The dish is typically made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices such as lemon or lime and spiced with chilli peppers. Additional seasonings such as onion, salt,...
  
  , marinated in acidic tumbo juice in Pre-Columbian times
• Cancha or tostada
  Tostada
  Tostada is a Spanish word which literally means "toasted". It is used in Latin America to name several different traditional local dishes which have in common the fact they are toasted or use a toasted ingredient as the main base of their preparation. There is a gender difference between "tostada"...
  
  , fried golden hominy
• Llajwa
  Llajwa
  Llajua or llajwa is a hot sauce prepared from hot chili peppers called locotos and tomato. Sometimes onions are added, and one of two seasoning herbs cultivated especially for this purpose: kilkiña in Cochabamba and wakataya in the Altiplano and other valleys of Bolivia...
  
  , salsa
  Salsa (sauce)
  Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine, particularly those used as dips. In British English, the word typically refers to salsa cruda, which is common in Mexican ,...
  
   of Bolivia
  Bolivia
  Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
  
  
• Llapingachos
  Llapingachos
  Llapingacho is a famous dish in Ecuador. They are potato patties or thick pancakes stuffed with cheese and cooked on a hot griddle until crispy brown....
  
  , mashed-potato cakes from Ecuador
  Ecuador
  Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
  
  
• Tocosh
  Tocosh
  Tocosh is a traditional Quechua food prepared from fermented potato pulp . It is often prepared for celebration events and has a strong odor and flavor. Tocosh can be used as a natural antibiotic because penicillin is produced during the fermentation process...
  
   (Togosh), a traditional Quechua food prepared from fermented potato pulp

Other South American cultures

• Arepa
  Arepa
  An arepa is a dish made of ground corn dough or cooked flour, popular in Colombia, Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. It is similar in shape to the Salvadoran pupusa...
  
  , a maize-based bread originating from the indigenous peoples of Colombia
  Colombia
  Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
  
   and Venezuela
  Venezuela
  Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
  
  
• Angu
  Polenta
  Polenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal. The word "polenta" is borrowed from Italian.-Description:Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal , which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier...
  
  , an indigenous Brazil
  Brazil
  Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
  
  ian type of corn mush
• Pamonha
  Pamonha
  Pamonha is a traditional Brazilian food. It is a paste made from fresh corn and milk, boiled wrapped in corn husks. Variations may include coconut milk. Pamonhas can be savoury or sweet, the latter being the norm in north-east Brazil...
  
  , a Brazilian tamale
• Cauim
  Cauim
  Cauim is a traditional alcoholic beverage or beer of the indigenous peoples in Brazil since pre-Columbian times. It is still made today in remote areas throughout Panama and South America. Cauim is made by fermenting manioc , or maize, sometimes flavored with fruit juices...
  
  , a fermented beverage based on maize or manioc broken down by the enzymes of human saliva, traditional to the Tupinambá and other indigenous peoples of Brazil
• Maniçoba
  Maniçoba
  Maniçoba is a festive dish in Brazilian cuisine, especially from the Amazonian region. It is of indigenous origin, and is made with leaves of the Manioc plant that have been finely ground and boiled for a week...
  
  , dish of boiled manioc leaves and smoked meat indigenous to the Brazilian Amazon
  Amazon Basin
  The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
  
  
• Moqueca
  Moqueca
  Moqueca is a traditional Brazilian seafood stew. Brazilians have been making Moquecas for 300 years.It basically consists of fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, and additional ingredients...
  
  , a Brazilian seafood stew
• Tucupi
  Tucupi
  Tucupi is a yellow sauce extracted from wild manioc root, which is peeled, grated and then the juice is squeezed out . After being squeezed through the tipiti, the juice is left to "rest" so that the starch separates from the liquid...
  
  , manioc-based broth used in Brazilian dishes such as pato no tucupi
  Pato no tucupi
  Pato no tucupi [in English Duck in Tucupi Stew] is a traditional Brazilian dish; it is mostly found in the area around the city of Belém in the state of Pará state....
  
   and tacacá
  Tacacá
  Tacacá is a soup common to North Brazil, particularly the states of Acre, Amazonas and Pará, and is well loved and widely consumed. It is made with jambú , and tucupi , as well as dried shrimps and small yellow peppers. It must be served extremely hot in a cuia.-External links:* - in Portuguese...
  
