{"id":6049,"date":"2026-10-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peruanos.nl\/?p=6049"},"modified":"2026-10-02T13:07:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:07:39","slug":"types-of-peruvian-aji-flavour-heat-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peruanos.nl\/en\/types-of-peruvian-aji-flavour-heat-netherlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Types of Peruvian Aj\u00ed: A Guide to Flavour and Heat for Cooking in the Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is a scene that repeats itself in almost every Peruvian kitchen, here in the Netherlands and anywhere in the world. Someone opens the fridge, takes out a jar of aj\u00ed amarillo paste and, with a single spoonful, turns a grey dish into a dish with memory. That tiny gesture, that sauce that suddenly changes colour and releases a sweet aroma, explains why aj\u00ed is not a spicy garnish: it is the backbone that holds up the flavour of Peruvian cuisine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aj\u00ed is not a single ingredient but an entire family of varieties with distinct profiles. Understanding those differences is the difference between adding heat and cooking: the first gives you warmth, the second gives you a dish that says where it comes from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Aj\u00ed is not there to make the dish hot: it is there to make the dish say where it comes from.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The aj\u00ed family: much more than heat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Botanically, almost all Peruvian aj\u00edes belong to the genus Capsicum<\/em>. What sets them apart is not only how hot they are, but how they smell, how they taste and how they react to heat or acid. Two aj\u00edes can share the same level of heat and still produce completely different dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heat is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Figures like 30,000 or 100,000 SHU are a useful reference, not an exact fact: the intensity of the same variety changes with the soil, the climate, the ripening and even the stress of the plant. Use them as a compass, never as a clinical thermometer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Netherlands something particularly fortunate happens. Although fresh seasonal aj\u00ed is not easy to find, aj\u00ed paste<\/strong> is widely available and keeps colour and aroma remarkably well. It is the most practical gateway for anyone who wants to cook Peruvian food for real in Europe without depending on fresh imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three aj\u00edes that hold up Peruvian cuisine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you had to choose only three aj\u00edes to reproduce the entire Peruvian repertoire, these would be them. They are the base of the sauces, the marinades and the stews served today in Peruvian restaurants across Europe, and their story links to that of aj\u00ed as the heart of the country’s flavour<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Aj\u00ed amarillo: the fruity king of creamy sauces<\/h3>\n\n\n\n