Peruvian vs Swedish food & cuisine

Sauce-based dishes are another focus, but these sauces are unique in their complexity. A unique aspect of Peruvian meal patterns is the prominence of soup, which often appears at multiple meals throughout the day.

Peruvian cuisine is distinguished by how it combines different techniques within single dishes, often featuring both cooked and raw elements, hot and cold components, or crispy and smooth textures in the same preparation.

Daily rhythm matters. Home cooking stays simple. Meals follow regular patterns, and coffee breaks slow the day down. Food supports daily life rather than trying to impress.

Sweden ranks consistently among the world’s highest coffee consumers per capita. Coffee functions as a social ritual at work, at home, and with guests. Fika formalizes this habit into a shared pause built around coffee and something small to eat.

Kiwicha (amaranth) is another distinctive Peruvian grain that was sacred to the Incas. Unlike amaranth found elsewhere, Peruvian kiwicha has been selectively bred for larger seed size and better nutritional content. It’s often used in unique ways, such as making kiwicha pop (similar to popcorn but tiny).

Cañihua, a lesser-known but nutritionally powerful grain, is almost exclusively grown in Peru’s Altiplano region. It’s similar to quinoa but smaller, and doesn’t contain saponins (the bitter coating that must be washed off quinoa).

Giant white corn, maíz blanco gigante,  from Cusco’s Sacred Valley is so unique that it has a denomination of origin. These corn kernels are two to three times larger than regular corn, with a distinctive texture and flavor that can’t be replicated elsewhere.

Purple corn, used to make chicha morada, represents another unique aspect of Peruvian grains.

In Peruvian cuisine, corn (maíz) is undoubtedly the most culturally significant grain, but rice did not take long to become a daily staple after Chinese immigration. It appears at most lunch and dinner meals, served alongside dishes rather than incorporated into them. The consumption pattern is similar to that of many Latin American countries, where a plate of white rice is a fundamental accompaniment. Even when potatoes are served, rice often appears on the same plate.

Wheat, consumed mainly as bread and pasta, holds the second position. Bread is particularly important for breakfast and evening meals, while pasta dishes appear regularly at lunch and dinner.

This developed for practical reasons. Water mills operated only a few times a year, so bread needed a long shelf life. That led to knäckebröd, or crispbread, which could be stored for months until the next milling. Once seen as poor food, crispbread remains a daily staple and appears in modern dishes.

Sandwiches also endured because they suit Swedish everyday eating. In Sweden, sandwiches are open-faced and called smörgås. The practice dates back to the 1400s, when thick bread slices served as plates. A classic example is the räkmacka, topped with dill-flavored crème fraîche, roe, lettuce, boiled eggs, and plenty of shrimp.

Peru’s native fruits have created entirely new flavor categories in global gastronomy. Take lucuma, for instance – its unique maple-caramel flavor profile is so distinct that it’s become a highly sought-after flavor in international dessert making. Similarly, camu camu sour berry, with its extraordinarily high vitamin C content (up to 60 times that of an orange), represents a category of ‘superfruit’ that existed in Peru for centuries before the term was even coined. Peruvian fruits frequently go into savory dishes: sauces for fish and meat, and combined with chilies in ways that challenge the conventional sweet-savory divide found in many other world cuisines.

Potato entered Swedish cuisine around 1720 and became the main starch, a role it still holds. New potatoes are especially valued. They ripen in early summer and are central to the midsummer meal, served with pickled herring, chives, and sour cream.

Mushrooms  are important more than in many Western countries. Foraging remains seasonal and social. Chanterelles are the most popular, served with steak or fried with onions and a creamy sauce on open sandwiches. Porcini, especially birch boletes, are nearly as popular.

Fresh fruit was limited for much of the year, so berries mattered more. Lingonberries and their jam accompany mostly savory dishes.  Cloudberries appear mainly in desserts and special occasions. Berries are also preserved as jams, syrups, soups, and drinks for winter, including thick fruit soups like rose hip soup and bilberry soup.

Apples dominate Swedish fruit use in baking, sauces, soups, and desserts. Pears appear less often, while plums and cherries are mainly preserved or baked. Citrus arrived later through trade and remains used sparingly. Unlike berries, fruit stays largely in sweet applications and rarely pairs with savory dishes.

In high altitudes, alpacas and llamas were raised in their entirety – meat for food, wool for textiles, dung for fuel, and bones for tools. The Inca empire had a sophisticated system for llama meat preservation – they created charqui (where the word “jerky” comes from), dried meat that could be stored for years and was vital for feeding their armies and as emergency food supplies. Today, those are particularly lean meats, high in protein and low in cholesterol, best prepared with slow cooking or stewing.

Game meats like elk, deer, and wild boar are central during the autumn hunting season. Elk and deer are considered luxurious yet sustainable due to controlled hunting. These lean meats are roasted, braised, or made into sausages, then cooked slowly or paired with rich sauces to prevent dryness.

Offal once played a major role in Swedish cooking. While consumption has declined, it remains higher than in many Western countries. Regional dishes include blood pudding, liver, heart and kidney stews, and black soup made from goose blood. Meat dishes are balanced with lingonberries and pickled vegetables, adding acidity and sweetness to counter richness.

Peruvians frequently combine lime with aji peppers in their seafood dishes. This isn’t just in ceviche – look at parihuela (seafood soup), tiradito (raw fish dish), and even fried dishes’ accompaniments. Many dishes combine hot and cold elements in creative ways.

Herring is most often eaten pickled, with potatoes, onions, and mustard sauce. Smoked herring is also common. There’s also a surströmming, a fermented herring of strong, pungent smell – a delicacy by many Swedes, but it is not for the faint of heart!

Gravlax, Sweden’s cured salmon dish, when fish is buried in salt, sugar, and dill, the critical herb in gravlax. Curing typically lasts 24 to 48 hours, allowing the fish to take on a delicate, rich flavor without cooking. It’s served cold and thinly sliced, accompanied by mustard sauce hovmästarsås, rye bread, or crispbread. Gravlax has become popular worldwide.

Milk is used primarily in desserts and sauces. Fresh cheese queso fresco, is important in savory dishes and soups. Condensed and evaporated milks are more of a signature of Latin America – imported during the 19th century, they are staples in Peruvian desserts.

Peruvian cuisine historically hasn’t relied heavily on fats compared to many other world cuisines. Many traditional techniques like pachamanca (earth oven cooking) and huatia (field-baked potatoes), raw fish ceviche, dried meats don’t require added fats. Steaming and boiling are common cooking methods that use minimal fat. In contrast to cuisines that rely heavily on butter, ghee, or large amounts of oil, Peruvian cuisine generally uses fats more sparingly.

Butter, cream, and sour cream form the base of Swedish cooking. Cream goes into sauces for meat, fish, mushrooms, and soups. The goal is balance, not richness. It softens salty or acidic notes, especially with game and mushrooms. Sour cream (gräddfil) is milder and slightly tangy. You’ll find it with potatoes, fish, pancakes, and in dips. It adds freshness without sharpness. Together, these dairy products define much of Swedish flavor.

Peru has relatively low consumption and cultivation of nuts compared to many other regions of the world. Tree nuts weren’t native to the region and weren’t a significant part of pre-Colombian diets. However, peanuts, while technically legumes, are used in some traditional dishes like carapulcra and some ceviches.