  
• Curanto
  Curanto
  Curanto is a traditional food of Chiloé Archipelago that has spread to the southern areas of Chile and recently Argentina. It is traditionally prepared in a hole, about a meter and a half deep, which is dug in the ground...
  
  , a Chilean stew cooked in an earthen oven originally from the Chono
  Chono
  Chono or Chona is a generic name for a nomadic, indigenous people of the Chiloé Archipelago, Chile. They are now extinct.The Chono became extinct during the 18th century with the last survivor going missing in 1875....
  
   people of Chiloé Island
  Chiloé Island
  Chiloé Island , also known as Greater Island of Chiloé , is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean...
  
  
• Lapacho
  Lapacho
  Lapacho or Taheebo is a herbal tea made from the inner bark of Pink Ipê, Tabebuia impetiginosa. It is also sold under more ambiguous and possibly misleading names like "Ipes", "Ipê", "Pau d'arco", "Ipe Roxo", or "Trumpet Bush"....
  
   or taheebo, a medicinal tree bark infusion
• Merken
  Merkén
  Merkén is a Chilean and Mapuche hot and aromatic seasoning made from dried and smoked Cacho de Cabra pepper together with salt, cumin, and coriander seeds....
  
  , a ají powder from the Mapuche
  Mapuche
  The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
  
   of Patagonia
  Patagonia
  Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
  
  
• Pira caldo
  Pira caldo
  Pira caldo is a fish soup that is part of the traditional cuisine of Paraguay. The Guarani word Pira means "fish".-History:The soup is very high in calorie content and in protein. This has its origins in the circumstances after the War of the Triple Alliance...
  
  , Paraguay
  Paraguay
  Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
  
  an fish soup
• Chipa, a corn flour or manioc-based bread traditional to Paraguay
  Paraguay
  Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
  
  
• Yerba mate
  Yerba mate
  Maté, yerba maté or erva maté , Ilex paraguariensis, is a species of holly native to subtropical South America in northeastern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay...
  
  , a tea made from the holly of the same name, derived from Guaraní
  Guaraní language
  Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
  
  
• Tereré
  Tereré
  Tereré is an infusion of yerba mate / erva-mate , similar to mate but prepared with cold water rather than with hot, and in a slightly larger vessel...
  
   or ka'ay, a cold-brewed version of yerba mate

Cooking utensils

The earliest utensils, including knives, spoons, grinders, and griddles, were made from all kinds of organic materials, such as rock and animal bone. Gourds were also initially cultivated, hollowed, and dried to be used as bowls, spoons, ladels, and storage containers. Many Native American cultures also developed elaborate weaving and pottery traditions for making bowls, cooking pots, and containers. Nobility in the Andean and Mesoamerican civilizations were even known to have utensils and vessels smelted from gold, silver, copper, or other minerals.

• Molinillo
  Molinillo (whisk)
  A Molinillo is a traditional Mexican turned wood whisk. Its use is principally for the preparation of hot beverages such as hot chocolate, atole and champurrado. The molinillo is held between the palms and rotated by rubbing the palms together; this rotation creates the froth in the drink...
  
  , a device used by Mesoamerican royalty for frothing cacao drinks
• Metate
  Metate
  A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
  
  , a stone grinding slab used with a stone mano to process meal in Mesoamerica and one of the most notable Pre-Columbian artifacts in Costa Rica
  Costa Rica
  Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
  
  
• Molcajete
  Molcajete
  A molcajete is a stone tool, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle tool, similar to the South American batan used for grinding various food products...
  
  , a basalt
  Basalt
  Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
  
   stone bowl, used with a tejolote to grind ingredients as a Mesoamerican form of mortar and pestle
  Mortar and pestle
  A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix solid substances . The pestle is a heavy bat-shaped object, the end of which is used for crushing and grinding. The mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, ceramic or stone...
  
  
• Batan
  Batan (stone)
  The batan is a kitchen utensil used to process different kinds of foods in South American Andean cuisine. It has a flat stone and a grinding stone called a uña. The uña is held in both hands and rocked over the food in the batan. Depending on the process wished, the uña's weight is slightly held...
  
