Earlier I posted a piece about loche, but had no photo and only incomplete information. Above is a picture of a loche I purchased in Mercado Modelo in Chiclayo for 3 soles. It is 8 inches high. I also found an organization that is dedicated to research on and the promotion of the loche. However, this was not my finding, but the work of a woman whose blog is dedicated to food. After writing to her, she did some searching and found this organization at http://www.lamolina.edu.peMy father-in-law, who has some farm land about 15 minutes (by car) from our house, asked local farmers about growing the loche. Most agreed that it had to be grown from cuttings, but one mentioned that the seed of the larger loche zapallo could be planted; a cutting taken from its vine could be planted, and the smaller loche would grow. We are going to try this.
If I were 25 to 30 years younger I would seriously consider growing loche for export. The flavor is superior to most types of pumpkin or squash. For now, we are experimenting with inventing recipes using the loche: a truly Peruvian vegetable.
