Food from the Jungle

While my mom´s here in Iquitos there´s a few things she might want to try that are special to this particular region of Peru. I pulled these pictures off of google to give you all an idea of what each looks like. So let me explain from top to bottom and left to right. The first is lucuma, which is actually found in other parts of Peru, but my mother has to try it because its so delicious. The consistency is a little like an avacodo, but it´s flavor is sweet and rich. And it´s particularly delicious in shakes and ice cream. Next is aguaje, a very typical jungle fruit. I think everyone should try it, but I personally don´t like it. It´s often used to make a juice, which I think tastes like milk mixed with barbeque sauce for some reason. But it´s also used to make popsicles. The people here love it. The next picture shows cecina (a red colored pork meat with a salty taste) and tacacho (a mashed salty banana grounded into a ball with bits of bacon added). Then there´s Juanes, the famous rice and chicken wrapped in a bijoa leaf and affectionately named after Saint John. Then chirimoya, which is my favorite fruit here. It´s difficult to explain the flavor but its a sweet fruit and to eat it you have to crack it open pull off pieces and eat around the seeds inside. Next is shambo, a special type of popsicle that Iquitos is famous for. They sell delicious popsicles with all kinds of flavors including flavors from jungle fruits. There´s even a beer flavored shambo, and it´s honestly delicious. Then last but not least, camu camu. This fruit is too strong and bitter to eat as it is, so it is usually used to make camu camu juice. It tastes a bit like a pink lemonade, and a glass of frozen camu camu is one of my favorite things to drink here. I can´t wait to watch mom try all this stuff.......