  , an Andean grinding slab used in conjunction with a small stone uña
• Paila
  Paila
  A paila is an earthenware bowl used as a plate in several South American countries. Dishes served in a paila are often prepared in it inside an oven. By extension the word paila is also used for the dishes eaten in it such as Paila marina and Paila de huevo...
  
  , an Andean earthenware bowl
• Cuia, a gourd used for drinking mate in South America
• Comal
  Comal (cookware)
  A comal is a smooth, flat griddle typically used in Mexico to cook tortillas, toast spices, sear meat, and generally prepare food. Similar cookware is called a budare in South America. Some comals are concave and made of "barro" . These are still made and used by the indigenous peoples of Mexico...
  
  , a griddle used since Pre-Columbian times in Mexico and Central America for a variety of purposes, especially to cook tortillas
• Burén
  Buren
  Buren is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. It is also a county; with the Dutch Monarch still holding the title "Count of Buren".- Population centres :...
  
  , a clay griddle used by the Taíno
  Taíno people
  The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
  
  
• Cooking baskets were woven from a variety of local fibers and sometimes coated with clay to improved durability. The notable thing about basket cooking and some native clay pot cooking is that the heat source, i.e. hot stones or charcoal, is used inside the utensil rather than outside. (also see Cookware and bakeware
  Cookware and bakeware
  Cookware and bakeware are types of food preparation containers commonly found in the kitchen. Cookware comprises cooking vessels, such as saucepans and frying pans, intended for use on a stove or range cooktop. Bakeware comprises cooking vessels intended for use inside an oven...
  
  )

Crops and ingredients

Maize

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, bean

Bean

Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....

s and squash

Squash (fruit)

Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker...

 were known as the three sisters

Three Sisters (agriculture)

The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups in North America: squash, maize, and climbing beans ....

 for their symbiotic relationship when grown together by the North American and Meso-American natives. If the South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

ns had similar methods of what is known as companion planting

Companion planting

Companion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity , on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity...

 it is lost to us today.

Non-animal foodstuffs

• Acorn
  Acorn
  The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
  
   - Used to make flour and fertilizers for the plants.
• Achiote
  Achiote
  Achiote is a shrub or small tree from the tropical region of the Americas. The name derives from the Nahuatl word for the shrub, achiotl. It is also known as Aploppas, and its original Tupi name urucu. It is cultivated there and in Southeast Asia, where it was introduced by the Spanish in the...
  
   or annatto seed, seasoning
• Acuyo, seasoning
• Agarita - berries
• Agave nectar
• Allspice
  Allspice
  Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
  
   or pimento, seasoning
• Amaranth
  Amaranth
  Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold...
  
  
• American chestnut
  American Chestnut
  The American Chestnut is a large, deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. Before the species was devastated by the chestnut blight, a fungal disease, it was one of the most important forest trees throughout its range...
  
  
• Amole - stalks
• Aspen
  Aspen
  Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
  
   - inner bark and sap (both used as sweetener)
• Avocado
  Avocado
  The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
  
  
• Barbados cherry or acerola
• Bean
  Bean
  Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
  
  s - Throughout the Americas
• Bear grass - stalks
• Birch
  Birch
  Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
  
   bark
• Birch syrup
  Birch syrup
  Birch syrup is a sweetener made from the sap of birch trees, and used in much the same way as maple syrup. It is used for pancake or waffle syrup, to make candies, as an ingredient in sauces, glazes, and dressings, and as a flavoring in ice cream, beer, wine, and soft drinks...
  
  
• Blackberries
  Blackberry
  The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
  
  
• Blueberries
  Blueberry
  Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
  
  
• Box elder
  Acer negundo
  Acer negundo is a species of maple native to North America. Box Elder, Boxelder Maple, and Maple Ash are its most common names in the United States...
  
   - inner bark (used as sweetener)
• Cacao
• Cactus
  Cactus
  A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
  
   (various species) - fruits
• Canella winterana
  Canellaceae
  The Canellaceae are a family of flowering plants. The family has sixteen species in six genera. The species are highly aromatic evergreen plants, mostly trees and rarely shrubs, which produce essential oils...
  
