Since we’ve been home, I’ve been asked a lot if we tried any interesting foods in Peru. Well, what do you consider interesting? I like to go to outdoor markets, supermarkets, vending machines, snack stores etc and look at the stuff they’ve got vs the stuff we’ve got. For example, the chicken halves with no packaging, actual chicken colour (not bleached like here), all stacked on top of each other in the meat display counter. Or, the different but same cereals and snacks. Like the Zucaritas to the left. Look familiar? Too bad the name to me looks like “Sugaries” or “The Sugareds”. I don’t know how well a cereal called “Sugaries” would sell in Canada, but at least Kellogg’s is being honest!
And then we also like to try stuff that is the same everywhere–like McDonalds and Coca Cola. Now, before you go all cuckoo and say, “You go to McDonald’s when you’re in another country, why bother?” It is kind of interesting. There are always different menu items and soft drinks. In Paris they had Peach Iced Tea and in Peru they had Inca Kola.They also had the McBacon, and the McNifico, and they don’t serve hash browns with breakfast. You could also get a ton of different sauces. Mayonnaise and Ketchup are available in the little pumps at the condiment counter, and so are a several kinds of hot sauces, salsas and in Mexico City, even chopped up jalapeño peppers.
We did try other things besides McDonalds! We had 3 meals on our Colca Canyon trip. There were all sorts of potato dishes, Alpaca, Lima Beans, Rice, Soups, Chicken, Plantains, etc. We tried everything. (Little tidbit for you–the potato is from Peru; it was the primary food source of the Incans.) At one restaurant we had Colca Sours which is a Peruvian drink made from Cactus Fruit, Lemon/Lime juice, egg whites and some other stuff. They were quite tasty. We had trout from Lake Titicaca on Taquile Island. And, we went to a fast food place in Lima called Bembos. It was sweet because they used REAL ingredients on the chicken burger I got. REAL Edam cheese and a whole wheat bun. Amazing!
We didn’t try Cuy. I just couldn’t. Maybe if it was served in a way that didn’t look like a dead rat it would be a little easier to stomach. I didn’t see anyone eating Cuy anywhere we went. But, we did run into some people who had wanted to try it but ended up choosing Alpaca instead as the Cuy was ridiculously expensive. FYI: Many families in the Andean highlands still raise Guinea Pigs for food; they’re also part of the folk lore and medicine of the region.
We also didn’t try this dish that we found in a tented market in Cusco. Do you cook cow snout with or without the teeth?
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