One of my favorite parts of traveling is exploring new cultures, and there is no better way than talking to people and trying new foods! Throughout my two month stay in Peru, I compiled a photo journal of the local foods, traditional dishes, and tropical fruits I had enjoyed. For this part of the journey, a friend I had met in Ecuador joined the adventures. I have Janik to thank for many (ok, most) of the photos in this post, as well as my camera roll in general from our time together.
We were able to share the joy of exploring markets, cooking up new creations in sparse hostel kitchens, and of course eating street foods and local fruits we had never heard of.
Let’s talk today about my favorite… fruit (of the journey?)
Potatoes & Non-Potatoes
Yeah yeah, “potatoes arent fruits” OK we’ll get there.
Potatoes
So many kinds of potatoes! Peru grows over FOUR THOUSAND kinds of potato. Unfortunately for everyone involved, my website will not support 4,000 photos. But I promise I saw them all with my own eyes and tried them all with my own mouth. (Math check: I was there 2 months, so I would have tried 67 potato varieties every day. Yeah, I can vouch for that, I remember there being lots of potatoes)
Non-potatoes:
Story time. Let’s set the scene, it’s 86 degrees (30C) and very humid. I’m sweating, we’re all sweating. Janik and I are getting lunch, and they bring out a few snacks and a hot pepper or two before our meal arrives. We finish the toasted corn, and all that is left is the pepper.
It’s the perfect time to ask what are the odds you eat this pepper? Janik asked and I respond 1 in 10. After the obligatory countdown from 3, we say the same number, so I don’t hesitate to bite right into it. Nothing like some extra heat on this already hot day.
Little did I think about, there were no drinks at the table yet, and no more food available to soften the blow to the tastebuds. I would have to wait out the self-inflected spice.
To be fair, nothing in Peru was that spicy, other than the occasional ceviche, so I knew it wouldn’t be intense enough to end your life like maybe in Mexico. But as you can see by the photo of me with tears in my eyes, it was not an enjoyable few minutes. Shoutout Janik for capturing this heartwarming moment.
Above, find another non-potato. I literally don’t remember what this was or what it tasted like or how we ate it. <3 Looks like a slug though
Fruta- fruit!
Not only the bananas we commonly see in the USA, but mini bananas, red bananas and “banana passion fruit”. Wait, is it all bananas?
I was so impressed with the plethora of new fruits that I began to send a “fruit of the day” to my family group chat, which became popular amongst us. The tropical fruits that, far away, we don’t get to see are not due to their potential unpopularity with the markets abroad. Moreover, it is a result of short shelf life or inability to ship over long distances.
Some of these unfamiliar fruits became part of the regular rotation, while others stayed in their rightful place in my diet as part of a juice or ice cream flavor.
The ones I couldn’t get enough of:
Some strange ones (to me):
Mercados– Market explorations
Markets in Peru are beautiful gathering places, busy and bustling with life, a very important aspect of the rich culture. Even the smallest of pueblos had a surprisingly large market, full of restaurants offering breakfast or lunch, fresh produce, very fresh meats, and places to purchase fabrics and clothes. Finding and exploring new markets was something I looked forward to every time we arrived in a new town.
We would always look around the produce area because there was without fail a new fruit or vegetable to taste. Many of the vendors were kind and offered taste tests of what we were looking at or considering buying.
Various times, the vendor selection and purchasing process proved overwhelming. The vendors would yell over each other and wave you over to their stand to earn your service and capture your attention. If you haven’t decided what you’re there for yet, they might decide for you. Walking in without even a hint of ‘let’s buy vegetables’ can lead to disaster and a bag full of chicken feet if you’re not careful.
One morning at the market, I had a hankering for fresh squeezed juice. What else to do but approach the juice area? Wrong! At this moment I became the unsuspecting victim of the juice ladies all shouting to get my attention. It doesn’t matter if they all offer the same products for the same prices, I should pick theirs.
I almost gave up on my quest for juice, walking away to regroup. Was it worth it to go back and brave the chaos? How badly did I want this juice? (Spoiler: I am pleased to recount the ending of the story, which involved receiving my lovely juice. Winning!)
Honorable mentions:
Down the street from the hostel in Huaraz, Peru, we found an heladería with what seemed like unlimited flavors of ice cream. We had to keep coming back to try them all. The tropical lucuma fruit ended up as my favorite ice cream flavor in Peru.
What can you do without the classics? Luckily, we didn’t have to find out. There were always pineapples, mangoes, watermelons, and oranges to keep us satisfied, not to mention the beautiful avocados! (not pictured Sorry).
Thank you for reading!! See you next week 🙂