More on food and Peru

As I said in my last post, Peru has a long storied food culture.  There are many regions in Peru that have distinct flavors, produce, and dishes.  I have already talked about the wonderful markets for produce, meat, fish, chicken, and dried goods. The diversity of produce is amazing.  There are thousands of potato options that are used in various dishes: article 1, article 2. There is even a 208 page catalog about the various types.



Corn is another staple that is so different from the sweet corn we commonly eat in the U.S.  Here they grow some 50+ varieties of corn in a rainbow of colors from white, yellow, red, purple, black, and multi-color.  Corn is found in so many dishes.  There is even a drink made from the purple corn called chicha morada. Here is a short article about corn and some special Peruvian dishes.  Choclo is corn with huge kernels and not nearly as sweet as the corn I grew up with but it is found in many dishes as an integral component, a complementary taste or texture, or even a garnish.  Like in the US corn is also a common snack.  Pop corn has been around for thousands of years they say.  You can also find tortilla chips but not as common. Corn nuts are more common but not like hard, break-your-teeth kinds we have at home. Here they are crispy and salty and come in many flavors.  But they also have a roasted corn snack called cancha.  There are many varieties (cancha serrana, cancha andina, etc.) using all different types of corn.  It is delicious and crunchy.  Definitely a fav of mine.

Aside from all of the wonderful food that Peru has and is proud of, there are definitely foreign influences.  Ok what I mean is fast food and chain restaurants. You can pretty much find any major chain from the U.S. here in Peru from McDonalds and Burger King, to KFC and Papa Johns, to Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, to Chili's and TGI Friday's.  One day early in my trip I was walking around and came upon a circle, El Ovalo Gutierrez. To my surprise, except for a church and a grocery store, the whole circle was surrounded by American chains.  I should not have been surprised but to that point I had most of where I had been was local stores and restaurants with maybe a random McDonalds or KFC in the mix.  What surprised was the concentration of the American establishments where I could have been in almost any US city.

With all of the amazing food options in Peru it is easy to not be tempted by American fast food, though I have been.  So, OK, YES! With all this great food around I caved into my curiosity and cravings.  Let's just say I was rewarded justly. The burgers kinda suck. I tried Burger King and McDonalds.  I remember in Europe burgers seemed thin and under done.  Here they are thick and dry.  That includes at their own version of McDonalds called Bembos.  Not even Starbucks is the same.  My Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade does not quite have the same flavor and usually comes as Hibiscus or Passion Fruit instead of Black tea.

I almost went to KFC but had a choice of Peruvian rotisserie chicken just down the street.  A much better option.  It is another food that Peruvians do very well.  They even line up in grocery stores for rotisserie chicken.  Washington, DC has some wonderful Peruvian chicken places. I strongly recommend them over a Boston Market, KFC, Popeyes, or whatever.

My next food post will be about the higher end of food in Lima.  Yum!