Anticuchos are most often known in the U.S. as chunks of beef heart (or whole chicken hearts), although in Peru the term describes any kind of meat chunk sold grilled by street vendors, not just Anticuchos de Corazón. Cebiche is likely famous enough now that it needs no introduction, but these “mazamorra pastries,” are more of a mystery, since as far as I can tell, mazamorra currently signifies nothing but “mazamorra morada” a thick pudding made from purple corn and fruit. Mazamorra even means “porridge,” in Spanish, and points to appropriately porridge-y desserts across Latin America, so I have no idea what’s going on here. Finally, it’s worth noting that one of the more interesting and popular Peruvian ice cream flavors is lucuma, another local Andean fruit, known rather goofily in the Anglophone world as “Egg Fruit.”
Excerpted from the late Eduardo Galeano’s Faces and Masks, part of the ‘80s-era Memory of Fire trilogy, here's a 12-hour rundown of antique Peruvian snacks, circa 1769. A running catalog of the toll of corporatist colonialism on the so-called “New World,” the book is particularly focused on charting historical upheavals via the metronomic march of the calendar, which adds a sense of strange menace to this seemingly innocent list of foods, many of them influenced by flavors and ingredients forcibly introduced from Spain. A few of these dishes are self-explanatory, although some others are not. “Curds seller,” to start, likely refers to vendors of Quesillo, a moniker that means something slightly different in every Latin American nation, in Peru signifying a fresh curd cheese still sold on the streets of Lima to this day. The “green velvet” Chirimoyas are the pale-colored, shingle-textured fruit also known as the “custard apple,” although this appellation applies to many of its cousins in the Annona/Soursop family (not including, strangely, the actual Soursop, aka Guanábana), which also includes the “Sugar Apple,” and the American Paw-Paw. Cherimoya means “cold seeds,” in the Quechua language, a reference to the high altitudes at which they are grown. More musings on custard apples, meanwhile, can be found in the second of my Colombia trip report posts. Moving on, the only adequate modern parallel to a Peruvian “hot honey cake,” is probably a Cachanga, the local name for a Sopaipilla, although these are traditionally topped with Chancaca, an unrefined sugarcane syrup that has a flavor similar to that of honey. Picarones are actually smothered in honey on occasion, but their appearance next on the list prevents them from consideration as the “honey cake” in question. The “corn sugarcakes,” meanwhile, are likely a portable version of Pastel de Choclo, a term which has by now splintered off to designate a wide variety of different dishes, including a savory ground beef concoction similar to that commonly consumed in Chile under the same name. It’s also similar, at least in my mind, to another 18th century recipe - the Costrada eaten in Campeche on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, although that one derives its yellow color from saffron-scented rice.
Anticuchos are most often known in the U.S. as chunks of beef heart (or whole chicken hearts), although in Peru the term describes any kind of meat chunk sold grilled by street vendors, not just Anticuchos de Corazón. Cebiche is likely famous enough now that it needs no introduction, but these “mazamorra pastries,” are more of a mystery, since as far as I can tell, mazamorra currently signifies nothing but “mazamorra morada” a thick pudding made from purple corn and fruit. Mazamorra even means “porridge,” in Spanish, and points to appropriately porridge-y desserts across Latin America, so I have no idea what’s going on here. Finally, it’s worth noting that one of the more interesting and popular Peruvian ice cream flavors is lucuma, another local Andean fruit, known rather goofily in the Anglophone world as “Egg Fruit.”
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