Peruvian toasted root beer and with persimmon!

January 2, 2009 4:02 AM

2009 will be a whole new year for flavor. Expect toasted sesame and root beer, Peruvian food, beer, and persimmon.
posted by twoleftfeet (86 comments total)

Does this mean that if I've been eating/drinking a lot of these things already that I can't take part in 2009?
posted by i_cola at 4:18 AM on January 2, 2009

i_cola drinks root beer?
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:22 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm looking at 2009 and the mimosa goggles... they do nothing!
posted by maryh at 4:26 AM on January 2, 2009

Bean and rice flavor is also going to be BIG BIG BIG.
posted by Auden at 4:44 AM on January 2, 2009 [8 favorites]

The notion that "beer" with no qualifiers will be popular seems to indicate that they were too lazy to actually do any research beyond just grasping wildly. Even when wine was "popular", certain styles were more trendy than others. Describing how single-malt scotches became trendy for a while as calling "liquor" trendy wouldn't have been sufficient.

Alcohol of all sorts will always be popular, and while I'm a huge fan of craft brews, the time for them to be "trendy" has already passed, while it'll still be a while away (and a better economy) before the majority of the populace catches on to the notion that well-crafted beers can be appreciated like a good scotch or wine.
posted by explosion at 4:51 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Except for the beer, I can't stand any of those. See you all in 2010.
posted by Pollomacho at 4:52 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm willing to put money on the continuing popularity of bacon.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 4:57 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

I ate a persimmon last week, or tried to. It had a very, very odd texture with a funny taste --had to throw it out.
posted by etaoin at 5:26 AM on January 2, 2009

I have a couple of persimmon trees around here. Each individual persimmon has about a 2-day window of time during which it is reasonably edible, if not exactly a pleasant textural experience. Outside that window, hm, how can I explain persimmons are traditionally viewed as a favorite food of opossums, and on the whole you would rather bite into a ripe opossum than an unripe persimmon.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:27 AM on January 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

So they are in that sense at least unique.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:29 AM on January 2, 2009

before the majority of the populace catches on to the notion that well-crafted beers can be appreciated like a good scotch or wine.

Mixed with club soda?

(runs)
posted by eriko at 5:32 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Somewhere there is an amusing quote from Thomas Jefferson about the "unique and exotic" qualities of unripe persimmons, but I can't find it.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:36 AM on January 2, 2009

Root Beer? I wonder how cooking with Moxie would work out.
posted by dunkadunc at 5:37 AM on January 2, 2009

Auden - I suspect "Beef", and "Chicken", and "Oriental" will be big in 2009, too.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:38 AM on January 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

Dunno about Peruvian food in general, but if you like beef kebabs, make this. Your tastebuds will dance happily and thank you. Also, it works with any reasonable cut of meat (recipe calls for tenderloin, yikes).
posted by Ella Fynoe at 5:43 AM on January 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm looking forward to a big surge for "cheap" food. It'll be huge I tell you.
posted by oddman at 5:45 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wolfdog, I've searched the full text of the writings of Thomas Jefferson without finding your persimmon reference. Are you sure you aren't confusing it with "when in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one persimmon to dissolve the political bands which have connected it with another..."?
posted by twoleftfeet at 6:00 AM on January 2, 2009

I love persimmons but people forget that there are two types with vastly different textures. The fuyu is crunchy and apple-like. The hachiya must be eaten when it is perfectly ripe to avoid the "sucking alum" response in your mouth. When eaten ripe, the taste is delicious but many find the flesh too soft. I like to cook with the hachiya and eat the fuyu out of hand.
posted by shoesietart at 6:12 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

If Peruvian food is going to be big in 2009, does that mean I can expect a lot of cuy?
posted by billysumday at 6:15 AM on January 2, 2009

I wonder how cooking with Moxie would work out.

Whoa, I just read about someone who wants to use some Moxie to flavor a batch of beer. Too much convergence here.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:34 AM on January 2, 2009

The notion that "beer" with no qualifiers will be popular seems to indicate that they were too lazy to actually do any research beyond just grasping wildly.

Goddamnit. I read that for some reason as "Peruvian beer" and was looking forward to finding out what I was missing. Beer? BEER? Yeah, already got a handle on that one, thanks.

