FOOD AND DRINK OF THE AMAZON REGION

IQUITOS - PERU

• There is a wide offer of different regional dishes in the cities and towns on the banks of the Amazon River. In Iquitos, the main city of the region, offers an acceptable service and a variety of dishes sophisticated enough to satisfy the most refined of tastes.

• If you feel like trying new flavors, why not sample some of the local fresh water fish, such as "paiche" and "dorado" or vegetables such as "palmito", all of which are unique to this region of Peru.

The most important dishes in our region are:

• Juane: A kind of "tamal" filled with rice, minced chicken and pork, chonta, yucca and wrapped in "bijao" leaves, a special plant of the jungle, is one of theregion's leading dishes. It is especially prepared on the "Dia de San Juan" (Saint John's Day), June 24th.

• Inchicapi: Another traditional Iquitos dish, blends the flavors of peanuts, yucca, corn flour, "sihuca" and squash with chicken.

• Tacacho with cecina: Roasted and fried banana and mashed in lard and dried meat.

• Patarashca: Fish is wrapped in banana leaves and roasted to the fire.

• Chonta Salad or palmito: Stem of the palm denominated pona.

• Cecina: Dried and salted pork of an exquisite flavour.

• A refreshing soft drink is prepared with "aguaje", a native regional fruit. Alcoholic beverages are masato, the juice of mashed yucca left to ferment, or have a shot of Siete Raices "Seven Roots", a well-known concoction capable of giving anyone a good jolt!

• Masato: Drink of boiled and mashed yucca fermented with sweet potato or sugar.

Photograph of an asháninka woman of the Coriteni Tarzo fellowship(province of Satipo, Junín), in the preparation of the traditional masato.

• Aguaje: Fruit of the aguaje palm, on sale year

round. Resembles a small brown pine cone, is soakedin water and peeled to reveal the yellow flesharound a large seed. The soft drink is known asAguajina.

Aguaje PalmIn the Amazon exists more of 3 millions of

hectares of “aguajales”

Eatable fruit, it differentiates

3 kind of aguajes : shambo (meaty and greasy pulp of red-orange color), blue shambo (when fruit acquires a blue coloration by soaking in hot water) and killo aguaje

(bittersweet pulp of yellow color ).

• Camu Camu: Exclusive to the jungle. Full of vitamins (one camu camu supposedly contains the Vitamin “C” of 40 oranges). Looks like a small plum. Extensively used for medicines, perfumes, liquors and soft drink.

• Cocona: Round, plum sized citrus fruit. Red and yellow skin with yellow flesh. Grows in bush form.