Preparing for a recent family trip to Peru, I researched Peruvian cooking and arrived in Cuzco armed with a list of must-try dishes. After a brief reading of Peru’s long history, I was captivated by this multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society going back ten millennia which melds numerous Amerindian civilizations, Spanish conquerors and settlers, imported Black slaves, Chinese laborers and Japanese plantation workers. I wanted to see how this multi-cultural ancestry is reflected in Peru’s current foodways.
We explored Cuzco, Puno and Lima and the surrounding archeological sites and villages with informed guides, and learned that native crops of corn, potatoes and other tubers, amaranthaceases ( quinoa, kanwa and kiwicha) and legumes (beans and lupins) were the basic ingredients of Peruvian cooking for centuries, continuing to the present. These local ingredients were developed over centuries of agricultural experimentation by pre-Inca and Inca civilizations, overcoming difficulties in growing food in the rocky, high-altitude Andean terrain and problematic climactic conditions.
Machu Picchu
Throughout Peru’s history, its agricultural development focused on locating farmable land in its numerous climates and microclimates conditioned by a rainforest on the east of the country, two Andes mountain ranges in the center, a coastal desert and the Humboldt Current along the Pacific coast. Only the Andes region with its 30-32 recognized microclimates has sufficient rainfall, making that region the most consistently productive in Peru.
Our guides told us that although Peru is almost the size of Alaska, only 3.1% of Peru’s total land area of 496,200 square miles (1.286 square kilometers) is arable. Pre-Incan and Incan rulers, concerned with providing food for their subjects, focused on maximizing harvests from the Andes’ high-elevation, steep slopes by clearing, leveling and terracing narrow bands of land for planting.
Inca terraces near Ollantaytambo
Freeze dried potatoes for long-term storage
Inca storehouses near Ollantaytambo
The productivity of these terraces was further enhanced by irrigation which permitted the Incas to take advantage of different ecological zones created by variations in altitude. Agricultural experimentation with crops and growing environments, development of a method for freeze drying vegetables, fruits and meats and a system of storehouses at high altitudes assured a stable food supply between periods of abundance and famine. In times of drought, Incas were able to feed their subjects and avoid rebellions, unrest and disease.
Inca experimental farm in Moray
Thanks to the foresight of the Inca, the central Andean area became a complex biosphere and an important prehistoric center of plant domestication, which included potatoes, maize, lima beans, peppers, yucca or manioc, cotton, squashes and gourds, pineapples, avocado, and coca and many varieties of fruits and edible plants. Spanish conquerors, arriving in 1532, introduced wheat, barley, rice and other grains, vegetables like carrots, eggplant, lentils, spinach, herbs like parsley and spices like cumin and oregano, sugarcane, tea and coffee, fruits such as grapes, oranges, limes, peaches, figs and dates, and olives. Additionally, with the importation of Old World cattle, swine, sheep, goats, fowl, and draft animals, protein consumption in the Peruvian diet was significantly expanded from llamas and alpaca, the two previously domesticated animals.
Native women with llamas
Spanish conquest of the Americas also resulted in the importation to Peru of ingredients grown in other countries such as sweet potato (Central America), several varieties of beans (Latin America), tomatoes (Central America) and sweet peppers (Mexico).
Armed with this knowledge, we embarked on exploring public markets in Cuzco and Lima to see if this historic diversity continued to the present day. We were impressed with what we found. Both Mercado San Pedro, the Andean market in Cuzco, and Mercado No.1 in the Miraflores section of Lima were brimming with a dizzying amount of high-quality meats, poultry, potatoes, other vegetables, fruits, grains, cheeses, herbs and spices.
Meats and seafood
Potatoes and other tubers
Vegetables, herbs and spices
Grains and corn
Fruits, bread and cheese
Aside from the availability of a greater selection of seafood in the Lima market, all other foods, whether native or imported, seemed to be available to cooks at both locations. I regretted that I did not have a kitchen to cook with these beautiful, incredibly fresh ingredients. Clearly, today’s Peruvian markets reflect centuries-old bio-diversity and provide a vast array of ingredients for the contemporary multicultural Peruvian diet.
Discovering Peru’s Foodways — Part 2 describes the multi-cultural influences on contemporary Peruvian cooking.
One year ago:http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/a-chocolate-indulgence-steamed-chocolate-pudding/
Two years ago:http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/exploring-the-foodways-of-dubai-part-2-2/