| Peruvian cuisine Peruvian cuisine begins with great ingredients. Some of the basic ingredients include: Aji - similar to chilli peppers, they are usually yellow, orange or red and are often served in a dipping sauce. Limon - Peruvian lemons. They look like limes and are between a lemon and a lime and twice as delicious. Used in everything from cocktails to salad dressings. Papa amarillo - Yellow Potato. Peru is, of course, the home of the potato, with over 5000 registered types! You get potatoes with every meal, usually chipped or boiled but sometimes stuffed or mashed. Arroz - Rice! Usually just boiled with garlic and salt, but it's also often served like a pilau, with saffron, other spices and vegetables. Regional cuisine in Peru Peruvian cuisine is very different by region. From the rich and sweet delights of the coast to the spicy treats and creamy cheeses of the highlands, there's a wealth of variation in Peruvian cooking that ensures there's always something new to try. It means that at every step on your holiday in Peru there is a new delicacy to check out. Seafood plays a large part in coastal menus and the coast is home to Peru's national dish: ceviche. This is a dish either of white fish or a mixture of fish and other seafood, marinated in Peruvian lemon, coriander, aji and garlic. This is an absolute must-eat! Chinese and Japanese influences are also more obvious on the coast (Chinese food, or chifa, is excellent here as well). You'll find good chinese restaurants everywhere but those in Lima are probably the best! Lomo saltado is a classic Peruvian dish: strips of beef, flash-fried with tomato, garlic, aji, red onion, red pepper and perhaps of red wine. Another great dish is aji de gallina. It's a creamy, chicken-based dish cooked with walnuts and parmesan that's similar to a good korma and is a classic. Highland cuisine In the Andes, the food employs more vegetables and tends more towards the 'fresh and spicy' than the rich sauces of the coastal dishes. Trout and the other freshwater fish to be found in the lakes and rivers of the region are excellent, as are the huge variety of Andean cheeses. Specialties of the mountain region include alpaca. Alpaca is a smaller version of a llama. It is similar to venison and best in a French-style white wine sauce. It is also low fat!! The other mountain classic is a real pre-Inca specialty called pachamanca. This consists of a variety of meats which are wrapped up and placed in a hole in the ground together with hot stones. This has the effect of steaming the meat in its own juices! Also in Arequipa, is rocoto relleno - stuffed spicy andean peppers! They are usually stuffed with minced beef and quinua - a primitive grain that's been used in Peru for thousands of years. In the jungle Food here tends to be simply cooked with an incredible diversity of ingredients. You can eat a different fish or fruit every day! Try the cherimoya. It looks like an avocado but tastes like strawberries! Inkicapi is a spicy chicken soup/casserole cooked with peanuts, coriander and yucca Desserts and Puddings Peruvians desserts are often incredibly sweet to Americans and Europeans. If you get the menú in a restaurant you will always get a little dessert, jelly, flan, custard.You can be sure it will be very, very sweet! Churros are the sweetest of Peruvian desserts and treats and mostly available in Lima. They are like a donut with caramel. Peruvian Staples There are a number of dishes that you can find almost everywhere. First is the classic pollo a la brasa spit-roasted chicken and chips. Perhaps with a salad, but that's about it. It is great grilled chicken in the world and you can get it in 15 minutes! Chicharrones are crispy, battered pieces of chicken, turkey or fish and milanesa is chicken, turkey or fish, pressed flat and fried in breadcrumbs. These are both usually served with rice, potatoes and the standard Peruvian salad of raw red onion, chopped tomato and lettuce, with a lemon dressing. Vegetarian food in Peru Peruvians traditional dishes are based around either fish chicken or beef usually. Most restaurants can provide vegetarian alternatives. Peruvian versions of Chinese and Italian food is very good and rice or noodle-based traditional dishes like arroz con pollo and tallarin saltado can easily be made with vegetables instead of meat. Peruvian drinks: Peru has several good beeers: particularly cuzqueña and arequipeña. Although originating from Cuzco, you can find cuzqueña throughout the country and it is generally acknowledged as being the best in Peru Peru produces good dessert wines, particularly in the area around Ica but they are usually a bit sweet to drink with a main course. There are a few dry reds (almost no whites) but you will find plenty of Argentinian or Chilean bottles if you'd rather stick to what you know. Where Peru does excel is in the production of Pisco - the traditional Peruvian brandy. This is a clear brandy that is drunk neat, with mixers and in cocktails like the famous Pisco Sour . Pisco is a city and an important port on the Peruvian coast. The name originates from the Inca word for a bird, one of the mysterious designs on the Nazca plateau. The surrounding valleys, born in the Andes Mountains, contain extremely fertile soils which have lent themselves to the cultivation of the grape. Pisco has not only given its name to Peru's national drink, one of the highest quality liqueurs and symbol of the Peruvian tradition but it is also the