ANDEAN OREGANO.

Oregano is an aromatic herb that plays a fundamental part in Peruvian cuisine. The fresh and dried leaves are used as condiment in various staples dishes. Fresh oregano is added to salads and the dried ones to stews and soups. The dried oregano retains its flavor in a way that is more aromatic than in its fresh state.
Oregano, as a name, comes from Spanish and Latin "origanus" that is a compound word, "oros" (mountain) plus "ganos"(beauty/brightness), hence, "the beauty of the mountain."
Oregano is a perennial herbaceous plant, growing from 20-80 cm  (7.9-31.5 in) tall, in fairly dry soil, with full sun. The flowers are purple, produced in erect spikes, characterized by an opposite and aromatic leaves. Climate, season, and soil composition affect the aromatic oils present in the plant. Among chemical compounds that contribute to the flavor we find the following:
-Carvacrol that inhibits the growth of several bacteria strains.
-Thymol that has strong antiseptic action.
-Limonene that gives its fragrance to mask the bitter taste of alkaloids.
-Pinene that is highly repellant to insects.
-Ocimene that are oils with pleasant odor with anti-fungal properties.
-Caryophyllene that has an anti-inflammatory effect.
In the Andes oregano is added to soups and broths. When people make up fresh soup they add just a little oregano when they serve the dish so that its intense flavor can disperse throughout it.
Oregano is also used to cure strong stomach concerns due to the fact that in the Andean Highlands the digestive system functions different than at sea level. People place the fresh herb in a cup and let it rest for a few minutes in hot water. Once the oregano has let loose its color it is ready to be drunk and will calm stomach issues. If people do not have any water nearby then they will chew a little dried oregano and it will calm them.

THE FOOD OF TITICACA LAKE.

The vast and legendary Titicaca Lake was the heart and sacred place of the Inca and pre-Inca civilizations. It is the largest Lake in South America and the highest navigable Lake in the world.
The Titicaca Lake stretches 8,300 sq km across two countries, of which 4,966 sq km corresponds to Peru and 3,334 sq km to Bolivia, and sits at a high altitude of 3,812 m. It measures 195 km length and 65 km width and it reaches until 304m depth. It is home to natural and artificial islands.
The Peruvian site is also home to natural and artificial islands, highlighting the floating islands of the Uros, Amantani, Anapia, and Taquile Island.
The Lake Titicaca is without doubt one of the most important natural patrimonies of humanity. The importance of the Lake in Andean culture is immense: its waters have always meant a source of life for humans and has served through different times as sustenance for them.
The Lake has an important meaning in Andean mythology, according to the Legend, from its water emerged Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, sons of the sun god, founders of the Inca Empire.
All over the Lake there are incredible green mountainsides that have pre-Inca agricultural terraces. Over the centuries, these terraces have been maintained and are still in use. There are lambs, sheep, goats, cows and pigs everywhere around the Lake.
There are two main groups of descendants from ancient civilizations -Quechua  and Aymara- speaking people. Puno, Peru is the only place in the World where you can find people from the two groups living unanimously together. Above Puno towards the North, there are only Quechua-speaking people, while in the South are the Aymara-speaking group.
The people of the Titicaca Lake have created their unique culture and way of living. There are over 60 little floating villages on the Lake that the Uros people have constructed with natural resources. Using reeds (Totora, a strong aquatic plant), they build temporary houses that float atop the water surface. The tide washes over their houses at times, so new layers of reed need to be laid every two weeks for better resistance. Every village host 8 Uros families. The Uros also use the same reeds to build boats and huts.
The people of the Titicaca Lake lead a very simple life, catching food from the Lake, exchanging fish for any products they need and getting all their basic necessities from the environment.
Fish is their main staple. They do not eat any red meat. They combine the fish with potatoes, andean potatoes, and quinoa. Quinoa soup is the most common meal and trout is the primary source of food. Due to the peculiar atmospheric conditions caused by the region's high altitude, people eat lightly as food takes longer to digest than at sea level.
The Uros weave their own clothes and their textiles are beautiful. They use very bright colors and their tapestries tell the story of the floating island.
In other words, the Uros are completely self-sufficient. They do not need money as they get everything they need from the natural surroundings. The island community is based on collectivism. You simply obey the rules or you must leave the island. They do not compete against each other.

THE AGARROBO (CAROB) TREE.

