Customer Reviews

The Exotic Kitchens of Peru

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Copeland Marks specializes in traveling to 'exotic' locations and writing cookbooks based on their food with some information about the place. This is a nice looking book with a short introduction and a small glossary that will be useful to first time cooks of Peruvian food. The recipes are generally simple (sometimes simplified) and easy to follow, and they yield okay food, but hardly the best Peruvian cuisine has to offer. Also, without more guidance on selecting ingredients, these are likely to yield some pretty disappointing results. For example, Peruvian potatoes include hundreds very flavorful varieties, and different types are used for different recipes. If an unsuspecting novice prepares causa with idaho potatoes the result will be quite bland and unlike anything what you'd eat in Peru. Mark's discussion of substitutions is limited and in my opinion mostly misses the mark (you cannot replicate the flavor of Rocoto Relleno using a bell pepper!!!!).

When my son and I went to Peru on vacation a couple of years ago, we fell in love with Peruvian food. With this book you can make a pretty good stab at capturing the tastes of the area--assuming you are able to find the ingredients. Fortunately, many communities now have markets that specialize in items from South and Central America. My favorite recipes are: 1) Ceviche de pescado, fresh fish "cooked" in lime juice. Two recipes are provided, one from Trujillo and one from Cuzco; 2) Sajta de pollo, special chicken in peanut sauce; and 3) Adobo de chancho, spicy pork with potatoes and yuca.

If you're like me, someone who loves Peruvian food but didn't really learn how to cook Peruvian food and now wants to try, this book will be a great help. True, some of the recipes don't quite hit the mark to what I am used to, but this is a great start.

I especially liked that the recipes list the cities or regions where they were created, and even mentions the fusion in Chinese-Peruvian and Japanese-Peruvian cuisines.

I found the recipes easy to follow.Very close to the way my mother cooks them. Even better when I was able to get the ingredients at a store in bellevue called LA Espanola (425-641-0249). They carry the yellow chile (aji) and red chile (aji) and other ingredients that gives Peruvian cooking its unique flavor.

My wife is from northern Peru, and she introduced me to Peruvian cuisine. Everyone I know who has been to Peru says it has the world's greatest food, and I agree. I've asked cooks in Peru to teach me the recipes: they don't use cookbooks and they don't measure anything: it is all by sight. If you can go to Peru and learn first hand, do that. If you can't, then get this book. The recipes here are much much better than other South American cookbooks I've tried. I don't know that you'll ever be able to match some Peruvian meals without building your own boat and net, surfing the waves, catching the fish, selecting limes by hand in the market, raising the duck in the backyard, digging potatoes from the Peruvian desert, etc. This is still a great book, and I've even given it as a gift to Peruvian friends.

I am married to a Peruvian and wanted to give him (and other peruvian family and friends) a taste of home. I found this book at the library several years ago and my peruvian cooking has gotten positive reviews ever since (with the exception of a few personal errors by the cook). We especially like the chupe de camarones. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Peruvian food.

I've been married to a Peruvian for almost 6 years and bought this book after trying the scrumptious food in Peruvian restaurants. Most of the recipes I tried so far are 5 star, my favorites being arroz verde con pollo and crema volteada (baked flan). Its really not that hard to cook many of the Peruvian dishes. People rave when I serve them. If this book cost $100 it would still be worth it.

I bought this book for a friend that loves Peruvian food. I'm Peruvian. This book has a variety of dishes and it explains the recipes very well. I really like it and I like the fact that it has everything explain in detail. The book would be much better if it contained some color pictures, but other than that, it's a good choice.

This is the best cookbook on Peruvian recipes on Amazon so far. I have other cookbooks on Peruvian cuisine but, none of them match the content of this one. All the recipes in this cookbook are authentic or classic Peruvian recipes. If you've been to Peru and wished you knew how they made some of their dished, well this book will get you there. We're not taking anything from this earth so eat well!

My mother is from Lima and has been cooking Peruvian food for our family for years. I have a cookbook collection of over 90 Peruvian cookbooks and am familiar with comidas Peruanas. This book has a nice introduction and I love the illustrations. The book also has a very broad range of typical, regional dishes. I applaud this book for using specific ajies that Peruvian cooking requires instead of using substitutions. I tried several recipes and was a little disappointed with the outcome- the Aji de Gallina recipe was totally off. Every family has its own version of how to make these dishes, but I think some of Mr. Marks recipes stray too much. I don't know if this is because the author is a gringo and not form Peru.