  , or white cinnamon (used as a seasoning before cinnamon)
• Cashew
  Cashew
  The cashew is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.-Etymology:The...
  
  
• Cassava
  Cassava
  Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
  
   - Primarily South America
• Cattails - rootstocks
• Century plant
  Century plant
  Agave americana, commonly known as the century plant, maguey, or American aloe , is an agave originally from Mexico but cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant...
  
   (a.k.a. mescal or agave) - crowns (tuberous base portion) and shoot
  Shoot
  Shoots are new plant growth, they can include stems, flowering stems with flower buds, and leaves. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop...
  
  s
• Chicle
  Chicle
  Manilkara chicle is a tropical evergreen tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree ranges from Veracruz in Mexico south to Atlántico in Colombia...
  
  , gum
• Chile peppers (including bell pepper
  Bell pepper
  Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or a pepper and capsicum , is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum . Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as...
  
  s)
• Cherimoya
  Cherimoya
  The Cherimoya is the fruit of the species Annona cherimola, which is native to the Andes. Today they are grown throughout South and Central America.-Description:...
  
  
• Chokecherries
• Cholla
  Cylindropuntia
  Cylindropuntia is a genus of cacti , containing the chollas. They were formerly treated as a subgenus of Opuntia but have now been separated based on their cylindrical stems and the presence of papery epidermal sheaths on the spines...
  
   - fruits
• Coca
  Coca
  Coca, Erythroxylum coca, is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. The plant plays a significant role in many traditional Andean cultures...
  
   - South and Central America
• Coconut
  Coconut
  The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
  
  
• Cranberries
  Cranberry
  Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
  
  
• Culantro, used as a seasoning before cilantro
• Currants
  Ribes
  Ribes is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants native throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually treated as the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae. Seven subgenera are recognized....
  
  
• Custard-apple
  Custard-apple
  The tree also grows in Egypt,but the fruit is quite greenish in color not brown or yellowish.The common name for the fruit in Egypt is "Kishta".The custard-apple, also called bullock's heart or bull's heart, is the fruit of the tree Annona reticulata...
  
  
• Datil
  Datil pepper
  The Datil is an exceptionally hot pepper, a variety of the species Capsicum chinense .Datils are similar in strength to habaneros but have a sweeter, fruitier flavor. Their level of spiciness may be anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 scoville units...
  
   - fruit and flowers
• Devil's claw
  Proboscidea (genus)
  Proboscidea is a genus of flowering plant in the family Martyniaceae, some of whose species are known as devil's claw, devil's horn, ram's horn, or unicorn plant. The plants produce long, hooked seed pods. The hooks catch on the feet of animals, and as the animals walk, the pods are ground or...
  
  
• Dropseed grasses (various varieties) - seeds
• Elderberries
  Elderberry
  Sambucus is a genus of between 5 and 30 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence...
  
  
• Emory oak
  Emory oak
  Quercus emoryi, the Emory oak, is a species of oak common in Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas , USA, and northern Mexico south to Durango and San Luis Potosí...
  
   - acorns
• Epazote
  Epazote
  Epazote, wormseed, Jesuit's tea, Mexican tea, Paico or Herba Sancti Mariæ is an herb native to Central America, South America, and southern Mexico....
  
  , seasoning
• Goldenberry
• Gooseberries
  Gooseberry
  The gooseberry or ; Ribes uva-crispa, syn. R. grossularia) is a species of Ribes, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia...
  
  
• Guarana
  Guarana
  Guarana , Paullinia cupana, syn. P. crysan, P. sorbilis) is a climbing plant in the maple family, Sapindaceae, native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Guarana features large leaves and clusters of flowers, and is best known for its fruit, which is about the size of a coffee bean...
  
  
• Guava
  Guava
  Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
  
  
• Hackberries
• Hawthorne
  Crataegus
  Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
  
   - fruit
• Herba luisa
• Hueinacaztli or "ear-flower"
• Hickory
  Hickory
  Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
  
   - nuts
• Hops
  Hops
  Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...
  
  
• Horsemint
  Monarda
  Monarda is a genus consisting of roughly 16 species of erect, herbaceous, annual or perennial plants in the family Lamiaceae. The genus is endemic to North America. Ranging in height from 1 to 3 feet , the plants have an equal spread, with slender and long-tapering leaves...
  
