The cuisine of Peru is world-renowned, with many of its restaurants globally recognized for their unique dishes that blend traditional Incan or pre-Incan ingredients with outside influences stemming from immigration and Spanish colonization. Peru is especially known for its varieties of papas (potatoes) . Almost every dish in Peru involves papas or rice, and there are over 2,400 varietes of papas that exist in Peru.
A unique dish popular in Peru is cuy frito, or fried guinea pig. Although we see guinea pigs as pets in the United States, in Peru, cuy is a dish symbolizing hospitality and celebration, often associated with important events, such as weddings, birthdays and religious festivities.
I was a little nervous to try my first taste of cuy, as I was raised a vegetarian and always saw animals as pets rather than food, especially guinea pigs, however, I put my vegetarianism on pause upon my arrival in Peru as it can be difficult to accomdate a vegetarian diet here. I also love trying new things, especially something with such cultural importance as cuy in Peru. So, with slight hesitation, I tried my first cuy frito and to my surprise, I loved it!