I call meh on persimmons, though.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 6:44 AM on January 2, 2009

Persimmons are disgusting. I have a persimmon tree in my back yard, and I cut the bastards off when they're marble-sized.
posted by 1adam12 at 6:47 AM on January 2, 2009

I had a persimmon for the first time this fall. It was understated to me how ripe you need them to get in order to be edible. Who would guess that unlike every other fruit in existence, this particular one requires ripening to the consistency of warm jell-o before being considered fit to eat?

The astringency wasn't much of an issue as I grew up with chokecherry trees around the neighborhood.

The taste itself wasn't bad, but if I wanted to eat something gelatinous, I would have just eaten some Lutefisk.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 6:52 AM on January 2, 2009

Also, 2009 ought to be a terrible year for good beer. It's nice to be employed, but I can't afford $9-11 for a six-pack as often as I'd like. It seems like not too long ago I could pay $7 for a sixer of something decent. Jesus, I paid $29 the other day for 18 beers.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:55 AM on January 2, 2009

I, for one, would do a little happy dance if Peruvian food, real Peruvian food, hit the mainstream. While people might freak out about eating guinea pig* or ceviche, that isn't what makes this type of cuisine awesome. It's the fact that Peru is where most of our vegetables come from. Potatoes, tomatoes, and corn all come from there and literally thousands of varieties are still in use, some completely unrecognizable. I remember driving around in the mountains and eating dishes with lumpy, odd looking tomatoes or potatoes with stipes inside and I'd be like "That's a tomato?!" or "What the hell is wrong with that potato?!", but they were all 100% fantastic. I'm contemplating going back just so I can take another trip to the restaurant in Cuzco where they serve corn with grains are the size if garlic cloves. So yummy.

So please, let the new wave of Peruvian food include weird vegetables. It's not worth it without them.

And yes, have two Pisco Sours.

*Seriously, roasted guinea pigs are not worth it. They are all skin and no meat. Have a nice alpaca steak instead.
posted by Alison at 7:00 AM on January 2, 2009 [7 favorites]

Not Jefferson, although he was apparently a fan of them, but Captain John Smith, as it turns out:

"If it be not ripe it will drawe a mans mouth awrie with much torment; but when it is ripe, it is as delicious as an Apricock."

Really, I just enjoy saying "Apricock".
posted by Wolfdog at 7:03 AM on January 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

The "beer" link mentions licuados ("fruit shakes"). Why this south-of-the-border favorite isn't more popular in the U.S. yet I do not understand. So healthy, so good.
posted by twoleftfeet at 7:08 AM on January 2, 2009

Someone taught me a quick way of making persimmons edible - stick them in the freezer overnight. When you thaw them out the next day, they'll be soft, sweet and ready to eat.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 7:08 AM on January 2, 2009

I just got persimmon tinted goggles... so... I'm hip?
posted by MNDZ at 7:09 AM on January 2, 2009

Having seen the rise in popularity of various medium to high-end restaurants serving ethnic cuisines in recent years, including Thai and Indian, I've been wondering what's next. I've been speculating on Ethiopian, but maybe the time is right for Peruvian to make it big.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 7:16 AM on January 2, 2009

Somewhere there is an amusing quote from Thomas Jefferson about the "unique and exotic" qualities of unripe persimmons, but I can't find it.

Wolfdog, I've searched the full text of the writings of Thomas Jefferson without finding your persimmon reference.

I think the quote you are looking for is: "The darker the unripe persimmon, the more unique and exotic the flavor."
posted by Pollomacho at 7:30 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Peruvian food -- DO NOT WANT

My guinea pig wrote that.
posted by greatgefilte at 7:32 AM on January 2, 2009

The darker the unripe persimmon, the more unique and exotic the flavor.

I really hope for your sake, Pollomacho, that wasn't some kind of Sally Hemings joke. Because I can't find that quote anywhere else.
posted by twoleftfeet at 7:39 AM on January 2, 2009

Wait, Beer is coming back? My friends and I have been on that trend for, like, years.
Also....
Peruvian?

gag gag gag
posted by flipyourwig at 7:43 AM on January 2, 2009

Sanborn Brown's "Wines and Beers of Old New England - A How-to-Do-It History" was re-published a couple years back (and immediately made its way to the job-lot discount stores.) It shows how to brew beer with hops, but it also gives recipes that replace the hops with another ingredient that preserves and flavors: ground-ivy, spruce, and, surprise surprise, ginger. According to Brown, before the introduction of lager, ginger-beer was the most popular brewed beverage in the colonies.

