Picarones

Arabic in origin, Picarones were introduced to Peru by the Spanish, where they were again adapted by black African cooks who replaced wheat flour with mashed pumpkin. ‘Get your hot picarones here!’ was a popular cry of the street vendors in 19th century Lima. Present day Limeño families will take a Sunday afternoon trip to the picaronerías along the shore to get these fragrant donut-like beignets, always dipped in syrup.