  
• Huazontle
  Chenopodium berlandieri
  Chenopodium berlandieri, also known by the common names pitseed goosefoot, huauzontle, and lambsquarters, is an annual herbaceous plant in the goosefoot family....
  
  
• Huckleberries
• Jambú
• Jicama
  Jícama
  Pachyrhizus erosus, commonly known as Jícama , Yam, and Mexican Turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Jícama is one species in the genus Pachyrhizus. Plants in this genus are commonly referred to as yam bean,...
  
  
• Juniper berries
• Kaniwa
  Kañiwa
  Chenopodium pallidicaule, sometimes known as Cañihua, Canihua, Kañiwa, is a species of goosefoot, similar in character and uses to the closely related quinoa....
  
  
• Kiwacha
• Lamb's-quarters
  Chenopodium
  Chenopodium is a genus of about 150 species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classifications separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, but...
  
   - leaves and seeds
• Lepacho
• Locust
  Honey locust
  The Honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos, is a deciduous tree native to central North America. It is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys ranging from southeastern South Dakota to New Orleans and central Texas, and as far east as eastern Massachusetts.-Description:Honey locusts, Gleditsia...
  
   - blossoms and pods
• Lúcuma
  Lúcuma
  The lúcuma is a subtropical fruit native to the Peru's Andean region. Lucuma has been found on ceramics at burial sites of the indigenous people of coastal Peru...
  
  
• Maca
  MACA
  MACA or maca can mean:* Maca * Mongol-American Cultural Association* Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance* Military Aid to the Civil Authorities* Member Australian Counselling Association...
  
  
• Maize
  Maize
  Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
  
   - Throughout the Americas, probably domesticated in or near Mexico, including the blue corn
  Blue corn
  Blue corn is a variety of maize grown in northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, particularly in the states of Arizona and New Mexico....
  
   variety
• Mamey
  Mamey
  Mamey is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department*Parc naturel régional de Lorraine...
  
  
• Maple syrup
  Maple syrup
  Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
  
   and sugar, used as the primary sweetener and seasoning in Northern America
• Mesquite
  Mesquite
  Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
  
   - bean pods, flour/meal
• Mint
  Mentha
  Mentha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae . The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally...
  
  
• Mexican anise
• Mexican oregano
• Mulberries
• Nopales
• Onions
• Palmetto
  Sabal palmetto
  Sabal palmetto, also known as cabbage palm, palmetto, cabbage palmetto, palmetto palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, swamp cabbage and sabal palm, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm . It is native to the southeastern United States, Cuba, and the Bahamas...
  
  
• Papaya
  Papaya
  The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
  
  
• Passionfruit
• Pawpaw
• Peanut
  Peanut
  The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
  
  s
• Pecan
  Pecan
  The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
  
   - nuts
• Pennyroyal
  Hedeoma pulegioides
  Hedeoma pulegioides is a species of Hedeoma native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and southern Ontario west to Minnesota and South Dakota, and south to northern Georgia and Arkansas.It is a low-growing, strongly aromatic herbaceous annual plant from 15–30 cm tall, with a slender erect...
  
   - American False variety
• Pigweed
  Amaranthus palmeri
  Amaranthus palmeri is a species of edible flowering plant in the amaranth genus. It has several common names, including Palmer's amaranth, Palmer amaranth, Palmer's pigweed, and carelessweed. It is native to most of the southern half of North America. Populations in the eastern United States are...
  
   - seeds
• Pine
  Pine
  Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
  
   (including western white pine
  Western White Pine
  Western White Pine, Pinus monticola in the family Pinaceae, is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Range, and the northern Rocky Mountains. The tree extends down to sea level in many...
  
   and Pinus ponderosa) - inner bark (used as sweetener) and nuts
  Pine nut
  Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
  
  
• Pineapple
  Pineapple
  Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
  
  s - South America
• Pinyon
  Pinyon pine
  The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which were a staple of the Native Americans, and are still widely eaten...
  
