Locro
Hearty Andean stew, one of the national dishes of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Northwest Argentina and Southwestern Colombia.
Last updated
A thick stew made from squash or potatoes, locro (also known as lojro, from Quechua ruqru) is linked to pre-Columbian Andean cultures and remains common along the Andes.[1]
Key facts and history
The dish's name comes from the Quechua word ruqru.[1] Its background dates to the Inca Empire, though information relies on hearsay and Spanish accounts due to a lack of Inca manuscripts.[2] The first version of Locro contained potatoes, chili peppers, salt, water and chuño.[3] This early recipe helped populations subsist despite a low-protein diet.[3]
A very spicy, calorie-dense version of locro is called pulsudo in Argentina.[4] This pulsudo locro may include cumbarí bell pepper, especially in the Argentine Northwest and La Rioja province.[4] In a 2023 study by Cuffia that used the free listing technique, locro was the third most frequently mentioned food among 28 items representing traditional gastronomy in Argentina.[5]
What the cited sources add
A 2022 study by Egüez provides the specific ingredients of the first Locro version: potatoes, chili peppers, salt, water and chuño.[3] A 2013 article by Zacco in Clarín.com notes that the spicy, calorie-dense locro called pulsudo is associated with cumbarí bell pepper in parts of Argentina.[4] Cuffia's 2023 research, employing the free listing technique, placed locro third out of 28 foods in a study of what represents traditional gastronomy in Argentina.[5]
References
- Wikipedia, "Locro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ASALE, "lojro Diccionario de americanismos", «Diccionario de americanismos», 2024-12-27; "Locro, una tradición argentina" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Locro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Meyers, "Los Incas en el Ecuador : análisis de los restos materiales", 1998 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Locro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Egüez, "Reconstrucción histórica del locro ecuatoriano, un aporte para las cocinas de hoy", Polo del Conocimiento: Revista científico-profesional, 2022, p. 1760-1779 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Locro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Zacco, "Una aventura por los mitos y sabores de la cocina argentina", Clarín.com, 2013-04-27 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Locro" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cuffia, "Using the free listing technique to study consumers’ representations of traditional gastronomy in Argentina", Journal of Ethnic Foods, 2023-01-30 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Locro (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Ecuadorian cuisine
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Locro (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced