Peru

by M
 
Today, we visit Peru.  I have always wanted to go to Peru for the sole purpose of checking out Machu Picchu.  There is a small hindrance to this idea though... they eat guinea pigs there.  I don’t care how much hot sauce you put on it, I don’t eat guinea pigs.  Not just because it is a rodent, but guinea pigs have personality.  I had a guinea pig once; his name was Ned, ‘Lucky Ned Pepper’.  He was a great guy and an important member of my family for a good 5 years.  When he was young, he nearly died from an infection on his feet and a bad case of guinea pig mites. My wife nursed him back to health by soaking his feet in a betadine solution and scraping the scabs of his feet to drain the pus out.  The whole procedure took about 45 min and she did this every day for a month and a half.  He was eternally grateful and expressed his gratitude after he was totally healed.  Ned went on to live a long life filled with organic parsley and dandelion greens, about $35/week of it. When he died, I gave him a proper burial...  I didn’t eat him.  

Either way, I’d like to know if I can go to Machu Picchu without seeing someone eat a guinea pig along the way.  In the meantime, we have the local hot sauce to tell you about.


Sauce: Rocoto Molido
Manufacturer: Alacasa
Chile Pepper: Rocoto (capsicum pubescens)
Country of Origin: Peru (Republica del Peru)
Score: 8.5/10

The Rocoto sauce is simply delicious; we were all seriously impressed. The packaging looks like a Capri Sun bag of juice, you know the ones that were impossible to get the straw into?  Rather than coming from a Peruvian factory, one could be fooled to think that it was freshly made by one’s grandmother (assuming one grew up in a hot sauce loving country like Mexico like R and one’s grandmother had empty Capri Sun bags lying around). It is a thicker sauce, similar to a marinara, and has a nice layer of oil to it too.  The flavor of the sauce is zesty, and the ingredients appear to be carefully cooked because the sauce retains a clear orange color and watery texture typical of fresh blended sauce.  It tastes like they roasted a red pepper long and slowly over a low heat.  
It has a great zing to it and a vivid color.  Non hot saucers will feel the burn but won’t run away, while regulars will appreciate the restrained warmth.
8.5/10....highly recommended

 

Pesto Chicken Sandwich with Rocoto Hot Sauce