   - nuts
• Popcorn flower, herb
• Potato
  Potato
  The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
  
  es - North and South America
• Prickly pear
  Opuntia
  Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
  
  s
• Prairie turnips
• Pumpkin
  Pumpkin
  A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
  
  s
• Purslane - leaves
• Quinoa
  Quinoa
  Quinoa , a species of goosefoot , is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family...
  
   - South America, Central America, and Eastern North America
• Ramps
  Wild leek
  Allium tricoccum — known as the ramp, spring onion, ramson, wild leek, wild garlic, and, in French, ail sauvage and ail des bois — is an early spring vegetable, a perennial wild onion. It has a strong garlic-like odor and a pronounced onion flavor. Ramps are found across North America, from the...
  
   - Wild onion
• Raspberries
  Raspberry
  The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
  
  
• Rice
  Rice
  Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
  
   - imported by Spanish
• Sage
  Leucophyllum
  Leucophyllum is a genus of evergreen shrubs in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is sometimes placed in the family Myoporaceae...
  
  
• Saguaro
  Saguaro
  The saguaro is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California, U.S...
  
   - fruits and seeds
• Salt
  Salt
  In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
  
  
• Sangre de drago
• Sapote
  Sapote
  Sapote is a term for a soft, edible fruit. The word is incorporated into the common names of several unrelated fruit-bearing plants native to Mexico, Central America and northern parts of South America....
  
  
• Sassafras
  Sassafras
  Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
  
  
• Screwbean
  Prosopis pubescens
  Prosopis pubescens, commonly known as Screwbean Mesquite or Tornillo, is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico .-Description:This plant grows to about...
  
   - fruit
• Sedge
  Cyperaceae
  Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
  
   - tubers
• Sea grape
  Coccoloba uvifera
  Coccoloba uvifera is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, that is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida, the Bahamas, Barbados and Bermuda...
  
   or uva de playa
• Shepherd's purse
  Shepherd's Purse
  Capsella bursa-pastoris, known by its common name shepherd's-purse because of its triangular, purse-like pods, is a small annual and ruderal species, and a member of the Brassicaceae or mustard family...
  
   - leaves
• Sotol
  Sotol
  Sotol is a distilled spirit made from the Dasylirion wheeleri , a plant that grows in the wilds of Northern Mexico, New Mexico, West Texas, and the Texas Hill Country . It is known as the state drink of Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila. There are few commercial examples available...
  
   - crowns

• Soursop
  Soursop
  The Soursop is tripti broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree native to Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, Colombia and Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Soursop is also native to sub-Saharan African countries that lie within the tropics. Today, it is also grown in some areas...
  
   or guanábana
• Spanish bayonet - fruit
• Spanish lime or mamoncillo
• Spicebush - Used as a seasoning
• Squash
  Squash (fruit)
  Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker...
  
   - Throughout the Americas
• Stevia
  Stevia
  Stevia is a genus of about 240 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family , native to subtropical and tropical regions from western North America to South America. The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its...
  
  
• Strawberries
  Strawberry
  Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
  
  
• Sumac
  Sumac
  Sumac is any one of approximately 250 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in Africa and North America....
  
   - berries
• Sunflower seed
  Sunflower seed
  The sunflower seed is the fruit of the sunflower . The term "sunflower seed" is actually a misnomer when applied to the seed in its pericarp . Botanically speaking, it is more properly referred to as an achene. When dehulled, the edible remainder is called the sunflower kernel.There are three types...
  
  s
• Sweet potato
  Sweet potato
  The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
  
   - South America
• Sweetsop or sugar-apple
• Tamarillo
  Tamarillo
  Solanum betaceum is a small tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Solanaceae. It is best known as the species that bears the tamarillo, an egg-shaped edible fruit...
  
  
• Teaberry
  Eastern Teaberry
  Gaultheria procumbens is a species of Gaultheria native to northeastern North America from Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Alabama. It is a member of the Ericaceae .- Growth habit :It is a small low-growing shrub, typically reaching tall...
  
   or wintergreen
• Tobacco
  Tobacco
  Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
  
  
• Tomatillo
  Tomatillo
  The tomatillo is a plant of the nightshade family, related to the cape gooseberry, bearing small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. Tomatillos are a staple in Mexican cuisine. Tomatillos are grown as annuals throughout the Western Hemisphere...
  
