Museo De Gastronomia

Today, on June the 11th, I went to the Museum of Gastronomy in Lima, Peru. According to http://www.limaeasy.com/culture-guide/museums-lima/museum-of-the-peruvian-gastronomy, the Museum is the "the first museum in Peru dedicated exclusively to the Peruvian cuisine which plays such an important role not only in the culture of the country but as well in everyday life. The Gastronomy Museum leads you through more than 2000 years of culinary richness in Peru." At first, we got to see some of the different ceramics, some with transitional symmetry, and most with reflectional symmetry along the vertical axis, and then looked at a map to see where different crops and animals were raised/caught for food (was unable to get full picture).

Once we looked at the ceramics and map (as well as some colorfully symmetric art and charts over certain plants some ancient cultures grew), I ventured through the main exhibit. This exhibit included more pottery, different cuisines, produce, bread, and portrayals of how the local people who harvest some crops or prepare different foods. By far the most interesting part of the exhibit to me was seeing the pots with 3-D of the crop to categorize what the pots contained, from corn to crustaceans. While some had symmetry, such as 180 degree rotational symmetry found in the crustacean figures), and some didn't, the level of craftmenship and detail in each ceramic was astounding (more about these pots can be explained at this site: http://ceramicartsdaily.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/potsspecificfood.pdf). The various amounts of different bread and cuisines were also very interesting, with the cuisines ranging from Amazonian meals like the Inchicapi, to Costal cuisine like Aji De Gallina, to the ever popular ceviche. I also saw a large, ancient salt/ice grinder, and exquisite dishware glassware.                       

 

After the main exhibit, we went to 

the remaining sections of the Museum, which included the quinua exhibit. Quinua (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa) is a grain/rice like crop which has edible seeds. These seeds are considered to be very nutritious, since they are high in protein, as well as many vitamins and minerals, and because the crop has been noticed for its nutritious and substitute value, quinua crops have become more valuable in countries like the U.S. and Japan. It was interesting to see how many different types of Quinua are grown, how many different cuisines are made by the crop, and how it is properly cooked. 

Overall the Museum of Gastronomy was an awesome and enjoyable experience. I was impressed by how many different ways these native crops and animals could be prepared in meals, as well as how many different foods I saw and heard for the first time today. Though my stomach doesn't wish to be feed anything but crackers and water (long story), I can definitely say that going to this Museum was a great cultural and enlightening experience.