Customer Reviews

Eat Smart in Peru : How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure

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"...picarones, a doughnut-like snack or dessert made from a yeasty pumpkin dough. The rings of dough are formed by hand, deep-fried and served with raw-sugar syrup flavored with orange, aniseed, cinnamon and cloves." ~ pg. 14

The Eat Smart guides are an exploration of cuisine itself and are interesting even if you never reach the desired destination. You can order ingredients online for the recipes featured. There are pictures of delicious cultural favorites, food markets and unique ingredients. Some of the main sections include:

Early History through Pre-Inca Civilizations
The Regions of Peru
Tastes of Peru
Shopping in Peru's Food Markets
Resources
Helpful Phrases
Menu Guide
Food and Flavors Guide
Restaurants

Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt also show how various cultures influenced Peru's culinary world and the first part of this book contains a lot of culinary history that may appeal to food writers. Maps and pictures of the food make it easier to understand the cultural significance of food choices.

"Rare is the Peruvian dish that does not include chile pepper. Each river valley oasis along the western slopes of the Andes has a microclimate that produces unique varieties of chile peppers, which are, in turn, completely different from the peppers native to the jungle." ~ pg. 19

Recipes for Rice Pudding look familiar and if you can find gooseberries, you can make the gooseberry marmalade to serve with quinoa crepes.

Other highlights include a section on helpful phrases you can use in restaurants. List of foods like "nuez moscada" have translations, nutmeg. If you order a tortilla, you will get an omelet.

Eat Smart in Peru will appeal to anyone who is curious about new culinary discoveries and wants to either travel to Peru or incorporate new recipes into their cooking repertoire.

~The Rebecca Review

People who love combining great food and travel make pilgrimages to Italy's Po Valley, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hanoi, Singapore, France's Lyon, San Francisco, Charleston, New Orleans and other shrines to fine cooking.

Add Peru to the list.

If you aren't aware that Peru has its very own fusion cuisine -- very approximately like that of New Orleans with a blend of Indian, Spanish and African styles -- plus contributions by Chinese and Japanese settlers, Eat Smart in Peru will open your eyes to yet another fine gourmet destination.

Authors Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt are way ahead of the curve in discovering Peruvian cuisine. I was only aware of Peruvian chicken, based on a carryout in my neighborhood that serves this dish, cooked on a rotating spit over charcoal, with a rosemary-based spice shoved under the chicken skin, and a fine salsa verde on the side. Peterson and Soltvedt found a vast variety of other dishes, including curries, desserts and appetizers. A section on recipes includes Aji de Gallina, a chicken stew that I plan to try.

In addition to the recipes, Eat Smart in Peru contains a history of the development of Peru's cuisine, a regional specialties chapter, a glossary of ingredients and menu guide.

Finally, Eat Smart in Peru tells you how to shop in a Peruvian market and how to locate rare ingredients stateside. It's an easy read, with nice illustrations and a logical organization.

By the way, the author has done other "Eat Smart" guides to Brazil, Mexico, India, Turkey, Poland and other destinations.

This is a handy, travel sized guide to eating in Peru that greatly enhanced our trip to Peru. There are two excellent glossaries, one for menus with the names of foods in Spanish and in English, and the second listing a number of markets. There are recipes for some typical dishes from different regions in Peru. I especially liked the history of dishes.

Our tour arranged for Sunday dinner at the home of a penal judge and an office manager; the family prepared the meal using many foods grown on their their own farm, and the judge and his law student son ate with us. The menu included guinea pig fried in deep fat served with large kernel white corn on the cob and sweet potato. The second course was braised beef served with carrots, cucumbers, green beans and tomatoes. Dessert was strawberry gelatin. Except for the guinea pig, the meal sounds quite American, but this book added interesting information which helped us understand the seasonings and enjoy the meal more fully.

My son and I are greatly addicted to street food, and the book was helpful on street dining as well. The steamed white corn at the railroad station on the way to Machu Picchu was superb; roasted beef heart at a greasy spoon in Miraflores was excellent; and we were delighted to learn more about the fusion of Chinese and Peruvian foods at the many chifa restaurants.

There are a couple of useful websites that make this book even more useful. The publisher, Gingko Press, maintains a website with news about the authors and other books in the Series. ginkgopress The site announced recently that this book received the 2006 Gourmand Award for Best in the World Award for a culinary travel guidebook. There is also the helpful perufood.blogspot devoted to the foods of Peru; Joan Peterson contributes suggestions on how to find ingredients, and suggests alternatives for those that aren't available in the US.

As a portable guide book on the foods of Peru, this one can't be beat. But,if you are really serious about Peruvian food, consider obtaining the beautiful and encyclopedic The Art of Peruvian Cuisine by Tony Custer. The Reviews on Amazon and elsewhere (including my own) are glowing.

Robert C. Ross 2008

(Planeta Journal) - This latest title in the Eat Smart series helps travelers decipher menus and shop in the lively markets of Peru. There are so many options for visitors throughout the country, this book is the definitive guidebook for enjoying Peruvian cuisine. Includes tips on shopping in markets, a menu guide, helpful phrases and a list of helpful resources.

Eat Smart in Peru by Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt, Illustrated by Susan Chwae is a travel guide for food lovers which guides the traveler in Peru through the market and the menu in order to have a savory tasting adventure. The unique concept of this book is one of many in the EAT SMART series. The guides include a history of the culture and development of its unique cuisine. There are many recipes sprinkled through the book to try before making your trip to Peru or to enjoy as a special memory after returning. Especially useful is the chapters about shopping in the market with the needed languages phrases.And every traveler to Peru needs this book even if it is just for the restaurant guide which lists the dishes and food items in alphabetical order with descriptions of what it is, with national and regional Peruvian favorites indicated. With this guide you will no longer be ordering mystery foods when you dine. The book is unique and really well organized. Be sure to pack it for your trip!

