# Native Cuisine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004 "2016-11-26T02:10:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/41 "2016-11-27T14:01:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I didn’t say it was theft. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with appropriation of culture. What about the literal use of a word is bothering you? It seems that “cultural appropriation” has become one of the taboos of the offenderati class. I suspect \*\*Chimera \*\*interpreted that you were using it in that sense rather than the neutral sense. The complete sentence you wrote was “Like their land the Native American foods have been appropriated.” That sentence’s tone seems to support the offended/violated interpretation, at least to me. It now appears you didn’t mean that. OK. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/42 "2016-11-27T14:08:24Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It seems that “cultural appropriation” has become one of the taboos of the offenderati class. I suspect \*\*Chimera \*\*interpreted that you were using it in that sense rather than the neutral sense. > > The complete sentence you wrote was “Like their land the Native American foods have been appropriated.” That sentence’s tone seems to support the offended/violated interpretation, at least to me. > > It now appears you didn’t mean that. OK. You make a good point there. On review I have to concede that the appropriation of land and cuisine were a bit different. I guess I can’t blame him for interpreting my comment the way he did. It wasn’t my intention. **Chimera** , I should have been clearer. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/43 "2016-11-27T14:42:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > When you eat a baked potato or mashed potatoes you’re eating Native American dishes. Cite for any Pre-Columbian mashed potato dishes? > [@](#): > > When you eat corn bread or polenta you’re eating a Native American dish. You’re aware that polenta existed as a dish more than a millennium before it was made with maize, right? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/44 "2016-11-27T15:51:41Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Cite for any Pre-Columbian mashed potato dishes? You’re aware that polenta existed as a dish more than a millennium before it was made with maize, right? I don’t need a cite for mashed potatoes. You need a cite that pre-Columbian peoples never mashed up a cooked potato. As for polenta you are correct, I did not specify polenta made from corn. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/45 "2016-11-27T16:49:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t need a cite for mashed potatoes. You need a cite that pre-Columbian peoples never mashed up a cooked potato. No, mate, “You have no proof they didn’t, therefore they did” is a rubbish argument. _You’re_ the one saying mashed potatoes are a native American dish, _you’re_ the one that has to provide the proof. And the cite isn’t for some Inca once crushing a boiled potato, it’s for the existence of mashed potato as an actual, clearly-defined dish. Also, mashed potato, the dish, is a little more than just boiled potatoes smashed up. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/46 "2016-11-27T17:28:19Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Fry bread of course is a relatively modern, post-contact invention. Maybe post-reservation; I’d need to check. Like you I would imagine fry bread is a “post-pacification” invention after Native Americans were herded onto reservations and given a ration of flour since their hunting-and-gathering was no longer feasible. Up in “Indian Country” – the Hopi and Navajo reservations – there are cafes that offer traditional fare along with the usual stuff. I’m thinking specifically of the one attached to the Hopi Cultural Center in Second Mesa. Mutton and hominy stew is one I’ve tried. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/47 "2016-11-27T17:47:29Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > No, mate, “You have no proof they didn’t, therefore they did” is a rubbish argument. _You’re_ the one saying mashed potatoes are a native American dish, _you’re_ the one that has to provide the proof. > > And the cite isn’t for some Inca once crushing a boiled potato, it’s for the existence of mashed potato as an actual, clearly-defined dish. > > Also, mashed potato, the dish, is a little more than just boiled potatoes smashed up. Do you have evidence of any recipe for an Incan dish? Or proof that anything as a clearly defined dish from that time? And I made mashed potatoes the other night from nothing but boiled potatoes, and I’ve done it with baked potatoes also, and they were delicious. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/48 "2016-11-27T19:06:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Cite for any Pre-Columbian mashed potato dishes? You’re aware that polenta existed as a dish more than a millennium before it was made with maize, right? [http://mayaincaaztec.com/potatostore.html](http://mayaincaaztec.com/potatostore.html) I have trouble copying with my wiiu but at the above page it mentions the Inca making chuño which is basically instant mashed potatos. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/49 "2016-11-27T20:57:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Do you have evidence of any recipe for an Incan dish? No, I don’t. But then, I’m not the one making the positive assertions. > [@](#): > > Or proof that anything as a clearly defined dish from that time? No, but I’m not the one saying a particular dish definitely existed. > [@](#): > > And I made mashed potatoes the other night from nothing but boiled potatoes, and I’ve done it with baked potatoes also, and they were delicious. Mashed potatoes without at least one one of cream, butter or milk is just wrong. > [@mistymage](#): > > chuño which is basically instant mashed potatos. Chuño is \*not \*“mashed potatoes”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/50 "2016-11-27T21:01:42Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > No, I don’t. But then, I’m not the one making the positive assertions. By that logic no dishes existed. > [@](#): > > No, but I’m not the one saying a particular dish definitely existed. It is an extraordinary claim that no Incan ever made and ate mashed potatoes. You are using a ridiculous concept of what a dish is to deny it. > [@](#): > > Mashed potatoes without at least one one of cream, butter or milk is just wrong. You must not be a very good cook or don’t know any. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/51 "2016-11-27T22:22:47Z")
I’m reminded here of the _ **Peanuts** _ strip where everyone starts arguing over the morality of Charlie Brown pitching a bean-ball right in the middle of a baseball game: **CHARLIE BROWN:** We never win any ball games, but we have some interesting discussions! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/52 "2016-11-28T03:10:04Z")
Yeah, that’s the Dope for you. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/53 "2016-11-28T03:25:35Z")
I suppose an Incan cook may have smashed up some boiled potatoes with dairy products or a flavored liquid…to feed an invalid, or a young warrior whose teeth had been knocked out in battle. When my daughter was very young and subject to dairy allergies, I made mashed potatoes with onions and celery carmelized in olive oil, plus a little strong chicken stock. Those were quite good. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/54 "2016-11-28T04:06:18Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I suppose an Incan cook may have smashed up some boiled potatoes with dairy products Very unlikely, that is about the dairy products. The natives had no milk before Europeans came along and virtually all of them were lactose intolerant. Native American cuisine will not have any dairy at all. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/55 "2016-11-28T06:03:09Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > By that logic no dishes existed. I don’t need a recipe to know if they ate something. I can read Spanish accounts for that. > [@](#): > > It is an extraordinary claim that no Incan ever made and ate mashed potatoes. Good thing that’s \*not \*the claim I’m making. [QUOTE=me] And the cite isn’t for some Inca once crushing a boiled potato, it’s for the existence of mashed potato as an actual, clearly-defined dish. [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > You are using a ridiculous concept of what a dish is to deny it. A “dish”, the way I’m using it, would be some food that is regularly prepared as part of a cuisine, and has a name, even if that name is a bare descriptive. > [@](#): > > You must not be a very good cook or don’t know any. :rolleyes: I’m a good enough cook to know how to make proper mashed potatoes, just like Parmentier would have liked them. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/56 "2016-11-28T22:05:59Z")
There is [The Sioux Chef](http://sioux-chef.com/) who is trying to start a Native American restaurant in Minneapolis. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/57 "2016-11-28T22:18:40Z")
Sunflowers, like maize and pumpkins(and other related winter squashes), existed only because they were selectively bred by Precolumbians. Specifically for their energy-rich seeds. Of course maize was prepared as many dishes, like hominy(inspiring grits). Popcorn, too. Then there’s the cocoa of South America. Also: turkey. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/58 "2016-11-28T22:37:49Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > There is [The Sioux Chef](http://sioux-chef.com/) who is trying to start a Native American restaurant in Minneapolis. Anybody with the cool to name himself and his restaurant that deserves a lot of success. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/59 "2016-11-28T23:04:13Z")
Oh, and apparently chihuahuas were bred and sold as food. Which would explain why anyone would keep around such nasty spiteful little monsters. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004/60 "2016-11-29T21:48:27Z")
The[Roundhouse Cafe](https://munchies.vice.com/en/articles/how-aboriginal-food-and-coffee-are-reshaping-one-of-montreals-roughest-parks) in Montreal offers food inspired by traditional aboriginal cuisine. It’s also an outreach program for local and displaced natives living in downtown Montreal. Its vocation hints at some of the reasons we don’t have many aboriginal cuisine restaurants: Many native people around here are living in poverty and don’t have the money to start a restaurant, and rampant discrimination and unfair laws can make it difficult for them to raise the cash. Various levels of the government have shown some willingness to change, but it’s still a tough fight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/native-cuisine/773004.md?page=4)