  
• Tomato
  Tomato
  The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
  
  
• Texas Persimmons
  Diospyros texana
  Diospyros texana is a species of persimmon that is native to central and west Texas and southwest Oklahoma in the United States, and eastern Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Common names include Texas Persimmon, Mexican Persimmon and the more ambiguous "black...
  
  
• Tulip poplar - syrup made from bark
• Tule
  Tule
  Schoenoplectus acutus , called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the plant family Cyperaceae, native to freshwater marshes all over North America...
  
   - rhizome
  Rhizome
  In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
  
  s
• Tumbleweed
  Tumbleweed
  A tumbleweed is the above-ground part of a plant that, once mature and dry, disengages from the root and tumbles away in the wind. Usually, the tumbleweed is the entire plant apart from the roots, but in a few species it is a flower cluster. The tumbleweed habit is most common in steppe and desert...
  
  - seeds
• Tumbo
  Banana passionfruit
  Banana passionfruit is the fruit of several plants in the genus Passiflora, and are therefore related to the passion fruit. They look somewhat like a straight, small banana with rounded ends. It was given this name in New Zealand, where passionfruit are also prevalent. In Hawaii, it is called...
  
   or taxo
• Uña de gato
• Vanilla
  Vanilla
  Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
  
  
• Vetch - pods
• White evening primrose
  Evening Primrose
  Evening Primrose is a musical with a book by James Goldman and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on a John Collier short story published in the 1951 collection Fancies and Goodnights....
  
   - fruit
• White walnuts
• Wild celery
  Wild celery
  Wild celery is a plant in the family Hydrocharitaceae . Contrary to the implications of its name, wild celery bears little to no resemblance to the celery used as a vegetable. Wild celery grows under water and is consumed by various animals, including the canvasback...
  
  
• Wild cherries
• Wild grapes
  Vitis
  Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce...
  
   - fruit
• Wild honey
  Honey
  Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
  
  
• Wild onion
  Allium
  Allium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
  
  
• Wild pea
  Pea
  A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
  
   - pods
• Wild rose
  Wild Rose
  Wild Rose is the name given to certain flowering shrubs:*Genus Rosa:** Rosa acicularis, or Wild Rose, a rose species which occurs in Asia, Europe, and North America...
  
  s
• Wood sorrel leaves
• Yacon nectar
• Yaupon holly
  Yaupon Holly
  Ilex vomitoria, commonly known as Yaupon or Yaupon Holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America. The word yaupon was derived from its Catawban name, yopún, which is a diminutive form of the word yop, meaning "tree". Another common name, Cassina, was borrowed from the...
  
   leaves
• Yerba buena
  Yerba Buena
  Yerba buena is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to Baja California Sur...
  
  
• Yerba mate
  Yerba mate
  Maté, yerba maté or erva maté , Ilex paraguariensis, is a species of holly native to subtropical South America in northeastern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay...
  
  
• Yucca
  Yucca
  Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...
  
   - blossoms, fruit, and stalks

Hunted or livestock

• Antelope
  Pronghorn
  The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
  
  
• Armadillo
  Armadillo
  Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
  
  
• Badger
  Badger
  Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
  
  
• Bear
  Bear
  Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
  
  
• Beaver
  Beaver
  The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
  
  
• Bighorn sheep
  Bighorn Sheep
  The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...
  
  
• Bison
  American Bison
  The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
  
   - Originally found throughout most of the North American plains
• Burro
  Burro
  The burro is a small donkey used primarily as a pack animal. In addition, significant numbers of feral burros live in the Southwestern United States, where they are protected by law, and in Mexico...
  
   - from Europe
• Camel
  Camel
  A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
  
   - extinct
• Cattle
  Cattle
  Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
  
   - important European import
• Chipmunk
  Chipmunk
  Chipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
  
  
• Deer
  Deer
  Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
  
  
• Dog
  Dog
  The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
  
  
• Dove
  Dove
  Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
  
  
• Duck
  Duck
  Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
  
  
• Elk
  Elk
  The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
  
  
• Geese
• Ground hog
• Grouse
  Grouse
  Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...
  
