Peruvian culture is the gradual blending of Amerindian cultures with European and African ethnic groups. The ethnic diversity and rugged geography of Peru allowed diverse traditions and customs to co-exist. Peruvian culture has been deeply influenced by Native culture, Spanish culture, and African culture. Other minor influences on their culture are Chinese, Japanese, and other European peoples.
Latin American cuisine is the typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to many of the countries and cultures in Latin America. Latin America is a highly racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse with varying cuisines. Some items typical of Latin American cuisine include maize-based dishes arepas, empanadas, pupusas, tacos, tamales, tortillas and various salsas and other condiments. Sofrito, a culinary term that originally referred to a specific combination of sautéed or braised aromatics, exists in Latin American cuisine. It refers to a sauce of tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, garlic, onions and herbs. Rice, corn, pasta, bread, plantain, potato, yucca, and beans are also staples in Latin American cuisine.
Asado is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries: especially Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay where it is also a traditional event. An asado usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla; all of which are cooked using an open fire or a grill, called a parrilla. Usually, red wine and side dishes such as salads accompany the main meats, which are prepared by a designated cook called the asador or parrillero.
Peruvian cuisine reflects local practices and ingredients including influences mainly from the indigenous population, including the Inca, and cuisines brought by immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Africa. Without the familiar ingredients from their home countries, immigrants modified their traditional cuisines by using ingredients available in Peru.
Chuño is a freeze-dried potato product traditionally made by Quechua and Aymara communities of Bolivia and Peru, and is known in various countries of South America, including Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Northwest Argentina. It is a five-day process, obtained by exposing a bitter, frost-resistant variety of potatoes to the very low night temperatures of the Andean Altiplano, freezing them, and subsequently exposing them to the intense sunlight of the day. The word comes from Quechua ch'uñu, meaning 'frozen potato'.
Cypriot cuisine is the cuisine of the island of Cyprus, shared by both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.The national dish is seftalia (greek:σεφταλιά)
Indigenous cuisine of the Americas includes all cuisines and food practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Contemporary Native peoples retain a varied culture of traditional foods, along with the addition of some post-contact foods that have become customary and even iconic of present-day Indigenous American social gatherings. Foods like cornbread, turkey, cranberry, blueberry, hominy, and mush have been adopted into the cuisine of the broader United States population from Native American cultures.
Humita is a Native South American dish that dates back to pre-Hispanic times. A traditional food from the Andes, it can be found in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina. It consists of fresh choclo pounded to a paste, wrapped in a fresh corn husk, and slowly steamed or boiled in a pot of water. In Bolivia, it is known as huminta and in Brazil as pamonha. Humitas are similar to Mexican uchepos, or tamales colados, which are also made with fresh corn; but they are only superficially similar to tamales, which are made with nixtamalized corn (masa).
Colombian cuisine is a compound of the culinary traditions of the six main regions within Colombia. Colombian cuisine varies regionally and is particularly influenced by Indigenous Colombian, Spanish, and African cuisines, with slight Arab influence in some regions. As one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, Colombia has one of the widest varieties of available ingredients depending on the region.
Bosnian cuisine is the traditional cuisine of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is influenced by Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Balkan cuisines.
A huatia or wathiya is an earthen oven which dates back to the Inca Empire. This type of oven is commonly associated with the peasants in the southern regions of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.
Chairo is a traditional dish of the Aymara people, consumed mainly in Bolivia and other countries in the Andes.
Inca cuisine originated in pre-Columbian times within the Inca civilization from the 13th to the 16th century. The Inca civilization stretched across many regions, and so there was a great diversity of plants and animals used for food, many of which remain unknown outside Peru. The most important staples were various tubers, roots, and grains. Maize was of high prestige, but could not be grown as extensively as it was further north. The most common sources of meat were guinea pigs and llamas, and dried fish was common.
Chilean cuisine stems mainly from the combination of traditional Spanish cuisine, Chilean Mapuche culture and local ingredients, with later important influences from other European cuisines, particularly from Germany, the United Kingdom and France. The food tradition and recipes in Chile are notable for the variety of flavours and ingredients, with the country's diverse geography and climate hosting a wide range of agricultural produce, fruits and vegetables. The long coastline and the peoples' relationship with the Pacific Ocean add an immense array of seafood to Chilean cuisine, with the country's waters home to unique species of fish, molluscs, crustaceans and algae, thanks to the oxygen-rich water carried in by the Humboldt Current. Chile is also one of the world's largest producers of wine and many Chilean recipes are enhanced and accompanied by local wines. The confection dulce de leche was invented in Chile and is one of the country's most notable contributions to world cuisine.
Carapulcra, or carapulca, is an ancient Andean dish that has been prepared for centuries by both Quechua peoples and Aymara peoples. The original term for this dish in the Aymara language is qala phurk'a, which means a stew made with hot stones. In contemporary Peruvian cuisine and Bolivian cuisine, it is a stew of pork and papa seca, with peanuts, aji panca and mirasol peppers, garlic, and other spices like clove. In ancient times llama meat or alpaca meat would have been used, and some people still use these meats today. It is usually eaten with rice, boiled potatoes or yuca.
Milcao or melcao is a traditional potato pancake dish originating from the Chiloé Archipelago in Chile. The dish is prepared with raw grated potatoes and cooked mashed potatoes mixed with other ingredients. It forms an important part of the Chiloé dishes curanto and reitimiento, and is mentioned frequently in folklore as part of Chilote songs and riddles. The dish spread to the south of Chile and Argentina with the migration of many Chilote families to Patagonia during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
Rocoto relleno is the Peruvian variety of stuffed peppers, a dish popular in the city of Arequipa, a city in the Andes mountains located in the southern parts of Peru which is famous for its take on dishes derived originally from Spain. Since the sweet peppers used in Spain were not available in Peru, rocoto peppers were substituted, which were cooked in water and vinegar to remove as much spiciness as possible. Minced meat is placed inside the rocotos and is then topped with melted cheese, baked and served whole. Rocotos are capsicum pubescens which are at least ten times spicier than jalapeño when raw. This is considered one of the most famous dishes of Peru and served all over the world.
Olluquito, olluquito con carne and olluquito con ch'arki are traditional dishes in Peruvian cuisine made with ulluku a root vegetable that also has edible leaves. It is an important root crop in the Andean region of South America, second only to the potato. The leaf and the tuber are edible; the leaves are similar to spinach, and the root is like a potato or jicama. The Ulluku contains high levels of protein, calcium, and carotene. Papalisa were used by the Incas prior to arrival of Europeans in South America. It can be served with meat.