It's fun to see it re-surfacing in the microbrew scene.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:51 AM on January 2, 2009

Thanks for the info on persimmons--Over the years, I'd read about how wonderful they tasted. I hated it, especially that weird texture-taste it left behind.
posted by etaoin at 8:04 AM on January 2, 2009

One of my friends is from Peru. When we were all in Washington DC for a conference, she took us to a Peruvian restaurant. I quite enjoyed it, and can see why it could be popular. Can't understand why many above are knocking the food. The paella-type dish she recommended was spectacular, the beef heart appetizer was a bit weird in concept but tasted really good, and I had no problems with the saviche. She told us her friends at home typically eat saviche as a lunch dish at the beach, with plenty of beer. Sounds good to me.
posted by caution live frogs at 8:09 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

I really hope for your sake, Pollomacho, that wasn't some kind of Sally Hemings joke.

When in the course of human events it becomes neccessary for one person to dissolve all tiny reminaining shreds of his dignity and make really bad Jeffersonian Jungle Fever jokes on a public website...
posted by Pollomacho at 8:10 AM on January 2, 2009

I've been speculating on Ethiopian, but maybe the time is right for Peruvian to make it big.

I've seen quite a few Ethiopian restaurants, maybe because they have an interesting premise. OTOH, I've never seen a Peruvian one.
posted by smackfu at 8:11 AM on January 2, 2009

The first link gives us tarragon and beetroot as a "hip pair". Are they not?
posted by twoleftfeet at 8:25 AM on January 2, 2009

I've seen quite a few Ethiopian restaurants, maybe because they have an interesting premise. OTOH, I've never seen a Peruvian one.

Here is one in London I can highly recommend. They even do something called 'mate de coca'.
posted by randomination at 8:48 AM on January 2, 2009

Is there more to Peruvian food than pollo a la brasa? Because I could eat that forever.
posted by emelenjr at 8:58 AM on January 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

What this tells me is that "fusion" is still a buzzword in the restaurant industry. There are crafty people everyone who have been infusing dill in avocado oil for decades; suddenly this is exotic and trendy?

Some of the other stuff looks interesting, other parts just look silly. I am waiting to see a local cooking school teach crash courses in cayenne management. It's just due.
posted by medea42 at 9:06 AM on January 2, 2009

Mr. Arkham and I once brewed some beer with elderflowers instead of hops. It made amazing slug-bait!
posted by JoanArkham at 9:12 AM on January 2, 2009

or ceviche

You people aren't taking shrimp and putting it in a mixture of clementine juice, lime juice, and grated clementine peel, sprinkling it with herbs and letting it sit in the oven at low-low-low heat for a while and then eating it on a ad-hoc green salad?


Once again I am inadvertently trendy.
posted by The Whelk at 9:34 AM on January 2, 2009

Starfruit is distinctly flavoured? Starfruit may be the most flavourless thing I've ever eaten. It has all the texture of an apple, and none of the flavour.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:44 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Ethiopian exists but definitely hasn't yet hit it big - in Philly, they're basically all in West Philly, which has a sizable African immigrant community, but none at all in the Center City areas where the middle-class foodies roam. By contrast, I've never even seen Peruvian, though I'd love to try it.
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:50 AM on January 2, 2009

OH! I love Peruvian food! Finally found a really great place when visiting a friend in L.A. last January, and it was amazing. Total diner food food, but amazing. I wish the one Peruvian restaurant here in Cleveland hadn't closed.

Also, persimmons? Meh, I say go for the mangosteen. But not fresh, they're kind of gross fresh -- the freeze-dried ones at Trader Joe's are the greatest thing ever.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 10:02 AM on January 2, 2009

Dude, have some starfruit juice. It is wonderful stuff (if fresh).

subtle /= flavourless.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 10:03 AM on January 2, 2009

Mangosteens are excellent, but if I'm in that region of the world, you probably won't be able to tear me away from the rambutan.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 10:05 AM on January 2, 2009

"Tuscan" food is big now. lol

No one in Tuscany - or in Italy - eats that crap, you American hayseeds.
posted by Zambrano at 10:17 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

You know what suck, though? Guavas fucking suck. I just love chewing on gravel.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 10:20 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Peruvian and Ethiopian have been big in the DC area for several years; the aforementioned pollo al a brasa places are numerous, and there's actually an area known as "Little Ethiopia." I smell a meetup.
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:23 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Huh - I think epicurious' list is actually a little bit behind the curve. It looks like the last couple of years' trends rather than upcoming trends. Though, on this, they are spot-on:

8. Portland (Maine) is the new Portland (Oregon)
Abundance of great chefs, restaurants, and local foodies? Check, check, and check. Want examples? Visit Five Fifty-Five, Hugo's, and Fore Street to start.

