Peru: Food Of The Amazon
While it is the mountain and coastal regions of Peru that get the most attention, it the jungle region of the country that boasts the best culinary tradition that makes it famous in Peru, and the rest of the world, for providing diverse additions to the national menu.
The cuisine from the jungle is delicious because of the wonderful varieties that can be found there. Peru has 650 native fruits and many of these are found in the jungles. Ingredients that are integral to this include:
Plantains - a savoury cousin to the banana which is used in virtually every dish. Quite often these are baked whole, fried and sliced like chips and tend to be prepared into tacacho which is a ball of compressed and crushed plantain.
Cecina - fried and heavily cured pork steak. An artery killer, but delicious all the same.
Yucca - a vitally important staple to the Amazonian diet, the yucca plant grows like a weed and provides a starchy, filling supplement. This is often boiled and comes with vegetable and chicken soup.
Fish - perhaps unsurprisingly, the Amazon is brimming with fish and are a major staple. Cod-like flaky white fish are aplenty with a variety of species. Some of the more unusual species are the piranha, delicious when fried, and the paiche, an ancient species that can grow to over 2 metres in length. Be careful when ordering in restaurants however; it is illegal to fish the paiche for commercial reasons so you can help conservation through a careful dinner choice.
Caiman & Turtle - like the paiche, these two delicacies have been consumed by Amazonian people for millennia. However, although they are both widely available, their commercial hunting is prohibited and should be avoided even when displayed on menus.
Chirimoya - A fruit that tastes like strawberries and cream but looks like an avocado
Inkicapi - A hot soup made with chicken, yucca, coriander and peanuts.
Granadilla - a citrus-tasting fruit contained in a brittle outer shell. The insides are gloopy and can be found by cracking the shell open. You can either swallow whole or chew the seeds.
Palm heart - palm grows everywhere and can be chopped down and stripped to reveal the tender, refreshing heart towards the top foot of the tree.
Charapita - the jungle's own version of the ubiquitous Peruvian aji (chilli). These seeds are actually not a pepper at all, but they pack a potent punch all the same and are applied liberally in recipes and as a condiment.
About the Author
Peru vacations aren't complete without a trip of luxury to Machu Picchu, find yours with the right operator - http://www.aracari.com/destinations/cuzco-the-sacred-valley-the-machu-picchu-historic-sanctuary.html.
Tell others about
this page:
Comments? Questions? Email Here