Who am I to be discussing the food of Peru? Good point. But my blog is supposed to be about food, at least some of the time, and I was in Peru for two weeks, ate something every day, took photos, and here we are.
First, you should know that the food in the large cities is sophisticated, varied, and enjoys a wonderful reputation in the several magazines to which I subscribe. But guinea pigs? Seriously?
Our trip was planned down to the minute, it seemed, including NINE different flights. I know, who was in charge? So we were busy little tourists, and still only saw the southern, high Andean part of the country. We were lucky to have a guide in the area around Cuzco who was native to one of the communities in the countryside. He was passionate about his land and her people, so introduced us to the kitchens, markets, and flavors of the centuries-old Peruvian kitchen. Wow, that sentence sounded like an excerpt from one of those magazines I mentioned.
But let's get the guinea pigs out of the way. Here they are:
We found a group (collective name as per the web) of guinea pigs in every home we visited. I learned, again on the web, that most families in the Andean countryside will have about 20 of the animals, being raised in, or adjacent to, the kitchen. Approximately 90 percent of the guinea pigs, which are, incidentally, neither pigs, nor from Guinea, are raised at the household level. They are such an expected part of the indigenous communities that any family who does not raise them is considered either lazy or extremely poor.
Guinea pigs are high in protein, low in fat, but what do they taste like?
I thought I was prepared, but never got the chance to try any cuy meat, as these fellows are called in Peru. I would have, but they were never on offer. This sample is being "rubbed" with the herb which is actually his diet, and his mouth is stuffed with same. This seems logical, I guess. He'll be roasted and inevitably served with potatoes on the side. (If they'd just snip off those little feet, they might look more like, well, chicken?)
Edgar, our guide's gringo nom de plume, insisted that the Peruvians are thrifty, never wasting any part of an animal they butcher, and some scenes from a market we visited seem to confirm the idea. Among the abundance of grains, potatoes, veggies, flowers, we found the following:
Yum! Can only imagine that these will be added to the stew pot, teeth to be extracted later. Note the Inca Cola on the side. Didn't try any, as it was said to be fatally sweet. I don't know how typical the following photos may be, but these are scenes from a local (NOT touristic) restaurant.
We didn't eat at this establishment -- didn't eat locally except once when we were given empanadas from a stall run by one of Edgar's many friends. After closely questioning the contents of same, we think we were eating cheese, but the little treat could have included alpaca -- which I knowingly tried once in a stuffed pepper. Check those foodie creds!
Look how gorgeous the people are: (friend Ursel in the middle)
The last group had just performed at a restaurant on the island of Tequille in Lake Titicaca, and the gentleman on the right is Papa Grande, my partner for the dance. At 13, 500 feet, the dance was a short one!
From there, back to Lima, back to Miami, back to Portland, where, at 6:30 in the morning, the cold wind is howling. We've been promised snow, and it seems a long way from the gorgeous colors and sunshine of Peru.
Note: thanks to Ellen Banks for the help in manipulating the addition of photos to my blog! I don't know why the font isn't consistent, but Ellen has gone back to Whitman and isn't here to solve the problem. Sorry!
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