centre of its production and distribution worldwide. Origins of Winemaking in Peru During the XVI century grape vines were brought to Peru from the Canary Islands by the conquistador Marquis Francisco de Caravantes. In the first years of Spanish colonisation, the production of wine expanded throughout Peru. It must be pointed out that the first wine making in South America took place at the Marcahuasi farm in Cuzco in 1560. Such was the success, that the wine began to be exported from Peru to other Spanish colonies. The worried Spanish wine producers negotiated a ban on this trade with Felipe II in 1614. As a result of this ban, the farming Jesuit monks shifted the emphasis of their trade and intensified production of grape liqueurs using pre-Inca style earthenware containers also known as Piscos. These entrepreneurs went out and found new markets throughout Christendom. These early endeavours established the foundation for major international growth in the trading of Pisco during the XVII and XVIII centuries. This resulted in new centres of production particularly Ica and Moquegua, where production was further enhanced by developing viticulture techniques. Types of grapes used Pisco was initially made from 'Quebranta' grapes, a local non aromatic variety of the black grape brought from Spain, that gives it a very particular and characteristic flavour. This drink is known as 'Pure Pisco' and is also obtained from the distillation of other non-aromatic selected grapes, such as 'Mollar' and 'Negra Corriente'. There is also an 'Aromatic Pisco' obtained from the distillation of aromatic Muscat grapes such as 'Italia', 'Moscatel', 'Torontel' and 'Albilla'. A third type is the 'Acholado', obtained from the mixture of aromatic and non-aromatic grapes. Finally, you can find the 'Mosto Verde', which is distilled from unfermented grape juice. Pisco Today The only Pisco producing areas in the world are located within the coastal areas of the Departments of Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and the valleys of Locumba, Sama and Caplina in the Department of Tacna in Peru. Pisco is produced using both ancient and modern techniques and can be enjoyed in its pure form or used to prepare various cocktails, such as the well-known “Pisco Sour”. This is served in the best restaurants in Latin America and throughout the world. It can also be mixed with other liqueurs, fruit juice or soft drinks. The main markets for Pisco are currently United States, Chile, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Canada. SOME PERUVIAN FOOD DISHES Peru is famous throughout South America for its food. As a major fishing nation, fish is abundant, and prepared with imagination. The primary ingredients found in nearly every Peruvian dish are rice, potatoes, chichen, pork, lamb, and fish. Most of these meals include one of the different kinds of "aji", or Peruvian hot pepper, which mainly are: yellow aji pepper, red aji pepper, red rocoto pepper Chicken, pork and lamb were introduced to Peru 500 years ago, when Spaniards came to America. Other ingredients, like potatoes, were already being grow in the Peruvian Andes and were taken by the Spaniards back to Europe. Today more than 200 varieties of potato can be found in the Lake Titicaca area. They range in color from purple to blue, from yellow to brown. Sizes and textures vary as well. Some are smalls as nuts; others can be as large as oranges. Following are some of the dishes and foods that can found in Peru. • Pescado y Mariscos (Fish and Seafood) – Anything with fish is a great bet. Ceviche is the most famous. Peruvians "cook" fine white cod in lemon juice, serve it chunky with onions and spices. In the mountains, you can find "trucha," the local fresh Andean trout, generally farm raised. • Comida Criolla – This is the term for the traditional Peruvian dishes. Aji de gallina (spicy chicken stew), lomo saltado (stir-fry beef), chupe (fish stew) anticuchos (marinated beef heart). Vegetables play a major role in these dishes. • Chifa – This is the term for Chinese restaurants in Peru. From very elegant to simple, all seem to serve excellent food in and around Lima. Peruvians love to celebrate events at the Chifas. • Inca Cola – The color of this soft drink is bright yellow and it smells like bubble gum. • Aji de Gallina: shredded chicken in a spiced milk sauce. • Adobo de cerdo: Pork sauce, served with white rice. • Arroz con Pollo: Boiled chicken seasoned with a green sauce. Served always with green rice (rice cooked with albahaca) • Anticuchos: marinated grilled beef heart. • Carapulca: It is made from dried and diced potatoes with pork, steak and rice. • CauCau: Consists of tripe and diced potatoes • Ceviche: Fish or mixed shrimp with lemon. The seafood is cut into small pieces and then mixed with lemon juice and left to sit for 1hr. Next, it is mixed with onions, celery, cilantro, salt and black pepper. The dish is served cold. • Escabeche de pescado: Boiled fish seasoned with onions, aji and lemon juice • Ocopa: boiled potatoes in a seasoned sauce of cheese and nuts • Pachamanca: This is a typical dish from the desert. It consists of lamb, pork, meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a tamale. First, one has to heat rocks on the floor using firewood. When they are hot enough, the food is placed inside a sac and buried in the hot rocks. The food has to be repeatedly checked to see when it is done because the temperature is unstable. • Papa la Huancaina: