Guinea pigs: they’re not from Guinea and they’re not pigs.
Discuss.
But seriously:
Guinea pig: It’s what’s for dinner in Peru – and the US: Farmers in Peru boost their income by exporting guinea pigs to immigrants in the US.
I tried this special dish on a couple of occasions when I lived in Ecuador — the Spanish word is cuy (pronounced coo-ee). Doesn’t taste like chicken. Tough. A bit oily. But maybe my own particular issue was that as I munched on those tiny drumsticks I couldn’t help but picture Betty, my late, great, beloved pet, whose lustrous coat I used to groom lovingly with an old toothbrush when I was but six years old….
Previously: Ecuadorian Soup in The New Yorker.
For what it’s worth, in the photo above, that’s not, in fact, cuy I was cooking with my Ecuador friends Mike F. and Angelica last year…