Maine in general has an amazing food culture going right now.

The McCormick picks are mostly just bizarre. Lavender as a flavor is wonderful and I've been eating it more in food over the last few years - it's great in shortbread cookies, scones, and even salad dressing.

I hope the smaller-size dishes on menu really is a trend. I'd rather spend $24 on three or four different tiny dishes than on one entree. I understand why that's not a popular way to plan a menu - way more labor- and ingredient-intensive - but I always wish I could order 3-bite desserts and tiny apps.
posted by Miko at 10:27 AM on January 2, 2009

My grandfather used to have a persimmon tree (judging by the description, a hachiya persimmon tree) and I always thought that astringent, alum-sucking thing was what they were supposed to taste like. But oh, the little jelly-pads of flesh in the middle ... so delicious.

Had a carambola tree, too, and PeterMcDermott couldn't be wronger.

Man I miss that yard. Papaya, mamey, guava, apple-bananas ... mmm. Transplanted people from all over the Caribbean/Latin American world used to come by to offer to buy some of his fruit or plants (most of the time he'd just give them away) or just wander around his garden for a few minutes.
posted by penduluum at 10:41 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

There's an allegedly "Peruvian" restaurant a few blocks away from me. They serve pretty generic Latin American food, with lots of plantains, black beans and rice.
posted by mike3k at 10:42 AM on January 2, 2009

No one in Tuscany - or in Italy - eats that crap, you American hayseeds.

IN TUSCANY WE EAT ANGRY BEANS
posted by kid ichorous at 10:47 AM on January 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

No one in Tuscany - or in Italy - eats that crap, you American hayseeds.

Good, more for me, then.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:58 AM on January 2, 2009

Hm, I always figured mangosteen was spelled e-i-n and was the mango's Jewish cousin. Color me embarrassed.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:04 AM on January 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

A few months ago I was driving around with my husband and listening to the Splendid Table and Lynne Rossetto Kasper said something like "When most people think of fall...they think of persimmons."

Does anyone remember hearing this, too? Because that was the craziest thing I've ever heard on NPR and we were laughing so hard that I'm starting to think we hallucinated it.
posted by Alison at 11:16 AM on January 2, 2009

No one in Tuscany - or in Italy - eats that crap, you American hayseeds.

When did Berlusconi get a membership here?
posted by Pollomacho at 11:25 AM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Hm, I always figured mangosteen was spelled e-i-n and was the mango's Jewish cousin. Color me embarrassed.

No, no, it's the raspy voiced, soulful, New Jersey cousin of the mango.
posted by Pollomacho at 11:30 AM on January 2, 2009

Please, can raspberries die? It's time for some other fruit flavor. Pomegranate maybe, or blueberry or strawberry. Freakin' raspberry has been everywhere, I don't like it much and my wife is allergic.
posted by Foosnark at 11:36 AM on January 2, 2009

Titos, London Bridge, I found pretty underwhelming - their entire repertoire of vegetarian food seem to be underwritten by Quorn. They didn't base their carnivorous items on Birds Eye burgers and sausages, so why pick on the vegetarians? Mrs Slyrabbit considered their landfood-based dishes of acceptable quality, and their soup to be 'gloopy'.

Inka cola had all the flavour of Irn-Bru, and all the colour of strong urine.

