Guinea Pig: The Andean delicacy

Nothing seems to disturb visitors to the Andean highlands as much as a meal of the local delicacy called cuy, more commonly known as guinea pig in the English-speaking world.

Even the most determined gourmand can be “freaked out” when presented with the repast for the first time but it’s really not that strange a foodstuff. Think of it as the Cornish game hen of the mammal kingdom.

Guinea pig was domesticated about 5,000 years ago in the Andean highlands and it is still a relatively common repast in the highlands of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. In Peru alone more than 65 million are consumed annually. It’s such a key aspect to the diet of the rural poor that significant resources have been allocated to help improve the breed for stock purposes.

It's not by accident that guinea pig became a staple of the Andean diet. It doesn’t cost much to care for – most raise it using wild alfalfa or excess foodstuffs – and it doesn’t require much space, something that's at a premium when living on a mountainside. The relatively short gestation cycle ensures that a constant supply of the animals can be available for consumption if properly taken care of.

It was so important to the pre-Spanish culture that the Inca's even had a saying "Eat guinea pig and live well." And that importance continues today. To the point thatPeru's National Agrarian Institute (INIA) holds regular workshops to educate breeders on how to improve production.

For many years, affluent Peruvians looked down on cuy as something backwards or unrefined but that seems to be changing somewhat. The dish has recently moved out of the rural areas and onto the menus of upscale restaurants in Lima with some success.

It can even be found outside of the Andean region in areas where recent immigrants have settled in relatively larger numbers like New York. But widespread popularity of the dish in the US and Europe is a very doubtful possibility.

There are countless ways of preparing cuy but the most common ways to find the dish prepared is chactado or spatchcocked and fried. In some areas, notably around Paita in the sacred valley, you can find it al horno or baked.