The Algarrobo has been in South America since the Pleiocene Epoch that extends from 5 million to 2.5 million years before present time. It is a very common tree of Northern Peru.
The Peruvian Algarrobo's name is usually translated into English as "Carob." The Algarrobo Tree can harvest timber (heavy and durable) and produces a fruit pod with a "carob taste,"high in natural sugars.
The Peruvian Agarrobo has the form of a big legume tree, like a massive bush bean plant. It bears spines, spies of greenish-yellow flowers, and long pods filled with small brown seeds. From the pods is extracted a syrup that is called "Algarrobina" which has great demand in Peruvian gastronomy.
The Algarrobo trees are long-lived trees, and can live for over a millennium. It grows quickly and have a complex root system that allows them to absorb water at different depths and lateral roots that capture rainfall easily; this is one of the main characteristics that make them capable of surviving in extreme drought conditions. The tree is very efficient at extracting moisture from the soil where it germinates that is able to kill nearby plants by depriving them of water, as well as by shading them out by its wide rounded canopy that makes a good shade.
The Peruvian Algarrobo has a very high standard in nutrients because it grows in drier areas near the Coast. It can be found in areas where other plants do not grow. This is a great food because of its high quantity of vitamins and proteins. It is used to heal anemia and to have beautiful, glowing skin. It is also good for strengthening the lungs and the body stamina.
Algarrobo is an important component of Peruvian gastronomy. Once the Algarrobo fruit are mature the people in the Peruvian North (Piura and Lambayeque)boil the beans making them to concentrate the natural sugars. Then the mass is run through a press. The extract is filtered and is submitted to evaporation to arrive at a point which it resembles a viscous product, named "Algarrobina Syrup." The syrup is used in countless dishes, but most notably in the delicious cocktail called Algarrobina. You can also combine the syrup with different fruit juices in order to fortify them. People also add the syrup to fruit salads as a slight dressing to convert it into a super salad filled with vitamins and minerals.

PERUVIAN OLLUCO.

Olluco (Papa lisa = edible skin) comes from the high plains of the Peruvian Andes and is one of the most widely grown and economically important root crop cultivated in the highlands since ancient  times. Next to potatoes and corn it was an important staple food of the Incas.
Olluco looks like a bright colored potato, yellow in color with red or purple spots on the outside,  but is quite different. The tuber has a somewhat watery texture and not suitably for frying or baking. The shiny and smooth skin of the tuber is completely edible, and the leaf is also edible and is similar to spinach. It also comes in different shapes and sizes.
Olluco can grow in nutritionally poor soil but moist is its preference, however it tolerates drought, with lots of sunny light. It does not grow in the shade. The tubers are not formed until late in the season so a mild autumn is required for good yields. The flowers are hermaphrodite.
Olluco is the main ingredient in the classic Peruvian dish "Olluco with charqui." Charqui is the dried alpaca meat used by the Andean people in their culinary dishes . Olluco's neutral taste is the key in this dish because the charqui meaty flavor is absorved by the slimy tuber.
Olluco is very nutritious and at the same time a good source of carbohydrates. Fresh Olluco tubers are made up of 1 to 2% protein, 14% sugars and starches and 85 % moisture. The tubers are also a rich source of vitamin C, providing about 23 mg of vitamin C per 100 g servings. The fiber level content is moderate and absolutely no fat content.
Olluco was used by the Incas  and the pre-Incas cultures extensively because of its longer storage life compared to potatoes. It maintain its freshness for almost a year when stored in a dark and cool place at at ambient temperatures.
Olluco can be freeze dry and kept for a long time. When compared to the fresh tubers, the dried ones are more tasty and flavorful.

OLLUCO with CHARQUI recipe (serves 3 people):
- 3 garlic cloves smashed.
- 1 medium purpled onion chopped.
- 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
-1/8 cup of Panca Pepper paste.
- 3 cups of Olluco cut into julienne strips.
- 1/4 cup of water.
- 1 cup of charqui cut into julienne strips.
- salt and pepper.
Fry the garlic in hot oil, and then add the onion until it is cooked to a golden brown. Add the 1/8 cup of Panca Pepper paste to the onions and garlic. Add the Olluco and the water with salt and pepper. Mix the Olluco with the onion and garlic, then add the charqui. Mix all together and cook until the Olluco is tender. If you want to serve it with rice, cook the rice in a separate pot.

