Ají* sauce

Ají is a spicy sauce from the Andean region, made from blended ají peppers that are combined, depending on the area, with cilantro, onion, tomato, oil or lime. It sits on the table as an accompaniment and is a staple of Peruvian and Ecuadorian cooking, among other countries in the region.

History

Its use in the Andes goes back, according to the available sources, to pre-Hispanic times. The Incas called the pepper uchu, while the name used today comes from the Taíno word axí, the term Caribbean peoples used for hot peppers. After the arrival of Europeans, Spaniards knew it as pimienta de las Indias, or Indian pepper.

Each region adapted the recipe to its own ingredients and tastes. Ecuador makes it with many varieties of ají, which range widely in heat and, in some areas, include fruit. Chile makes a version with lime juice, while Panama and Puerto Rico have ajilimójili, flavored with paprika, lime or honey. Today it is also sold bottled, and commercial versions usually include water, salt, citric acid and sodium benzoate.

Culture

In Peru, ají remains one of the main ingredients of the kitchen, with varieties such as the Cusco uchucuta, made with rocoto, huacatay and culantro, or Arequipa's llatán. In Ecuador it is served at the table so each diner can add it to soups, empanadas, chorizo or chugchucaras, since traditional home cooking is mild. Colombia follows a similar pattern, and in northwest Amazonia, ají negro, made with the juice of bitter cassava, remains an Indigenous recipe that is at risk of being lost.

Trivia