Clay and roast pig not quite isle-style

The national delicacy in Peru is the guinea pig, served whole

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Visitors to the Andes might be surprised to find their potatoes and other foods served with clay sauce.

And how about barbecue guinea pig? More on that later...

But in either case, stifle your gag reflex. It's not such a bad idea.

My guide explained that indigenous people eat clay to provide magnesium in their diet. This seemed a reasonable explanation, but I wondered how they ever came to such an unpalatable practice. A Web search turned up some possible explanations.

It turns out that consumption of clay has been practiced by indigenous people for centuries, and might have come about from their observation of animal behavior. For example, the Peruvian parrot, among other animals, regularly eats certain types of clay. Scientists believe that the clay neutralizes natural toxins in their diets. Observing this behavior might have led humans to give it a try.

It must have worked, because even today, Andean people carry little balls of clay that, when dissolved in water, can be used to cure "sick stomach."

Edible clay was so important to the Incas that it was used to pay ransoms and carried when fleeing from the Spanish.

What's in the clay that made it so effective? There are many useful ingredients, but one that Westerners only relatively recently learned to use is kaolin. Kaolin, also known as "china clay," is used in ceramics, medicine, coated paper, paints, inks, toothpaste and cosmetics, and as a light-diffusing material in white incandescent light bulbs. Until the early 1990s it was the active ingredient in the anti-diarrhea medicine Kaopectate.

So the next time you're in the Andes and are asked, "Would you like clay sauce with that?" you might consider saying, "Yes." A healthy dollop might just save your vacation.

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"You ate what!" my friend exclaimed with a look somewhere between horror and disgust.

"I ate guinea pig," I replied, suddenly realizing I had crossed some line of propriety. As my friend turned on her heels and walked away indignantly, I tried to salvage my reputation by calling after her, "It was only a taste."

My culinary adventure may be inexcusable to some, but I was, after all, in the land of the Incas: Peru, where guinea pigs have been eaten for more than a thousand years and roast guinea pig is a national delicacy. Signs outside restaurants prominently display photos advertising the availability of roast "cuy" (pronounced coo-ee), the Latin American Spanish name for guinea pig.

It turns out that guinea pigs are a big deal for the Andean people. There is archaeological evidence that they may have been domesticated there as far back as 2500 B.C. The Incas sacrificed 1,000 white guinea pigs each July "so that neither the sun nor the waters would harm the food and the fields." They also analyzed guinea pig entrails to guide their war strategy. Today, as in the past, Peruvian shamans and traditional healers use guinea pigs in rituals where the animal is passed over the body of a sick person to absorb the illness.

In many ways the guinea pig was an ideal source of animal protein for people living in the high Andes. The animal is strong, undemanding, tame and eats virtually anything. Even today they can be seen running around the floors of indigenous kitchens feeding on kitchen scraps. It's an eco-friendly system. The guinea pig eats the scraps and eventually becomes the meal.

FROM THE BEGINNING of Spanish colonization, the Catholic Church brutally suppressed plants and animals the Inca considered sacred. But the guinea pig was spared because of fear their eradication would cause a rebellion. Peruvian church murals of The Last Supper even depict Christ and his disciples feasting on cuy.

Peruvians eat about 65 million guinea pigs each year. The meat provides 20.5 percent protein compared to 14.5 percent for pork, 16.4 percent for mutton, and 17.5 percent for beef. Fat content also is low: 7 percent compared to 40 percent for pork and 31 percent for lamb.

Peru's prestigious La Molina University has developed a larger "super breed" of cuy in an attempt to export the meat. Right now the focus is on the United States, Japan and several European nations where there are large Peruvian immigrant populations.

How did I like roast cuy? To be honest, it wasn't that great. The animal is served whole with head and legs attached. Its meat is stringy and tough, and there are lots of bones.

I am glad I tried it, but it is an acquired taste. I would opt for an alpaca steak next time. I hope my friends forgive me.

For anyone afraid to even try cuy, you are missing out on an essential part of the travel experience. Food is as significant to culture as architecture, art, language and religion. Do you really want to travel half way around the world to eat what you could get at home?