History and traditions
Stretching from Ecuador to central Chile, the Inca Empire had an immense diversity of products at its disposal for over three centuries, with tubers, roots and cereals as staples. Among these plants is the potato, which is thought to have been domesticated around Lake Titicaca almost 8,000 years ago. In the 16th century, the Spaniards brought this root vegetable back to Europe, where the plant was long shunned because its flesh tended to turn blue as it oxidized. Here, the potato comes in hundreds of different varieties. While in the West we're used to smooth, calibrated potatoes, Peruvians are spoilt for choice: long, round, cylindrical, bumpy, yellow, red, brown, pink, black, purple, with equally colorful flesh.
Corn, originally from Mexico, was introduced later through trade. Widely cultivated, it is highly prized and still features in many Peruvian dishes. Quinoa, on the other hand, comes from the Andes. Its ease of cultivation and high fiber and protein content have boosted international demand and thus the price of this cereal. So much so, in fact, that it has sometimes become too expensive for certain Andean populations who originally ate it.
But the region is also home to a multitude of plants that are still little known in the West. These include tarwi or chocho - a variety of lupin - prized for its protein-rich seeds. Or theahipa, appreciated for its nourishing seeds and crunchy turnip-like tubers. Theoca looks like a small, bumpy, pinkish potato. It can be bitter or sweeter, depending on the variety. It is closely related to the tuberous nasturtium or mascho. And let's not forget theulluco, quite similar, whose round leaves are also edible.
Other plants include the radish-like maka and the sunflower-like yacón or earth pear. Arracacha, or potato-celery, is in the carrot family.Achira is prized for its sweet roots, which are cooked and ground into flour. Finally, paiko is used as a leafy vegetable, herbal tea or spice, for its powerful, resinous taste. Several species of seaweed were also consumed.
Llama and alpaca meat was also popular - as was their wool. Sharqui, strips of freeze-dried meat, could be kept for a very long time. The cuy or guinea pig, domesticated in 2000 BC, is highly prized for its meat, often grilled or in soup. Not to mention various mammals, birds and even insects.
Products and eating habits
Market stalls are overflowing with products, some rare and unexpected, others more common. In addition to potatoes, quinoa and maize, dried beans, tomatoes, squash and avocados are also put to good use here. In the Amazon, manioc, pineapple, sugar cane and cocoa are grown. Conversely, the mild, sunny climate of the lower Andes makes Peru one of the world's biggest producers of grapes, blueberries, artichokes, asparagus and even olives.
Cumin, aniseed, cinnamon, cloves, chilli, coriander and basil are common herbs. Theají amarillo is a small, conical yellow pepper, moderately hot, emblematic of the country, while theají panca, a very mild, dark red pepper, is often prepared in paste form. While corn and quinoa were the most popular cereals, the introduction of wheat has led to the development of numerous bread recipes, such as pan chapla and pan huasco, flat breads widely consumed in the Andean regions. Rice is a very common accompaniment.
The waters off the Peruvian coast are among the world's richest in fish, thanks to the Humboldt Current, which comes from Antarctica. With 3,000 km of coastline, Peru is a major fishing country, and this activity dates back to the first settlement of the continent. Dried and salted fish was transported to the Andes in the days of the Inca Empire. Anchovies, sardines, tuna, bonito, mackerel, swordfish and herring are all caught, as are various crustaceans and molluscs such as the loco (a shellfish similar to the abalone). In the Amazon, freshwater fish such as piranha and catfish are also highly prized. Peruvians also eat a lot of meat: chicken, beef, pork, goat, but also llama and guinea pig meat in the Andes.
The basics of Peruvian cuisine
It's common in Peru to start a meal with a soup, which can even be a meal in itself, especially in the evening. There are all kinds of soups, with pieces of beef or chicken offal and a variety of vegetables. For those with smaller appetites, there's sopa de casa (broth with pasta, vegetables and meat), while the more hearty chaque arequipeño is a broth with meat, cabbage, potato, wheat and tomato. In the Andes, don't miss sopa de quinua, a vegetable and quinoa soup.Aguadito de pollo is a chicken soup (including giblets) with vegetables and lots of coriander.
And let's not forget the numerous starters and salads, which are generally rich and hearty, with the potato as a recurring ingredient. The causa a la limeña, for example, features layers of mashed potatoes, tuna, avocado, hard-boiled eggs and mayonnaise. Or try theocopa arequipeña, slices of steamed potato topped with a green sauce made with crème fraîche, garlic, chili pepper and huacatay (an aromatic herb). This dish is often accompanied by shrimp. Closely related, papa a la huancaína is covered with a generous layer of creamy sauce made from fromage frais andají amarillo, then garnished with olive. Papa rellena is a fried croquette of mashed potatoes filled with meat, onion, bell pepper and hot sauce.
Rocoto relleno is a pimento cheese topped with meat, baked in the oven and crowned with melted cheese. Although it looks like a bell pepper, rocoto is very hot. For something a little fresher, palta rellena is an avocado stuffed with shrimp or crab and drizzled with lemon juice, whileensalada de chonta - typical of Amazonia - is a salad of finely sliced hearts of palm. Tamales are a corn puree wrapped in its own leaf and steamed. Sweet or savory (with meat), it is served for breakfast, lunch or a snack.
There are also a number of meat-based main courses, such as seco, a stew of chicken(gallina), beef(res) or goat (chivo), with tomato, bell pepper, chilli and a nice dose of coriander, served with white rice and lentils, chickpeas or dried beans. Another dish in sauce - from the Andes - carapulcra is a stew of pork, papa seca (dehydrated potato), peanuts and various spices, originally prepared with llama meat.Adobo de cerdo is a pork stew with garlic, vinegar, sweet pepper and cumin. The more curious can try cau cau, tripe in a spicy tomato sauce, or tacacho - from Amazonia - made with bacon, chorizo and mashed plantain.
