Peruvian Cuisine - Delicious and Diverse

Considered one of the most diverse cuisines in the world, food from Peru can be compared to French, Chinese and Indian cuisines. Peruvian food combines flavors from four continents, thanks to its Inca heritage as well as immigration from Spain, Africa, China, Japan and Italy. There are so many dishes that it is impossible to list them all. Let's just say that there are more than two thousand different types of soup, and over 250 desserts.

Peru also is an important center for many of the world's crops, including: 35 varieties of maize, 15 species of tomatoes, 4000 varieties of potatoes, 2016 varieties of sweet potatoes, 2000 species of fish, 650 native species of fruit, as well as being famed for many species of bananas. Due to the fact that Peru has a climatic variety of 28 climates out of the possible 32 in the world, the cultures differ dramatically from city to city.

The cuisine of the coast has four major influences: the Moorish, the African, the Chinese, and the local native. The Pacific Ocean is a major source of fish for Peru, and the country is one of the top two producers and exporters in the world of fishmeal. One of the most popular dishes on the coast is chupe de camarones, which is made from shrimp, stock soup, potatoes, milk, and chili pepper.

In Lima and Trujillo, which are considered the cities of central cuisine in the country, immigrants from Africa, Europe, Japan and China helped to influence the way food is prepared. Creole is the most widespread cuisine in the city, with large influences from China and Italy. "Chifa" is the Peruvian word for Chinese restaurants, which have really made an impact in the Peruvian cuisine. Anticuchos are made from beef heart marinated in a spicy sauce and accompanied by potatoes. They are served kabob-style from street vendors. Another dish sold by street vendors are tamales, boiled corn with meat or cheese wrapped in a banana leaf. Tamales are also a common breakfast food.

Papa a la huancaina is a popular dish found in most restaurants throughout the country. This dish consists of boiled potatoes on a bed of lettuce, served with spicy cheese sauce and olives. Ceviche is one of Peru's favorite dishes. It contains bite-size pieces of white fish marinated raw in lime or lemon juice and mixed with chiles. It is served with raw onions, boiled sweet potatoes (camote), toasted corn (cancha), and sometimes green seaweed called yuyo. Leche de tigre (tiger's milk) is the juice produced from the ingredients of ceviche. The "younger brother" of ceviche, Tiradito, shows more of an influence from Japan. The fish is sliced in thin strips and is marinated in lime juice, ginger, and aji limo. It contains no onions.

Papa rellana (stuffed potato) is mashed potatoes stuffed with ground meat, eggs, olives and various spices. It is then deep fried. Sancochado is a beef and vegetable stew which includes yuca (cassava) and camotes. Iomo saltado, sliced beef sauteed with onions, tomatoes, soy sauce, vinegar, chili and served with French fries is found in almost every restaurant in the country. It is considered a local staple, and is served with rice.

Arroz chaufa (Chinese style rice) is one of the most frequently used dishes found in Peruvian cuisine. Other common dishes include arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), chupe de pescado (fish cioppino), and butifarras (Peruvian ham in spicy sauce on a hamburger-type roll). Lima butter bean salad is made with Peruvian Lima butter beans, boiled and mixed "salsa" of onions, tomatoes, and green chili. Lima butter beans have been in the Peruvian cuisines for at least 6,000 years.

Casua is a mashed yellow potato dumpling mixed with lemon, onion, chili and oil. Some can contain avocado, chicken, tuna or shellfish. It is usually served cold with hard boiled eggs and olives. Carapulcra is a stewed dish of pork and chicken, dried potatoes, red chilis, peanuts and cumin. Empanadas peruanas (Peruvian pastries/meat pies) are filled with chicken, beef, cheese or can be vegetarian. They have olives and sometimes hard boiled eggs added to them, giving them a unique taste. Aji de gallina (chili chicken) is thin strips of chicken served with a spicy sauce made from yellow chilis, cheese, milk, bread, and walnuts. Chicharrones is a dish that consists of deep-fried and salted pork.

The cuisine of the northern coast is very different from the central or southern parts of the country. Northern dishes include: chambar, chinguirito, pez guitarra, seco de cabrito (goat stew), majao de yuca, pasao al agua, cebiche de conchas negras (ceviche with black shells). The southern cuisine includes the Andes and the jungle. In the Andes, the diet consists mainly of maize, potatoes, and tubur plants. Some meats come from alpacas, guinea pigs, sheep and swine. The pachamanca is a special banquet made from a variety of meats, herbs, and vegetables slowly cooked underground on a bed of heated stones. Because it is a tedious process, it is usually only served at special occasions or holidays. The main freshwater fish is the trout.

Cuy chactado is a meal made from fried guinea pig. They can reach a very large size and are normally served in the pachamanca along with other meats. Olluquito con charqui is made from tuburs similar to potatoes but with a more crunchy texture. Rocoto relleno is made by stuffing rocotos, one of the most spicy chilis in Peru. They are stuffed with beef mix or spicy pork.

In the jungle, two foods hunted are paiche (the world's largest freshwater fish) and turtles. Hunting turtles is prohibited in Peru so turtle-based dishes are very scarce. Fruits in abundance are camu camu, pineapple, and mango. Some dishes are cebiche de dorado, juane, and tacacho.

The Peruvians also have many delicious desserts. Alfajores, the most common dessert, is two or more layers of baked pastry usually filled with manjar blanco (white, sweet creamy filling) or molasses. Turrones, which is similar to fudge, is usually made from almonds. The fruit lucuma is almost exclusive to Peru, and people use it to make lucuma juice, ice cream, and shakes. Helados (ice cream) is common throughout the world, but Peru has different flavors such as camu camu and tuna (which is named after the prickly pear catcus, not the fish). Mazamorra morado is a jelly-like dessert that gets its color from purple maize. Picarones are sweet fritters with a pumpkin base served with molasses. Tejas is candy filled with manjar blanco coated with a fondant shell.

Well-known soft drinks are Chicha Morada, which has been compared to Kool-Aid. It is prepared with a base of purple maize, with chunks of pineapple, sugar and ice added as it cools. Inca Kola is also well-known, which is the brand of the popular fizzy soda drink. It is served everywhere.

As it can be seen, Peruvian cuisine is extremely diverse. Even the pickiest eaters could find something they like, due to the fact that the food draws from so many places and is varied so much. At the 4th International Summit of Gastronomy in 2006, Lima was dubbed the "Gastronomic Capital of the Americas". Take what you want from that.