A few weeks ago I received an email from OCEX Toronto, the Trade Office of Peru in Toronto, inviting me to an event at Pisco Restaurant. According to the email, the event was being held to enjoy pisco and Peruvian cuisine, and to celebrate Peru winning the World Travel Award for being South America’s Leading Culinary Destination.
Needless to say, I was pretty excited. Prior to that night I had never had the privilege of tasting pisco or even experiencing Peruvian cuisine.
Pisco is a clear brandy made from grapes that was developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century. It’s made from from eight different grape varietals and must be grown in one of the 42 designated valleys of Peru and Chile. One of the main differences between pisco from Peru and Chile is that, in Chile, pisco is sometimes diluted with water to reach the desired alcohol content, whereas in Peru it’s never diluted.
The taste of pisco can be described as mild and fruity and although it has a very high alcohol content (between 60 and 100 proof) it’s quite smooth and can be enjoyed straight. Very often though, pisco is used in cocktails with the most famous being the pisco sour. The pisco sour is made with key limes, egg whites, and Angostura bitters.
Pisco sour
Peruvian cocktails don’t always revolve around pisco. Another very unique cocktail that I got to try was the non-alcoholic drink called chicha morado. This one is made with beautiful Peruvian purple corn that’s simmered with pineapple rind, apple, cinnamon and cloves for about an hour. The result is a lovely, fruity, dark-hued spiced corn beverage that’s then sweetened with a bit of sugar.
Chicha morada
Apart from their amazing cocktails, Peru is well known for having an amazing variety of ceviches (raw fish and seafood marinated mainly in lime and lemon juice). In fact, ceviche is such an integral part of Peru’s “national heritage” that it even has a holiday declared in its honour. I had the opportunity to sample a couple of the ceviches but unfortunately I didn’t record their names.
I want to thank OCEX Toronto for allowing me to attend this event. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to discovering more amazing cuisine from Peru.
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