OTOH, there's some awesome Etrurian/Ethiopian restaurants in London (one in Vauxhall, and another between Stoke Newington and Islington), although the grew-up-in-the-80s kid in me cannot avoid the awful jokes caused by visiting an Ethiopian buffet.
posted by davemee at 11:39 AM on January 2, 2009

Of course, I mean Eritrean, not Etrurian. Here, by way of shame: Zigni House on Essex Road does a great buffet and don't skip the coffee they'll roast right up there before you.
posted by davemee at 11:46 AM on January 2, 2009

Or, just to round things out, it's the fruiter, but only slightly so, cousin of Yngwie. There.
posted by Wolfdog at 11:49 AM on January 2, 2009

can't keep up! missed out on 2008's food trend.

but have been on persimmons since last century. Fresh ones of either the hachiya or fuyu are lovely and to me (Korean) do remind me of fall/autumn. And tis the season for dried persimmons, a staple of gift baskets sent around new years in Korea. Mom's posted some in the mail, can't wait.
posted by slyrabbit at 12:04 PM on January 2, 2009

can't keep up! missed out on 2008's food trend.

Good link, slyrabbit!

Like grief, American food trends go through five stages

I'm still in the denial stage about salted caramels.
posted by twoleftfeet at 12:20 PM on January 2, 2009

That's a lot of hate for the fruit of the Gods.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:26 PM on January 2, 2009

No one in Tuscany - or in Italy - eats that crap, you American hayseeds.

Hi, I'm on Metafilter and I can overthink un piatto di Fagioli all'uccellotta con l'oilo.
posted by The Whelk at 12:38 PM on January 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

Every year these 'these will be the trendy foods' lists come out, and newspapers and blogs repeat them blind to the fact that they are all about marketing. They are also always annoyingly US- or UK-centric. Persimmons have been enjoyed in Asian countries for thousands of years. (And yes, there are two kinds of persimmons and chances are if you don't like them you've had the wrong kind at the wrong stage.) Toasted sesame and root beer?? I enjoy them separately but do we really need to combine them? To all those lists I give a big raspberry. Enjoy your food and who gives a rat's ass about whether it's trendy or not.
posted by thread_makimaki at 12:45 PM on January 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

To all those lists I give a big raspberry.

I predict that big raspberries will make the top of the lists for 2010.
posted by twoleftfeet at 12:56 PM on January 2, 2009

this salted caramel ice cream

It's even better with chocolate-covered matzo in it. I would imagine other chocolate or chocolate-covered foods would work, too, but I'm not brave enough to try.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:18 PM on January 2, 2009

Bean and rice flavor is also going to be BIG BIG BIG.

Good thing I like beans and rice.
posted by dunkadunc at 1:23 PM on January 2, 2009

@ Ella Fynoe: I've never seen "Peruvian-style beef kebabs" made with regular beef. In Peru, it's usually made with beef hearts. If you're interested in Peruvian cooking, this is a good website for it. (Note that only a subset of recipes appear in the English version and the search box only searches in the subsite. To see and search for all the recipes in Spanish, remove "english" from the URL.)
posted by bentley at 1:41 PM on January 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Please, can raspberries die? It's time for some other fruit flavor. Pomegranate maybe, or blueberry or strawberry. Freakin' raspberry has been everywhere, I don't like it much and my wife is allergic.

I love raspberries as the antidote to the strawberry-everything of my childhood, but I kind of agree with you at this point. OTOH, how can you put forward pomegranate as the answer? I loves me some pomegranate, but it was THE flavour of 2008. Pomegranate EVERYTHING.

Actually, starfruit gum would rock my sox. But they'd wreck it and it'd be "starfruit" gum. Gack.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 1:42 PM on January 2, 2009

It was a big revelation to me when I found out that grenadine is pomegranate flavored.
posted by smackfu at 2:10 PM on January 2, 2009

Lavender and rose ice creams at Christina's in Boston (well, Cambridge, technically). Oh. My. God. The lavender is amaaaaazing. (And their spice store next door = awesome, I stock up on double strength vanilla every time I am there).

Last few times I've been there in the warm months they have not had their green apple sorbet, though. I want to cry.

Oh! and cherry lambic sorbet at Jeni's in Columbus.

Yay, ice cream!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 2:21 PM on January 2, 2009

I got some dried persimmon for Christmas. Ever since then, it's been sitting there on the counter. Watching me... I can feel it, its contempt. It's judging me, saying "Yeah, I may look like a giant powered raisin, but your scared; scared to try me..."

