Guinea Pig Peru Food

It wasn t until the spanish came and started sending guinea pigs to europe that the furry creatures were treated as pets.

Guinea pig peru food. Breeders tend to use the more formal cavy to describe the animal while in scientific and laboratory contexts it is far more commonly referred to by the more colloquial guinea pig. Cuy pronounced kwee which is guinea pig. Guinea pigs are called quwi or jaca in quechua and cuy or cuyo plural cuyes cuyos in the spanish of ecuador peru and bolivia. A traditional food guinea pig called cuy in peru has been served whole on special occasions since inca times.

What they are is a delicious delicacy best served with potatoes and salsa. There s local cuisine and then there s ultra local cuisine. Eating cuy is such a tradition in fact an estimated 65 million guinea pigs are consumed annually in peru that there are festivals celebrating the humble beast with contests for the best dressed largest and of course best tasting guinea pig. Cultivated by the incas in the andes for centuries the guinea pig was cheaper to raise and required less room to farm than pigs and cattle.

The growing popularity of guinea pig meat in high end restaurants in peru is helping to usher in the return of a traditional and environmentally friendly industry led by women. Traditional baked guinea pig though not all visitors to peru are keen to eat it this way jaime pesaque is the owner of mayta a high end restaurant in upmarket lima. Guinea pigs are cute and cuddly and eating one is like eating your pet dog. In peru it s estimated that some 65 million guinea pigs are consumed each year.

In peru you can t get anything more quintessential local than grilled guinea pig. Top chefs in peru. Believe it or not guinea pigs originated in the andean region colombia ecuador bolivia and peru and were originally raised specifically for eating. While it might seem unconventional to tuck into furry critters better known as domesticated pets in the west this indigenous mammal has been a staple.

Guinea pigs are also high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol. Peruvians don t keep them as pets.