THE BORAGE PLANT (BORRAJA)

Borage is an edible and medicinal plant that is cultivated very easily and harvested practically all year round. Its beneficial effects have been known since pre-incat times.
Borage, as a food plant, stands out mainly for its contribution of minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus; vitamins as beta-carotene, vitamin C, E, choline and niacin; acids as acetic, gamolenic, and lactic. Choline is an element that forms part of the complex of vitamin B, essential in the metabolism of fats.
Borage oil mainly contains essential fatty acids that have very important functions in the body. They are a type of fats that the body can not synthesize and that must be provided by food. The human body does not have the enzymes that produce double bonds (un-saturations) in the carbons of fatty acids prior to carbon n*9 (it does not use the same metabolic pathways as omega 3 and 6). Therefore, since omega 3 (fish, nuts, olive and linseed oil, wheat germ, sesame, etc) and 6 (black currant seed oil, borage oil, brussels sprouts, garlic, carrot, soy, sesame oil, etc) contain 2 and 3 double bonds prior to carbon 9 (it does not influence the balance of omega 3 and 6), our body can not synthesize 3 and 6. Our body is only able to make carbon structures with double bonds from carbon n*9, such as omega 9 (Fatty acids from carbohydrates, alcohols, and proteins). Plants do have these enzymes and for this reason vegetable oils do contain omega 3 (linolenic acid) and omega 6 (linoleic acid). From these components our human body is able to synthesize substances such as brain neurotransmitters (allow neuronal & nervous system connection), new cells (they are part of the composition of all cells), good cholesterol, natural anti-inflammatory (which produces the body itself), vasodilator and anti-thrombotic substances. A deficit of these components can produce an onset or aggravation of symptoms of hyperactivity, depression, insomnia, allergic reactions, arthritis, dermatitis, menstrual pain, etc.
Borage's way of cooking varied because the plant is used from stems to the leaves.
Leaves and flowers are used mainly for its diuretic properties. It favors the elimination of urine from the body to get rid of harmful toxins.
Borage, traditionally, has been used in case of fever, cough, and depression. Borage oil mainly contains essential fatty acids. Both, plant and oil, are source of gamma-linolenic acid.

YELLOW STICK (PALILLO, CURCUMA)

Yellow Stick (Palillo) might be the healthiest  spice of earth. The earliest written testimony of it comes from an Assyrian herbarium dating from about 600 BC. The Persians were worshipers of the sun and in honor of it they used the stick as a natural dye for their bodies. In 1285, the Italian traveler, Marco Polo relates that in one of his travels in China he discovered this vegetable and says of it: "There is a plant that has all the authentic properties of saffron, it has the smell and color, but it does not resemble at all to saffron and grows mainly in the regions of Fu-Kien. It is held in high esteem and its price is high."
The variety that grows in Peru is called "Long Curcuma," and takes the name "Yellow Palillo" and its main crop is in the Peruvian Jungle. Made by grinding the dried root of the plant, this ancient food has been used by Andean healers for centuries. In Brazil it is called "Guairaba," and in Colombia as "Guava Milk" or "Guava Monkey."
Recent studies of this variety indicates that it is rich in bisdemetoxicurcumina, an antioxidant that can fight the accumulation of proteins that are parked in the brain fighting the Alzheimer's. The intense yellow color of the stick comes from liposoluble pigments known as curcuminoids. Curcuminoids have a stronger antioxidant action than grape seed extract, vitamin C or E. Antioxidants reduce the damage that free radicals can produce to tissues, cells and DNA; and help slow down the signs of normal aging.
In its collagenous action, curcumin increases the ejection of bile by 100 percent, which corroborates its traditional use for gallstones. For the same qualities it is beneficial in alcoholism.
The Machigengas that live in the Jungle say that the Yellow Palillo is a good diuretic and fights constipation (flu). It also acts as an anti-inflamatory of the respiratory tract, joints and urinary tract. It also stimulates blood circulation.
The potential health effects of the Yellow Palillo are believed to be particularly strong when you combine it with fresh black pepper. It has an aromatic odor similar to ginger and a slightly bitter taste.
One of the most emblematic dishes of the Peruvian Jungle is the famous "Juane," infallible in the celebration of John the Baptist in the whole Peruvian Jungle. The "Juane" is the representation of the beheading of John the Baptist in the Scriptural legend. Of all the dishes stands out one called "stew" made with Peruvian cassava, Yellow Palillo, and local veggies.
Every Peruvian cook  indicates that the Yellow Stick Powder is an essential ingredient for fish, eggs, and rice. Also for dressings or to give yellow color to the food.
Let's use Yellow Palillo powder in garnish our food. Add this spice to whatever you want: vegetables, eggs, meat. You can also add it to the boiling water when making pasta, rice, soup, etc.