Food From Peru - Marvelous!

Peru is a country of marvels! Historically it has a past of great importance in its cultural aspects, such as in the development of civilizations in all the continent, what has been left to us from the Incas and Pre-Incas, the different foods they grew and we still use in our days, and all the incredible cultural heritage they have left us.
Between the great cooking elements we received from the Incas, it could be listed:

- 15 species of tomatoes,
- Around 4000 varieties of potatoes,
- 35 varieties of corn,
- More than 2000 varieties of sweet potatoes
- They grew peanuts (taken later by the Spanish conquerors to Africa, and from there peanuts came back to South America with the African slaves).

World Cuisine

In our days, Peru has about 2000 species of fish, more than any other country in the world. And the variety of fruits is also incredible, over 650 native fruits; an enormous amount of different bananas.

Food From Peru - Marvelous!

Some Peruvian plants are specially nourishing too. There's one called quinoa, another kañiwa and also maca, which are being studied as they are believed to be the nourishment of the future for human kind. Since 1985 some of these plants have been given to the Astronauts on their space trips, as the NASA believes they are very important for the diets.

Regarding Peruvian cuisine, we must remember the Incas heritage, as said before, recipes added by the Spanish, by the Africans, Japanese immigration, Italian and also French immigrants. So Peru has received influence from all the continents plus from the Incas. It has more than 2300 different soup recipes and hundreds of typical desserts.

All this leads to the nomination given by a Gastronomy Summit in Spain, declaring that Peru has one of the most important twelve cuisines in the world, being equal to French cuisine or Chinese. And they declared Lima as the "Gastronomic Capital of the Americas"

As in most Andean countries, three cuisine regions can be clearly differenced in Peru: 1) the Coastal zone, famous for its fishes, especially for the ceviche, the national dish of Peru. This is fish cooked in lemon juice, served with potatoes and salad. Of course, in this region you can try any of the more than 2000 varieties of fish. 2) the highland cuisine, where you can try meat, (alpaca, for instance, a very special flavor), and 3) the Jungle zone, where fruits are a special part of it, soups, chicken, plenty of yucca.

In the late years, Italian food has taken a great popularity, including pizzas, to which the Peruvians also gave their distinctive style.

Peruvian food is so diverse that you must live a long time there to say that you have tried some of its dishes, and as they vary from region to region, the richness and excellent taste of it all is a permanent gift for all those who try them.

Food From Peru - Marvelous!

Thanks To : Kitchen Exhaust Fans