On the grilled side, Peruvians love anticuchos, skewers of beef heart marinated in vinegar and cooked over a wood fire, or lomosaltado, thin strips of beef cooked with peppers and onions and always accompanied by white rice and French fries. A very old recipe, pachamanca is a traditional dish cooked with hot stones in a primitive oven called a huatia. It is generally made with lamb, mutton, llama, pork, beef, chicken and potatoes marinated in various spices. Pollo a la brasa is a simple but delicious recipe for chicken cooked over a wood fire and served in pollerías all over Peru. Another popular dish isají de gallina, chicken simmered in a sweet pepper and cheese cream. Juane is a preparation based on minced meat (usually chicken or pork) mixed with rice, manioc or another starch, then wrapped in a pear-shaped banana leaf and steamed for a long time.Arroz con pato a la chiclayana is a kind of paella made with duck, sweet and hot peppers, herbs and fluffy rice. Tacu-tacu is an Afro-Peruvian specialty made with rice, black beans, plantain and chili pepper. A Chinese-inspired recipe - or "chifa" cuisine -arroz chaufa is a type of Cantonese rice, very popular throughout the country.
Peruvians are particularly fond of fish and seafood, which comes in a multitude of recipes, especially raw, inspired in part by the large Japanese community that gradually settled in the country in the late 19th century. These include, of course, ceviche, cubes of fish fillet marinated in lime juice, spiced up with hot chilli and served with chopped onion and coriander, accompanied by sweet potato and boiled corn. Fish is sometimes replaced by raw seafood such as concha negra, a type of clam, scallops or octopus. Chinguirito is a variation on ceviche with dried fish. Tiradito is also a raw fish dish, but unlike ceviche, here it's cut into thin slices rather than cubes, and the fish is not marinated in lemon juice, but served totally raw, directly with a hot sauce (chili, lemon juice, ginger).
Other seafood-based recipes include pulpo al olivo, cooked octopus served cold with a creamy sauce of mayonnaise and black olives, or choros a la chalaca, mussels topped with a tomato-chili-onion-corn mixture. Other hot dishes include chupe de camarones, a shrimp soup cooked with milk, chili and oregano, or parihuela, a hearty fish and seafood soup (crab, shrimp, mussels, cockles). You can also try jalea (a mixture of fried seafood), chicharrón de pulpo (fried pieces of octopus) orarroz con mariscos peruano, a kind of seafood paella.
Desserts and drinks
Peruvian sweets are varied, with the star ingredient being manjar blanco, a milk jam similar to dulce de leche, but less caramelized and paler. Manjar blanco is used in many desserts and cakes, such as alfajores, manjar-filled cookies sprinkled with sugar or covered in chocolate. Thealfajor de Penco is a cake version, made up of layers of cookies always filled with manjarand covered with grated coconut. Guargüeros are cannoli-style tubes of fried dough filled with manjar. Churros con manjar blanco are very popular. Suspiro a la limeña is a popular dessert made with egg, port and manjar blanco cream, topped with meringue.
Other desserts includeantecoco, a coconut cream dessert;arroz con leche, a rice pudding popular in Latin America; andarroz zambito, a typically Peruvian version of rice pudding with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. Crema volteada is a silky egg and caramel flan, while leche asada is a lightly gratinated flan. Dulce de mamey is a compote made from sapote(mamey), a very sweet fruit with orange pulp. Originally from Amazonia, chapanas are steamed papillotes of cassava paste with cinnamon, wrapped in banana leaves. Very similar, humitas dulces are sweet corn puree papillotes topped with raisins. The astonishing mazamorra morada is a kind of purple corn jelly.
Picarones are ring-shaped fritters made from sweet potato or squash puree. Chocotejas are chocolates from the Ica region filled with manjar and walnuts, while cocadas are a kind of Rococo. Ice creams and sorbets are very popular in Peru. Try the queso helado (sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, vanilla) from Arequipa.
Peru is one of the world's largest coffee producers. A coffee often considered excellent by aficionados, it was cultivated by Spanish colonists as early as the 1700s, well before most other Latin American colonies. In the country, it is often consumed fairly dark, rather strong, sometimes with a little sugar and a dash of condensed milk.
As for soft drinks, there are countless excellent fresh fruit juices, although as with many Latin Americans, sodas are everywhere. The national drink is Inca Kola, a bubble-gum-tasting soda scented with fragrant verbena, created in 1935. It is the country's most widely consumed soft drink, well ahead of Coca-Cola.
In the land of pisco
Peru's emblematic alcoholic beverage is pisco, made from the fermentation of grape must. It is a fine, highly alcoholic brandy similar to cognac. It is the base for the famous pisco sour cocktail, made with egg white, lime juice, sugar, crushed ice and bitter. Peru is a major producer of grapes, although conversely wine production - concentrated in the Pisco and Ica regions - remains modest. The best-known local wines include Tacama, Albillo, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Ocucaje, Grenache, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc and Vista Alegre.
Beer, however, is the country's star beverage. Available in 66 cl or one-liter bottles, brown or blond, it can be found everywhere. Cusqueña is the most popular commercial brand. In recent years, there has been a boom in craft beer. They can be found in Lima, Arequipa, Huaraz and Cusco under names such as Sierra Andina, Nuevo Mundo, La Candelaria and Barbarian.
Chicha, which is drunk in the sierra, is a low-alcohol, fermented corn-based drink, flavoured with cinnamon, cloves and lemon, and drunk iced. It is a very popular refreshing drink. The Lambayeque region is famous for its rum production.
