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Dish · Arequipa
Chupe de camarones
Thick river shrimp soup with potato, egg, milk and cheese. It is called the ambassador of traditional Arequipa cuisine and is served as a main course in the picanterías.
Flavors · Arequipa
Queso helado
Artisanal ice cream made from milk, sugar, cinnamon, clove, and coconut, stirred in a bowl over ice. Despite the name, it contains no cheese. It is Arequipa’s best-known sweet, with its own day on the city calendar.
Traditional sweet from Arequipa, Arequipa
Also known as: queso helado arequipeño
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Queso helado — Arequipa, Peru
Queso helado is a creamy milk-based ice cream. The milk is boiled with sugar, cinnamon, and clove, and many recipes include grated coconut and egg yolks. After cooling, the mixture is stirred in a bowl over ice until it reaches an ice-cream-like consistency.
The name is misleading: there is no cheese in the recipe. It comes from the appearance—white with small curds—which resembles fresh cheese. Sellers sprinkle cinnamon on top.
There are two origin stories. One says the sweet was created at the Monastery of Santa Catalina, founded in 1579, where the nuns made sweets for wealthy families. The other links it to the dairy-producing highland areas of the region, such as Chuquibamba, Viraco, and Pampacolca, and to the ice brought down from the mountains. Neither version has definitive proof.
Since 2012, the Municipalidad Provincial de Arequipa has held the Día del Queso Helado on the fourth Sunday of January, with celebrations in the Plaza de Armas. The sweet is sold from carts in the squares and in traditional neighborhoods like Yanahuara, and in the city’s picanterías.
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Where it comes from
Arequipa , Arequipa
Arequipa’s best-known sweet, with its own day established by the city government.
Ingredients
Fresh and evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon, clove, grated coconut, and in many recipes, egg yolks.
How it is eaten
In a small cup or cone, sprinkled with cinnamon, served immediately.
When it is eaten
Year-round, especially on sunny days; the Día del Queso Helado falls on the fourth Sunday of January.
Your questions
Questions about Queso helado
Does queso helado contain cheese?
No. The name comes from its appearance—white with small curds—that resembles fresh cheese. It is a milk-based ice cream flavored with cinnamon, clove, and coconut.
When is the Día del Queso Helado in Arequipa?
The fourth Sunday of January, with a celebration in the Plaza de Armas organized by the Municipalidad Provincial de Arequipa since 2012.
Where can you buy queso helado in Arequipa?
From carts in the plazas and traditional neighborhoods such as Yanahuara, and in the city’s picanterías.
Flavors of Peru
Discover other flavors of Peru
Dish · Arequipa
Ocopa arequipeña
Huacatay cream with ají amarillo, peanuts and cheese, traditionally ground in the batán and served over boiled potatoes with egg and olive. It is a Traditional Guaranteed Specialty registered with Indecopi, requested by the picanteras of Arequipa.
Dish · Arequipa
Rocoto relleno
Rocoto blanched to reduce its heat, stuffed with minced meat, onion, peanuts and olives, topped with cheese and baked. It is the most emblematic dish of Arequipa’s picanterías.
Dish · Chiclayo
Arroz con pato
Green cilantro rice cooked with chicha de jora or dark beer, with duck marinated in ají, garlic and vinegar. In the 19th century it was known as pato con arroz a la chiclayana.
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Cold festive dish with roasted cuy, chicken, cecina, chorizo, torreja, cancha, cheese, cochayuyo seaweed and rocoto. It is the Corpus Christi dish in Cusco.
Dish · Huancayo
Papa a la huancaína
Boiled potatoes covered with a yellow ají cream made with fresh cheese and milk, ground on the batán, served with lettuce, egg and olive. The recipe from the tradition of the province of Huancayo is a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed registered by Indecopi.
Drink · Ica
Pisco
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Sweet · Ica
Teja
Manjar blanco bonbon with a filling of candied fruit or pecan nuts, covered in fondant; the chocoteja is the chocolate version. It is Ica’s traditional sweet, recognized by the municipal government as culinary heritage.
Sweet · Lambayeque
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Dish · Lima
Causa limeña
Cold mashed yellow potato dough seasoned with ají amarillo and lime, layered with a filling of chicken, tuna, or seafood. It bears Lima in the name and is linked to the history of Independence.
Drink · Lima
Pisco sour
Cocktail of pisco, lime juice, sugar syrup and egg white, shaken with ice and served with drops of bitters.
Sweet · Lima
Suspiro a la limeña
Lima sweet in two layers: a manjar blanco of milk, sugar and egg yolks, topped with meringue made with Port wine and cinnamon. The name means "suspiro de la limeña" (the limeña’s sigh).
Sweet · Lima
Turrón de Doña Pepa
Sticks of flour dough flavored with anise, layered, coated in chancaca honey and topped with colorful sprinkles. It’s the October sweet in Lima, the month of the procession of the Señor de los Milagros.
Dish · Piura
Seco de chabelo
Fried, mashed green banana with dried beef, chicha de jora, ají panca and cilantro. It is one of Piura’s most representative dishes, recognized by Indecopi as a Traditional Guaranteed Specialty in 2026.
Dish · Puno
Chawlla thimpo
Fish broth from Lake Titicaca, such as carachi, cooked whole with potato, chuño and muña. It is everyday food in Puno, with its own day on the city calendar.
Dish · Trujillo
Shambar
Thick wheat soup with beans, chickpeas, peas and fava beans, with pork cuts and ham, scented with mint. It is the Monday dish in Trujillo.