adventures (in food)

China has the reputation for strange foods, but I think that Peru could give it a run for the money.

Yesterday I went with the other Spanish students and our teachers to the market and then out to lunch. The market was typical - you can buy almost anything you can imagine there. What stood out in my mind was the upper floor where you can buy live animals that you will later eat and the aisle that was the "every part of a cow or pig but the meat" section. Perhaps because I am generally afraid of bird flu I found the live animal section to be more disgusting - with the exception of Jefferson's noble turkey. A gross but really cool bird.

Back down on the main floor I enjoyed guessing what the cow parts might be. Regina, my Spanish teacher, pointed out an item with which you can make "sarza de criadilla," which she assured me was an "enslada rica." With a few awkward hand motions and questions I confirmed that these were in fact bull testicles, and that Regina had said "sarza de criadilla" and not "salsa de criadilla" - very different things, I can assure you.

At lunch I had the pleasure of eating Cuy Chactado, which is a flattened, deep fried guinea pig. I can't say that it left me very full, but it also wasn't half bad, and was a continuation of the market lesson on animal body parts. Happily someone ordered a mixed plate and I got to try the (at this point) infamous sarza de criadilla. On a ten point scale I would score it a generous 3, mostly because the texture is odd. To say the least. And to say nothing of the aftertaste. Like a champion Regina wolfed down the remainder after everyone had tried it. While watching her enthusiastically finish I found it hard not to cringe just a little, while I vowed not to goof around in class anymore.