A Divine October Treat The Turrón de Doña Pepa

October is often referred to in Peru as the ‘purple month’, in reference to the dominant color of the Lord of Miracles processions. If purple is the color of October, when it comes to sweets, tradition dictates only one: the sticky, anise-flavored Turrón de Doña Pepa.

October is often referred to in Peru as the ‘purple month’. This is the color associated with Lima’s patron saint, the Lord of Tremors, whose most faithful devotees don only this color for the entire month in their hopes of receiving divine favors. Huge processions take place throughout the city, with religious fraternities shouldering the immense weight of the religious icon, crowds strewing flowers, and dancers and bands entertaining, leaving purple flowers and confetti in their wake. If purple is the color of October, when it comes to sweets, tradition dictates only one: Turrón de Doña Pepa.

To create the sweet, anise-flavored pastry logs are layered in a crisscross pattern, covered in sweet chancaca syrup, and then garnished with garishly cheerful multicolored candy sprinkles. The result is sticky, powdery, and quite sweet. Street vendors and stores of all stripes hawk these turrones, which are omnipresent upon Limeño tables during the month.

Tradition says that the creator of the sweet was a former slave named Josefa Marmanillo, who was known as Doña Pepa and who dedicated herself to the Lord of Miracles after crediting the image which restoring to her the use of her arms. For the remaining years of her life, Doña Pepa offered her turrón to the faithful during the religious feast.

Those of you lucky enough to be visiting Peru this October shouldn’t let those candy sprinkles dissuade you from sampling a turrón or two- it’s a delicious, anise flavored insight into the religious and culinary traditions of Afro-Peruvian criollo culture.

Fecha de Publicación: 15/10/2014