Potatoes served with a special spicy sauce, olives, lettuce and egg. • Papa Rellena: meat-stuffed potato patties. • Parihuela: Fish, shrimp crabs, mussels and octopus. Served with yuca and rice. • Rocoto Relleno: Typical dish with meat, onions, peanuts, milk and eggs, everything baked inside of the delicious rocoto (pepper), with potatoes and cheese. • Seco de frejoles: Boiled beans with a lamb stew in green sauce, always served with white rice and raw onions seasoned with lemon and aji. • Roast cuy, or guinea pig, is considered a delicacy, and is traditionally served for very special occasions. Western culture has made its mark on Peru, and one of the signs of change is the popularity of pizza. The Peruvians make it their own way, though, in the old-style, wood-burning ovens that have been part of the Peruvian landscape long before pizza was ever heard of here. An Introduction to Peruvian Gastronomy Until most recently, Peruvian cuisine was hardly noticed abroad. Few outsiders had heard of such dishes as ceviche or carapulca, let alone had tried them. Yet notwithstanding, Peruvian cuisine is one of the World's most varied and delicious. Now, thanks to a vital generation of young chefs Peruvian cooking is well known abroad, many connoisseurs worldwide are beginning to discover it. The Economist magazine, for example, reported in a January 2004 article that Peru could "lay claim to one of the world's dozen or so great cuisines". Norman Van Aken, one of Florida's most gifted chefs, acknowledged that Peruvian cuisine was possibly the most enticing of those he had studied. And Patrick Martin, academic director of Le Cordon Blue, said that one of the reasons why they had a branch of the school in Lima was the excellent quality of local cuisine. Two aspects converge to give Peruvian cuisine an uniqueness that few other enjoy. The first one is the country's enormous biodiversity. Peru is home to some 80 types of the world's 104 different biological zones, which assures an amazing assortment of fresh ingredients. Potatoes and hot peppers from the Andes, fish and seafood from the Pacific Ocean, mangoes and limes from the coastal valleys, bananas and manioc from the Amazon jungle: a chef's only problem is abundance of choice. Second, Peruvian cuisine is the quintessence of cultural fusion. Ever since the first blending between Inca and Spanish traditions, local cooks have been capable of incorporating the flavors and techniques of the many immigrants that disembarked in the country's ports, in particular African, Chinese, and Japanese. A Brief History of Peruvian Cuisine Potatoes are probably the main contribution of the Incas to the world. By the early XVI century, when Spaniards arrived, Peruvian natives had already domesticated some 1000 varieties of the tuber. Although potatoes were fundamental to their diet, Inca cuisine also comprised cereals like quinua and corn, meats like alpaca and cuy (a native guinea pig), fruits, and obviously hot peppers -their most significant gift to Peruvian cuisine. Many Inca dishes have make it practically unchanged to the XXI century, and are cooked just like 500 years ago. The best examples are probably carapulca and pachamanca. During the Spanish Viceroyalty, which spanned over 3 centuries, the Iberian introduced many culinary techniques and ingredients, such as olives, grapes, dairy products, beef, chicken, and rice. Although native and Spanish cultures -and cuisines- were at first unconnected, they began to gradually mix, until they successively fused in Creole culture. New Criollo cuisine took the best of the two worlds to create dishes like ají de gallina or papa a la huancaína, where hot peppers, cheese and milk gently blend in delicious sauces. Spanish though didn't came alone. They brought with them African slaves, many of whom worked in the cuisines of the noble and the wealthy. Over the years African influence proved essential to Peruvian culture, particularly regarding music and cuisine. Their talent in creating delightful dishes from poor, discarded ingredients has produced two of Peru's best: anticuchos and tacu-tacu. After independence (1821), a consistent wave of European immigrants arrived in Peru, and their cuisines -in particular French and Italian- provided an additional twist to the culinary melting pot. However, the real gastronomic revolution arrived from the Far East. First were the Chinese, brought during the mid XIX century as cheap labor, mainly for working in cotton and sugar-cane plantations. Chinese fervently conserved their cultural identity and traditions, and when their contracts expired many moved to Lima, establishing in a zone that was eventually dubbed Chinatown. They opened small eating places that captivated limeños -yet only after the initial distrust was overcome. Chinese, who were mostly from the Canton region, introduced new frying techniques and ingredients like soy or ginger. Peruvian classic lomo saltado is possibly where their influence is most evident. Paradoxically, when Japanese immigrants began to arrive at the turn of the century -also to work on plantations-, limeños looked down on fish and seafood. Meat, they believed, was more refined. By the 1950s nisei cooks had eradicated this prejudice. Their restaurants served delightful fish and seafood dishes that few could resist. Indeed, it was their subtle culinary touch to recreate ceviche and tiradito as we know them today. |
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