Knowledgeably compiled and expertly co-authored by Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt, Eat Smart In Peru: How To Decipher The Menu, Know The Market Foods, And Embark On A Tasting Adventure is a superb introduction and guide for tourists and business travelers when dining, cooking, and eating in Peru. Providing readers with an excellent reference for all connoisseurs of hearty and healthy South American cuisine, Eat Smart In Peru contains helpful advice and resources for eating and drinking in a number of local areas of Peru, enabling the visitor to experience foreign foods and knowing what they are, unlocking secrets of Peru's exotic menus and markets with two bilingual glossaries, and how to get to the heart of the culture through their culinary arts. The newest addition to the "Eat Smart" travel guides, Eat Smart In Peru is enthusiastically recommended to all visitors of Peru, especially those searching for a reliable, portable Peruvian travel and food guide.

Wonderful recipes that aren't too dificult to make or have hard to find ingredients. Great photos.

Having read Eat Smart in Peru prior to our recent trip to Peru, I found the information in this book to be very helpful and accurate. Peru has a delicious cuisine that I more fully appreciated because of this book. The menu reader section was especially helpful. I would highly recommend this book to any "foodie" who travels to Preu.

While the book indeed produces a basic overview of Peruvian cuisine and its complexities, it is lacking all but the most simplistic histories and evolutions of Peruvian cuisine. The writing is neither compelling nor particularly well organized and edited. I was hoping for more.

EAT SMART IN PERU:
How to Decipher the Menu,
Know the Market foods &
Embark on a Tasting Adventure

By Joan Peterson and Brook Soltvedt
Illustrated by Susan Chwae




A review by Marty Martindale

This book is a faithful food-lovers guide. The west coast of South America is a popular, relatively new destination for millions of travelers these days, and there's far more there than Machu Picchu and Darwin's Galapagos to attract. If you're headed for Peru, this book's a must.

Peruvian foods is a healthy diet of fish, seafood, fresh vegetables, fruits and spicy chile. They are also fond of quinoa, a grain-like substance much like a translucent couscous, and bland for many recipe variations.

The authors give you the full food tour beginning with the food history of Peru, then they break it down regionally. They also offer tips on making the most of local marketplaces. Additionally, they prepare you to not look too foolish or helpless when ordering from a Peruvian menu and supply phrases, as well. More important they give you 27 pages of what they call their Menu Guide. This is a very comprehensive listing of probably most popular dishes both regional and national. They alphabetize, then describe each briefly. This can help you know what you want for dinner before you ever get to a good restaurant. This section also includes a section of delightful, glossy color pictures of elaborately arranged foods which Peruvians excel at.

Next are 27 more pages which are a glossary of foods and food-associated items with tips on correct pronunciation. This is followed by a directory of restaurants in Peru including addresses and telephone numbers.

Best of all, they've seen to it once you return home you don't need to leave all Peruvian cooking behind. First, they supply ordering information for hard-to-find items, also some useful organizations. Then, best of all in Tastes of Peru, they've included 28 pages of recipes to continue the Peruvian experience. Here are a few examples:

Ceviche de Pescado (Spicy marinated fish): It calls for fresh tilapia, red onion, chile peppers, fresh lime juice and ice

Papas al al Huacaina (Potatoes in the style of Huancayo): Combine achiote seeds, vegetable oil, farmer's cheese, chile peppers, evaporated milk, saltine crackers, lettuce, boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, black olives and boiled fresh corn.

Ensalada Beiga de Endibia y Queso Roquefort (Belgian endive and Roquefort salad): olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, endive leaves, tomatoes, Roquefort cheese, sour cream, milk, walnuts and chives

Lenguado al Vapor en Salsa de Maracuya (steamed sole in passion fruit sauce): White wine, sugar, passion fruit juice, crema de leche, sole fillet, black sesame oil, garlic, raw shrimp and cooked rice

Tamalitos Verdes (Savory corn tamales with spinach): dried cornhusks, fresh spinach, butternut squash, red bell pepper, 2 chiles, scallions, garlic, evaporated milk, corn flour and lard

Tacu Tacu de Paliares en Salsa de Camarones (Bean and rice patty served with shrimp sauce): Canary beans, salt pork, vegetable oil, onion, garlic, chile paste, oregano, cooked rice, butter flour, white wine, paprika and cooked shrimp

Quinotto (Mixture of quinoa and vegetables): tomato, olive oil, basil, garlic, peas, carrots, bacon, onion, mushrooms, paprika, bacon fat, water, quinoa, white wine and heavy cream

Espesado de Vacuno (Beef ribs in a thick sauce with yuca and squash: Yuca, fresh corn, cilantro, water, beef short ribs, squash, scallion, red bell pepper, cooked rice and garnice of ceviche de pescado

Picarones, a dessert (Doughnot-like fried dough): Sweet potato, pumpkin, dry yeast, sugar, potato water, flour, salt, vegetable oil for deep-frying. For syrup, water, dark brown sugar, sugar cane, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves and aniseeds

Peruvian food is exciting because they are not only famed for their potato history, but they have a knack for combining unexpected foods, by North American standards, and coming up with some very delicious, colorful results.

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