  
• Guanaco - Hunted in South America by hunter-gatherer societies, for ex. in Patagonia until the 19th century.
• Guinea pig
  Guinea pig
  The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
  
   - Domesticated in the Andes
• Hog - important European import
• Honey wasp - Brachygastra mellifica, Brachygastra lecheguana, and Polybia occidentalis, a source of honey found from the Southwestern United States to Argentina
• Horse
  Horse
  The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
  
   - Although imported by Europeans, the horse was still very important to Native American cultures throughout the Americas (although famously on the North American Plains) in the historic era
• Hutia
  Hutia
  Hutias are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the family Capromyidae that inhabit the Caribbean Islands. They range in size from , and can weigh up to . Twenty species of hutia have been identified, and half may be extinct. They resemble the nutria in some respects...
  
  
• Iguana
  Iguana
  Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena...
  
  
• Livestock
  Livestock
  Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
  
  
• Llama
  Llama
  The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
  
   - Domesticated in the Andes
• Locust
  Locust
  Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
  
   (cicada)
• Manatee
  Manatee
  Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows...
  
  
• Mastodon
  Mastodon
  Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
  
   - extinct
• Moose
  Moose
  The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
  
  
• Mourning dove
  Mourning Dove
  The Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family . The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds...
  
  
• Mule
  Mule
  A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
  
  
• Muscovy duck
  Muscovy Duck
  The Muscovy Duck is a large duck which is native to Mexico and Central and South America. A small wild population reaches into the United States in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas...
  
   - Domesticated in Mesoamerica
• Opossum
• Otter
  Otter
  The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
  
  
• Passenger Pigeon
  Passenger Pigeon
  The Passenger Pigeon or Wild Pigeon was a bird, now extinct, that existed in North America and lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century...
  
   - extinct
• Peccaries
• Pheasant
  Pheasant
  Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...
  
  
• Porcupine
  Porcupine
  Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
  
  
• Prairie dog
  Prairie dog
  Prairie dogs are burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America. There are five different species of prairie dogs: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah and Mexican prairie dogs. They are a type of ground squirrel, found in the United States, Canada and Mexico...
  
  
• Pronghorn
  Pronghorn
  The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
  
  s (antelope)
• Quail
  New World quail
  The New World quails or Odontophorids are small birds only distantly related to the Old World Quails, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family Odontophoridae, whereas Old World Quail are in the pheasant family Phasianidae...
  
  
• Rabbit
  Rabbit
  Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
  
  
• Sheep - important European import
• Skunk
  Skunk
  Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
  
  
• Sloth
  Sloth
  Sloths are the six species of medium-sized mammals belonging to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae , part of the order Pilosa and therefore related to armadillos and anteaters, which sport a similar set of specialized claws.They are arboreal residents of the jungles of Central and South...
  
  
• Stingless bee
  Stingless bee
  Stingless bees, sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees, comprising the tribe Meliponini . They belong in the family Apidae, and are closely related to common honey bees, carpenter bees, orchid bees and bumblebees...
  
   - Melipona beecheii and M. yucatanica, Mayan source of honey
• Squirrel
  Squirrel
  Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
  
  
• Turkey
  Turkey (bird)
  A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...
  
  
• Turtle
  Turtle
  Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
  
  
• Wood rat
• Woolly mammoth
  Woolly mammoth
  The woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...
  
   - extinct

See also

• Food of the Tlingit
  Food of the Tlingit
  The food of the Tlingit, an indigenous people from Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon, is a central part of Tlingit culture, and the land is an abundant provider. A saying amongst the Tlingit is that "when the tide goes out the table is set". This refers to the richness of intertidal life...
  
  
• Locavores
  Locavores
  A locavore is a person interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market. The locavore movement in the United States and elsewhere was spawned as interest in sustainability and eco-consciousness became more prevalent....
  
  
• Transhumance
  Transhumance
  Transhumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with...
  
  
• Hunter gatherer
• Wild onion festival
  Wild Onion Festival
  Wild Onion festivals are part of the cultural lives of southeastern Native American tribes who were removed to Oklahoma. The event revolves around the appearance of wild onion shoots in the Spring, a food that was familiar to most of the Tribes east of the Mississippi."Wild onion" refers to several...
  
  

External links

• Traditional Chiricahua recipes
• Canadian Wild Foods
• American Indian Health and Diet Project