Some persimmon may be good, but the one I got? It's a fucker.
posted by quin at 2:24 PM on January 2, 2009

Did you guys know they used to make starfruit Gatorade? They totally used to make starfruit Gatorade. I bought a bunch of it at a Big Lots a couple years ago. It was ... not that good, honestly. Like a weak limey pineapple.
posted by penduluum at 2:57 PM on January 2, 2009

Every year these 'these will be the trendy foods' lists come out, and newspapers and blogs repeat them blind to the fact that they are all about marketing

I don't think anyone's blind to that fact. By the time we, the end-users, hear about it, the marketing work is already done. The chain restaurants have started working the trends into their menus, as have the other trendy restaurants that depend on a popular taste constantly craving novelty. The product development and sourcing have been in the works for years. If you read industry mags for the food and beverage world, you see that people start developing these packaged trends long before they hit this level of mainstream.

So the fun part is seeing the lists and then watching to see which of the trends that marketers are trying actually end up catching attention and winning popular support, and where - in which sectors. I don't think beet and tarragon is going to be the new pesto -- but persimmon liqueur might very well be the new chic cocktail at the downtown bar. You never know. Watching trends pass through the food world like sheeting rain in the summertime is enjoyable for some of us. And some of it is actually good, and worth keeping.
posted by Miko at 2:57 PM on January 2, 2009

I was afraid of that, pendulum. My first (and second, and third, and...) taste of starfruit was a plastic-bagged juice, crushed from the fruit moments before, in a night market on Penang, Melaysia. Ever since then, the only thing that has come close has been crunching on cross-sections of it, usually plucked from a Riviera martini. It's not a close second. A Gatorade version... can't imagine.

I spent a year surrounded by persimmon orchards and was gifted them (and fed them) so I think I was eating them properly, in season, and I still say meh. Not feh, exactly, but meh.

I've got two giant pomegranate that I'm going to enjoy this weekend. I'm just not sure there's anything left to be pomegranate-flavoured at this point. Oh... *checks fridge* huh. I just bought the Presidents Choice "Memories of Damascus - tangy pomegranate sauce". It's pretty excellent. So there you go. Something else.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 3:43 PM on January 2, 2009

I told you so.

Well, I didn't really, but my 1.5-year old post on Peruvian cuisine has links to a lot of recipes and some useful discussion.

As ardently pro-Peruvian-Food as I am, I don't see Peruvian food going big globally any time soon, mostly because it's really hard and very expensive to get some of the ingredients that make Peruvian food so unique and yummy.

There lots of examples of this, but the most obvious is the various varieties of ají, which is Peruvian (and more broadly south-american) for "hot pepper." There are at least a few important varieties for cooking, including ají mirasol (also called ají amarillo), ají verde, ají limo, ají panca and ají rocoto. From Toronto or Chicago, the best I could do was find these peppers flash-frozen, brined in a tin, dried or pureed. From Paris, where I am now, all I can get is the pureed stuff. Sometimes the puree works, such as in soups and sauces, but sometimes the lack of crisp fresh hot peppers is sorely missed (i.e., ceviche). And, regardless, all of this comes at eye-popping prices. I pay 5€ for a little 250ml jar of ají mirasol, for example. Also, a lot of the Peruvian seafood dishes depend on having very particular kinds of fishes that are fresh from the ocean. All of this makes Peruvian food very difficult to reproduce away from Peru.

But I applaud their efforts.
posted by LMGM at 4:19 PM on January 2, 2009

Malaysia, even. And it turns out that my favourite salad dressing is pear-guava. So I guess I take back everything, damnit.
(still hate those seeds, though)
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 9:32 PM on January 2, 2009

I've been wondering what's next. I've been speculating on Ethiopian, but maybe the time is right for Peruvian to make it big.


I would love for Ethiopian food to become trendy. I love it but I live a couple of hours from any restaurant and most them I have been to are not very handicap accessible which is a pain. If it became trendy and more restaurants opened that would make it much easier for me to eat it more.
posted by SuzySmith at 2:03 PM on January 3, 2009

I *just* finished eating a persimmon (hachiya) that I have been ripening for about a week on my counter. It was almost too incredibly sweet to eat in one sitting. In fact, I'm planting 2 persimmon trees next week - but they'll be the crunchy fuyu type. I think I'd die of sugar poisoning if I could eat my fill of hachiyas! Of course, by the time I get any persimmons off of my trees, they'll be totally out of style.

Hmm... anybody know what fruit's gonna be hot in five years?
posted by memewit at 5:10 PM on January 3, 2009