Part of the fun and excitement of traveling to exotic locations is sampling the local cuisine, and visitors to the Peruvian Andes will have plenty of new foods to try. One of the most curious, and perhaps shocking, of delicacies that traveling diners may encounter in Peru is cui, otherwise known as guinea pig.
In the U.S., guinea pigs may only be furry companions, but along the towns that make up the Inca trail, they have been served up for centuries. In fact, guinea pigs have been such a staple of the diet that the main church in Cusco has a painting of the Last Supper that depicts Jesus and his disciples dining on the creature.
There's even a holiday dedicated to the guinea pig, known as jaca tsariy, which translates to "collecting the cuys." This festival is celebrated in many parts of Peru, including Lima and the Antonio Raimondi province, which is located in the eastern part of the country. Festivities vary across the nation, but the sometimes involves a collector going door-to-door collecting "donations" of guinea pigs from families.
Want to sample something particularly Peruvian, but not quite as peculiar? Interestingly, the potato is a large part of the Peruvian diet. In fact, the potato originated in the high altitudes of the Andes, and there are multitudinous variations of the tuber still served today.
For a truly exotic Peruvian meal, order cui
Posted on Monday, June 18th, 2012
