Talk:Anticuchos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I believe the information on the Anticuchos article is very mistaken. I have some friends in Lima working on providing research documents, but virtually any Peruvian can tell you the article is based on a widespread mistake.

"Anticuchos" specifically means "beef heart" and does not mean "kebob" or "brochette" or anything related to a spit or shish-kebob and most importantly, you cannot have "chicken anticuchos" or "steak anticuchos" etc.

The short explanation as to why much of the extra-Peruvian world is so mistaken is that anticuchos are commonly served on little sticks, but not exclusively. Fine restuarants serve the beef heart (anticuchos) on a plate with the sticks removed. Nonetheless, many observers have mistaken the association of the word "anticuchos" with the way they are served (on sticks) and not with what was being served (the beef heart). Of course, if you travel OUTSIDE of Peru (Ecuador, Chile) where anticuchos did NOT originate, where they think "anticuchos" means "brocheta" or "pinchos" (kebob essentially), then yes, you have to specify the "type" of anticuchos you want (i.e. chicken or steak or shrimp, etc..).

In Peru, however, Anticuchos means beef heart, whether served on sticks or not. Also, my friends in Peru are reasonably certain that word "Anticuchos" does not come from the indigenous Quechua language, and simple phonetics should make it obvious that it's unlikely the Incas (or the Quechua) would generate such a word, but again, my friends are researching this.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by JohnCPope (talk • contribs) 14:41, 18 July 2006 (UTC).

Well, I think a great source is the same article on the Spanish wikipedia. It has quite a bit more information on that article than on this one, and it discusses the topic in light of the variation among the Peruvian, Bolivian, and Chilean versions. One good option is to get someone to translate the Spanish article into English--- just a thought. - Dozenist talk 21:48, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Fortunately I understand Spanish and I read the Spanish article. It is much better than the English article. The Spanish version spells out the original Quechua word from which "anticuchos" evolved rather than imply that "anticuchos" itself is Quechua as the English version does. Also, the Spanish article specifically adds that in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru the word "anticuchos" does NOT refer to "kebob" or any shish-kebob meaning (nor "brochette" nor "brocheta"). The Spanish article spells out that the traditional nature of the beef heart as the "Andes Court" dish stems from the fact that slaves were fed the organs of the animals. Whether this is true or not, it is a far better explanation than something that implies anticuchos are "chicken or steak" kebobs. -

Should I mirror the English version to the Spanish one?--JohnCPope 13:02, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

I think the article is misworded, but it is probably meant to mean that in some other countires (inauthentic) dishes consisting of non-offal beef or chicken are called anticuchos. I have seen this in the US more frequently than one might think, presumably to cater to most American tastes. In any case, the article should be clarified to say what real anticuchos are, with info translated from the Spanish article. However, mentioning that "anticuchos" can be used as a label to imply different things outside of Peru is certainly not incorrect. The list of dishes at the bottom is presumably for analogous dishes - and doesn't imply that anticuchos are brochettes or yakiktori - AKeen 16:25, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Great, I'll get to work on it. Rock 'N Roll.--JohnCPope 21:04, 19 July 2006 (UTC)