Bunch Grass Growing Near Cuzco (Photo: Alonzo Riley)

By Brayan Coraza Moreli, with the help of Walter Coraza Villca (translation by David Knowlton)

Andean bunch grass, also called fierce straw (paja brava) or the indigenous ichu, grows in the mountains around 3600 meters above sea level.  It reaches a meter or more in height.  It was very important in ancient times and even today has lots of uses in the towns and communities close to Cuzco.  Read the rest of this entry

A Half-Finished Bowl of Chairo Soup (Photo: Alonzo Riley)

By Arnold Fernandez Coraza (translated by David Knowlton)

The pleasure of the rains departs and the dry season arrives. In it all the farmers now see its time to begin the harvest of their fields’ products. The season begins in which Cuzco will enjoy abundant Andean crops:  including potatoes, corn, broad beans, and more. Read the rest of this entry

Lomo Saltado at a Popular Eatery in Lima

By David Knowlton

Perhaps the most well known Peruvian dish, lomo saltado is both codified and constantly being recreated these days. Like so much else it is undergoing reinterpretation and redefinition. At the same time discussions take place about what its essence is so that its tradition can be maintained. Read the rest of this entry

Mother Caring for Her Son

By David Knowlton, with the help of Walter, Brayan, and Arnold, the Cuzco Eats team

Mothers will be celebrated throughout Cuzco today as Peru celebrates Mother’s Day. In honor of Cuzco’s women, and not just mothers, we wanted to give some distinctive details of life in the Imperial city of Cuzco. Read the rest of this entry

Seco de Cordero and Frijoles with Rice

By Arnold Fernandez Coraza (translated by David Knowlton)

Cuzco’s people work at a whole range of jobs. Some of them are more delicate office-based work, and some require lots of strength and energy. One example of this last group are the albañiles, people who work laying brick and doing construction. For lunch, they opt to eat legumes, menestras as we call them. Besides enjoying something pleasing, they fill themselves with the energy to allow them to work hard the rest of the day. Read the rest of this entry

Crispy Torrejas

By Brayan Coraza Morveli (translated by David Knowlton)

As June approaches, you will hear many of the people of Cuzco start talking about one of the most famous typical dishes known in our region, chiriuchu. That name belongs to Quechua, the language of the Incas, and it means “cold food”. Read the rest of this entry

Kiwicha Growing

By Walter Coraza Morveli (translated by David Knowlton)

An Andean grain, Kiwicha is experiencing a boom in exportation these days. Because of its great nutritional and medicinal value it has attained a much higher percentage of consumption outside Peru, while in its country of origin its use is declining as more and more people go to the cities. Read the rest of this entry

Laughing in a Feast

By David Knowlton

In Cuzco you often hear the sounds of a fiesta, whether a grand social event that embraces the entire population or the smaller gatherings and celebrations of families and friends. Like public rituals most everywhere, these do many things. Ritual Studies goes into those in depth, but in Cuzco one thing more than any other keeps popping out at me whenever I go to one or when I hear people talk about them Read the rest of this entry

Feast of the Cross

By David Knowlton

Today is a feast day with historical resonance throughout the Andes and especially in Cuzco. It is the Feast of the Cross. While in most of the Catholic world the cross is celebrated in September, following historic Spanish usage it falls on the third of May in the Andes, a time with deep indigenous significance far beyond that of Catholicism. Last night in Cuzco people stayed up all night to greet their crosses, light them candles, and feast them with food, drink, and dancing. Read the rest of this entry

Fresh Carrots

Cuzco’s cuisine inherits a wide range of dishes with flavors that have developed over thousands of years. Thanks to the ample production of foods our Earth Mother offers us we are fortunate to possess a great variety of ingredients, vegetables, grains, and fruits, which allow us to make our distinguished traditional dishes.

Our markets hold the best products. To walk through them is fascinating.They are a museum of food and enclose history and stories that only our caseras, vendors, disclose. Read the rest of this entry