Picarones

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Wikipedia

Picarones
TypeDoughnut
Place of originPeru
Main ingredientsSquash, sweet potatoes, chancaca syrup
  •   Media: Picarones

Picarones (or Picarón singular) are a Peruvian dessert[1] that originated in Lima during the viceroyalty. It is somewhat similar to buñuelos, a type of doughnut brought to the colonies by Spanish conquistadors. Its principal ingredients are squash and sweet potato. It is served in a doughnut form and covered with syrup, made from chancaca (solidified molasses).[2] It is traditional to serve picarones when people prepare anticuchos, another traditional Peruvian dish.[3]

History

Picarones were created during the colonial period to replace buñuelos as buñuelos were too expensive to make.[4] People started replacing traditional ingredients with squash and sweet potato, which created a new dessert, picarones.

Picarones are mentioned by Ricardo Palma in his book Tradiciones Peruanas (literally Peruvian traditions). Picarones are also featured in traditional Latin American music and poetry.[4]

This dessert is mentioned in the autobiographical memoirs Remembrances of thirty years (1810-1840) (Spanish: Recuerdos de treinta años (1810-1840)) by Chilean José Zapiola, who mentions that picarones were typically eaten in Plaza de Armas de Santiago (Chile) before 1810.[5]

See also

Sources

  • Compton, M. D. April 20, 2004. Peruvian Traditions: Ricardo Palma’s Latin American Historic and Folkloric Tales. United States. AuthorHouse. ISBN 1-4184-1046-2
  • (in Spanish) Plevisani, S. 2005. Dulce Pasión. Lima, Perú. Quebecor World Perú.
  • (in Spanish) Ada y Maricarmen. February, 1997. El Arte de la Repostería. Lima, Perú. Biblos
  • Krystina Castella (3 January 2012). A World of Cake: 150 Recipes for Sweet Traditions from Cultures Near and Far; Honey cakes to flat cakes, fritters to chiffons, tartes to tortes, meringues to mooncakes, fruit cakes to spice cakes. Storey Publishing, LLC. pp. 268–270. ISBN 978-1-60342-446-2.

References

  1. ↑ "Historiadora Rosario Olivas cuenta la verdadera historia del picarón". 18 Feb 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Picarones | Traditional Sweet Pastry From Lima | TasteAtlas". www.tasteatlas.com. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  3. ↑ "Peru's Favorite Street Food Goes Global". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  4. 1 2 Castella, Krystina (January 3, 2012). A World of Cake: 150 Recipes for Sweet Traditions from Cultures Near and Far; Honey Cakes to Flat Cakes, Fritters to Chiffons, Tartes to Tortes, Meringues to Mooncakes, Fruit Cakes to Spice Cakes. Storey Publishing, LLC. ISBN 9781603424462.
  5. ↑ Zapiola, José (1872). "Chapter II La policía de aseo i salubridad". Recuerdos de treinta años (1810-1840) (in Spanish). Vol. I & II (1st ed.). Santiago, Chile: Imprenta de El Independiente. p. 12. Retrieved 12 July 2015.