Enjoy the Loquat Fruit on Its Different Desserts

By Arnold Fernandez Coraza (translated by David Knowlton)

As long as the rains keep falling the fruit trees continue to produce. An example is the loquat. It is a small and round fruit with a very agreeable scent and refreshing flavor. It has a thin, yellowish peel. It is used in both sauces and desserts. Read the rest of this entry

Slices of Watermelon to be Enjoyed

By Hebert Edgardo Huamani Jara and Walter Coraza Morveli (translation by David Knowlton)

Watermelon abounds in Cuzco these days. It is light, juicy, and sweet, a temptation for any passerby who sees it sliced and ready in Cuzco’s markets, with its moist red flesh, and dark seeds. Read the rest of this entry

Sliced Mango

By Brayan Coraza Morveli (translated by David Knowlton)

The Mango, an aphrodisiacal fruit, is very common in Cuzco in the months of December, January, February, and March, the height of our rainy season, when beauty abounds. Read the rest of this entry

Granadilla Ready to Eat

By Brayan Coraza Morveli (translated by David Knowlton)

Cuzco is a land of many fruits. Not only does one find those that came with the Spanish and modernity, oranges, limes, apples and kiwi fruit, one also finds many that originated here and have delighted its people for thousands of years. Of these, none is more delightful than the granadilla, a fruit for which there is still no English. Read the rest of this entry

Fresh Yuca for Sale in the Morning

By Brayan Coraza Morveli (translated by David Knowlton)

A long brown root that is starkly white inside is one of the most common foods in Cuzco and other areas of South America. Sometimes in English is called cassava and sometimes yuca, after the original in Spanish. From it is made tapioca and it is also the third most consumed food in the world’s tropics, including Peru. Read the rest of this entry

Walter and Hebert Crossing the River on an Oroya

By Hebert Edgardo Huamaní Jara and Walter Coraza Morveli (translation by David Knowlton)

One sunny afternoon, after a lot of running around and waiting, we finally began the trip we had proposed to Inca Jungle. At four in the afternoon we left from the STAREX terminal where buses depart for the lowlands, though we had hoped to leave earlier. 

We got on a nine-seated mini van for the four hour trip between Cuzco and Santa Maria in Quillabamba which cost 30/S (about twelve US dollars.)  It was not very comfortable. Though the time passed slowly, the changing scenery, from upland valleys to high mountains and then slowly increasing jungle comforted us and made us excited to reach our goal. Read the rest of this entry

Juice in San Pedro Market

By Walter Coraza Morveli (Translated by David Knowlton)

Natural colors and fresh scents rise from the heart of fruit. These, along with fast moving hands, wide smiles, and flirtatious looks draw many to the juice sector of Cuzco’s San Pedro Market. Read the rest of this entry

Cacao on the Tree

By David Knowlton

Plump, colorful fruit hang from stems.   Large as melons, they seem somehow incongruous clinging to the trees, as if Picasso had somehow designed an orchard of long leaved trees and fat, over-sized fruit.   Yet the scent when opened, and the taste, moves one into the world of Burroughs as it calls up sedate, up-scale chocolate shops and the riotousness of the jungle.  Where else does something looking like cantaloupe taste like expensive chocolate. Read the rest of this entry

Cappuccino, La Perla

By David Knowlton

Coffee houses have exploded around the world, with the model of good coffee and  a place to sit and stay for a while.  But in Cuzco such coffee houses are still a rarity.   Instead the city has cafes that sell coffee and pastries, but also attempt to include on their menu more substantial fare.   This is no different than coffee houses elsewhere.  What is distinctive is the lack of couches, the invitation to sit and stay a spell. Read the rest of this entry

Unusual Truffles in Cuzco

Chocolate and love fall together so frequently that as a couple they are a cliché. Yet in Cuzco a new cafe and museum bring them together in a story that is not only about good food, information, and helping people, it is a love story with twist, turns, and lots of chocolate. Read the rest of this entry