The word Jerky comes from the Quechuan language of the Incas. “Ch’arki” was their word for a dried and salted meat, which had a lot of flavor and could be carried easily. The invading Spaniards discovered this dietary staple and quickly adopted it as their own. The Spanish called it Charqui, and as the new delicacy reached colonial England, the word became jerky. However, the Quechuans can’t claim to have invented jerky. There is evidence of dried meat production in ancient Asian, Greek and Egyptian histories, making It perhaps the oldest method of preserving food.
Once meat is properly dried in a controlled environment, it turns from a highly perishable food into one that doesn’t require refrigeration. Nowadays, food science experts refer to this as being “shelf-stable”. To our ancestors, it just meant that it was safe to eat.
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