Grey Bean Nuggets

Ecuador – EC001A
Composition: Clay
Colour: Grey
Shape: Shaped

Soft and crunchy, similar to topsoil, with a fine grit, melts in the mouth.

Grey bean nuggets were purchased online from TierraCravings.com in November 2020 for $4 per 100 grams.

These nugget-shaped clay pieces are hand- designed. After extraction clay is cleaned from rocks and stems, run through sifters, and cleaned with filtered water before being moulded into its final shape. Referred to by the vendor as a ‘pica item’, the grey bean nuggets belong to a group of edible soils, sold online as edible products, that have been prepared and shaped into appealing forms. This might be done to increase its consumption appeal.

According to the book ‘Medical Geology: A regional Synthesis’, the Otomac tribe of South America was well known for their custom of eating large amounts of clay. In the Northern Andes, on the coast of Ecuador, certain of their clay artefacts were recovered from the Japoto and Acatames archaeological sites. The objects were described as being composed of calcite-rich soils with a significant content of iron and other minerals such as feldspars, quartz, and sometimes very small amounts of smectite clay. They had prints of leaves and elongated or spherical shapes. These are reminiscent of tamales, bollos, and other traditional foods in which dough, paste, or batter is wrapped in leaves with a natural flavor.

Sources:
● ‘Gray Bean Nuggets’, TierraCravings webshop (English), accessed on 14/06/2022 tierracravings.com
● ‘Medical Geology: A regional Synthesis’, Springer, book by Olle Selinus and others, 2010, page 96.

Screenshot from www.tierracravings.com