The Fig: Flagship Fruit of Uchumayo, Arequipa

The fig (Ficus carica L.) is one of the flagship fruits of Uchumayo, Arequipa, because its emblematic beverage, chimbango, is made from this fruit. Today, the fig is the input for other innovative preparations that have opened up more possibilities for this typical food of the district. Kendra Hurtado Araníbar, a Food Industry Engineering student, along with her husband, future agronomic engineer Edgar Chávez Pacheco, have been innovating with this delicious fruit. For example, they have bottled chimbango in glass bottles to offer it to the public and preserve it longer, under the brand "Chimba", an original drink that maintains a good aroma, body, and mouthfeel, made with dried figs produced in Uchumayo and La Joya, places where the young couple owns plantations of said fruit. Dried fig with ice cream In addition, they prepare cakes with fig raisins, as well as jams and, recently, they are testing the integration of dried fig into ice cream, a traditional Arequipa dessert. "We do ...