Mercado Sunday

Here is where we ended up that Sunday after the Inka Market shopping trip. It doesn't look like much, but inside there are hundred of stall selling everything one could imagine. I will spare you the pics of naked dead chickens and strips of beef heart, etc...
Outside the mercado are shopping strips of plasticos, telas, etc...lots and lots of street vendors. I bought a long handled pizza paddle. I have no idea how I am going to get that back to Chile or the states for that matter. Maybe Bruce can take it back when he comes down.

This is so I can go back!
Google map does not work well here....







We are going to sample many interesting things inside. Even as a Peruvian, there are many jungle fruits he has never tried. ONWARD!!!

We had to stop for fuel on the way to the market. When Miguel first started his taxi service, he had all his cars converted to LNG. It cost about $2000 to do the conversion, but the savings on fuel is astronomical. Why the United States does not make this conversion convenient to the American public is beyond me. We could eliminate our need for foreign fuel with the gas reserves we now have....for centuries.

Couldn't help making a pic of this on the way....

And so the afternoon at the Mercado begins...

This vendor is showing us the Peruvian Cacao pod. She was a good salesperson. We sampled many different things at her booth...and I ended up speding about $20....which is $18 more than Miguel would have paid...but it was fun...

Note the size of the mini platanos. Here is South America, Bananas are called Platanos....they are the edible kind. Bananas are the kind that are fried. This is the exact opposite of what they are called about the equator. Plantains are fried and bananas are put on cereal.
The orange fruit behind are peruvian persimmons.







Pitahaya....this is the jungle fruit that I mentioned in another post. They are the size of a grenade and kind of look like one too. The sweet, white interior is similar in texture and taste to a kiwi...but more lucious.

I was told to use these as shampoo! So I bought a couple and took them back to the hotel. The next time I needed a shampoo, I opened them up, squeezed out the meat (including the seeds) and put it on my hair. What I got was an astringent rinse....  It removed the oil on my hair...but left a mass of cucumber sized seeds stuck to my scalp! Niiiiiice.....

The lemon looking perverted fruit are not to eat. They come from the jungle and are used to smooth the skin. I assume they are very acidic. I did not buy any to try...

Sanque....very kiwi like...but sharp like a lemon.

Peruvians believe that the jungle fruit can cure cancer. Here is a drink pack made from Sanque....with Noni....the fruit they call cure for Cancer.

Finally a fruit I recognized...  They had no flavor. I had one and chose not to buy any more.

I like radishes, but this one looked like a turnip!

Cloud fruit....
It comes from a large hard green flat piece of wood....like a giant bean pod. Miguel and I were nervous when she was cutting this open. We thought for sure she would cut off a finger.

She gave me a sample. Kinda looks like a little white mouse, no? I was nervous about putting it in my mouth, but decided to try anyways.
What I experienced next was a sensation of having a sweet angelic membrane surrounding a large hard bean pod. Very succulent...but fleeting.





Lucuma.
My head cost engineer from Chile LOVES lucuma. I bought one to try. In the groceries, there is lucuma ice cream, lucuma yogurt, lucuma popciscle, etc....
Lucuma is grainy, semi sweet, odd tasting. Yesterday, when I walked from the hotel to Wongs, the HEB of Lima, I bought a Lucuma ice cream stick. Hmmmm.....pass on this next time around. I don't think you can make Lucuma acceptable to any American....

Noni....the cancer cure from the jungle.

I bought this noni mac thinking that if I liked it, I would send it back to the states. UGH!

I have no idea what mangostinos are used for. I have heard about them, but they did not look like something I would want to put in my mouth.

I have had Peruvian revenge three times now. Miguel keeps telling me to take the Maca. I tried...threw it up. UGHHHHHHH..........

The evil Rocoto...remember....it is the only pepper on the planet with BLACK seeds. There is a reason for this...

Cinnamon sticks...six feet tall!

I have no words for this...yuck. In the meat case, the carcass was very dark red....

Popped rice...not your normal Rice Krispies....

Popped Amaranth....I bought some of this. It was deliciously light and sweet. Very high in protein....

Popped Quinoa....also delicious....

Peruvian Mergingues....
I bought some....very light....melt in your mouth....like cotton candy.

The size of these pecans were like Mahans..but much more meaty...
Each piece was close to 3 inches long.
I had no idea that Peru had pecan orchards. Chile does....but Peru? Interesting!

And for those of you who are from Corpus Christi, you will recognize the nut as a Walnut...but did you know that the Spanish word for this was Nueces?

This is the famous fruit of Peru.

Guanabana....

If you want to know to pronouce this fruit...just click on the link below...it will stick with you....

Guanabana

I have saved the best for last for those of you who made it to the end of this post. The fruit vendor called me around the corner into her private booth. She wanted to show me her prize possession. As you can see, there are nuts in the bottom of the large yellow bucket...similar to nutmeg...kinda sorta. What comes from these nuts is a large Suri worm. I stood there appalled!!!!!!!
OMG!
She reached into the bucket and pulled a few out to show me how large they were and that she would sell them to me at an extra special price.


Miguel and I were stunned....so I pulled out my camera to take photos and was pleasantly surpised to hear English behind me. Another engineer from Bechtel was shopping at the market with his family. He told me that when he was in the jungle, the cooks would take these worms, pull off the heads, and lightly toss them in a skillet to release their nut like oil. He said the oil was delicious and that if you did not know where it came from, you would not be so sickened by the sight of these little jewells.
I'm sorry.....can't buy the worms....

It was a good ending to the day though because Alfredo Arceniega and his wife, Guili, are now friends. I am to attend their new granddaughters baptism this next weekend. His wife is Pervuian Italian....blonde and blue eyed...  Want me to send you some Suri for dinner???