Guinea Pig Food Peru

Traditional baked guinea pig though not all visitors to peru are keen to eat it this way jaime pesaque is the owner of mayta a high end restaurant in upmarket lima.

Guinea pig food peru. Guinea pigs are herbivores and thus need fruits vegetables and grains in their diet. Peruvians even declared a national holiday every second friday in october to celebrate the guinea pig. While it might seem unconventional to tuck into furry critters better known as domesticated pets in the west this indigenous mammal has been a staple. Guinea pigs are called quwi or jaca in quechua and cuy or cuyo plural cuyes cuyos in the spanish of ecuador peru and bolivia.

Cultivated by the incas in the andes for centuries the guinea pig was cheaper to raise and required less room to farm than pigs and cattle. Guinea pig cuy is a delicacy that is very typically associated with typical peruvian cuisine but it is also eaten throughout other countries of south america such as ecuador colombia and bolivia. Eating cuy is such a tradition in fact an estimated 65 million guinea pigs are consumed annually in peru that there are festivals celebrating the humble beast with contests for the best dressed largest and of course best tasting guinea pig. He buys about 200 organically.

Cusco is famous for its cuy al horno guinea pig oven roas. In peru it s estimated that some 65 million guinea pigs are consumed each year. Carbohydrates and fibres are the basis of their diet. Peruvian guinea pig diet.

A traditional food guinea pig called cuy in peru has been served whole on special occasions since inca times. Guinea pig to some of us known as pet in peru known as exquisite delicacy an uber chicken. In peru you can t get anything more quintessential local than grilled guinea pig. Breeders tend to use the more formal cavy to describe the animal while in scientific and laboratory contexts it is far more commonly referred to by the more colloquial guinea pig.

Guinea pigs are cute and cuddly and eating one is like eating your pet dog. There s local cuisine and then there s ultra local cuisine. Guinea pigs are herbivorous animals which means that they only eat plant material in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive.