Argentina - Tourism - Gastronomy

The Argentine cuisine may be referred to as a cultural blending between the indigenous Mediterranean influences (such as the one exerted by Italian-Spanish and Arabic polulations) and the wide scope of livestock and agricultural products, which are said to be abundant in these lands. Beyond asado (“barbecue”) it is hard to think of any other type of dish that more genuinely matches the national identity. Nevertheless, the country´s vast area and its cultural richness have caused the local cuisine list to include many more dishes than just Carne al Asador (“beef grilled in an open fire pit”).

With respect to food, Argentina is regarded as a country where its people enjoy eating. It is quite common, or even mandatory for people to take part in social gatherings aimed at sharing a meal. In fact, inviting people to have dinner at home is usually viewed as a symbol of friendship, warmth and integration. Furthermore, Sunday family reunions generally stand as an occasion to eat asado (“barbecue”) or a delicious pasta dish.

Another prevailing feature characterizing Argentine cuisine is the preparation of homemade food, especially when wanting to prepare a meal in somebody´s honor, celebrate an occasion, or simply meet friends.The tradition of locally preparing food is passed down from generation to generation and it is also seen as a way to show affection for the ones we love.

On the other hand, the scope of gastronomic dishes on-offer stands among the top in the world; therefore, people can choose among a great variety of cuisines, prices and flavours. As a matter of fact, large cities obviously count on unique gentrified restaurants offering international cuisine. Nevertheless, Argentina similarly provides diners with other options such as bodegones (inexpensive old hidden taverns), less stylish restaurants, and bars and canteens offering an enticing range of dishes at very affordable prices.

The most frequently used products
Considering Argentina is a significantly large livestock and agricultural country, it generally allows for the growth of all kinds of cereals, grains, oil seeds, fruits and vegetables. Similarly, it is regarded as one of the major beef, pork and poultry producing countries. As a matter of fact, certain areas such as those located in the south are usually engaged in activities involving sheep and lamb breeding, and shellfish, crustaceans, molluscs and salmonides fishing. In the Mesopotamia waters the following river fish including silverside, suruby, dorado or bogas clearly stand out.

The vast breeding activity involving any type of cattle has given rise to a very developed dairy industry that includes products like cow, sheep and camelide milk, cheese, sweets and yoghurts. Argentina can also be conceived as a great industry engaged in the production of dried fruits, olives, all types of oils and spices.

When it comes to blending ingredients and readapating other latitude cuisines traditions, the almost unlimited source of raw materials above enables the existence of a great product versatility. 

Dishes based on regions
A diagram classification may group Argentine gastronomy into 4 regions namely Pampeana-Central, Northeast-Cuyo, Mesopotamia and Patagonia or Southern region. We´ve chosen the term diagram because customs and practices are disseminated all over the country and make part of the complex Argentine cuisine system. Nevertheless, there exist dishes that are easier to be spotted in certain places, with the exception of cities and large towns where practically everything can be found. Anyway, it is interesting to get to know the way in which every region typically associated advantages enriched the Argentine gastronomic heritage.

Pampeana Central Region
For over lengthy time spans, urban areas such as Buenos Aires, Rosario and Cordoba welcomed European immigrants, including above all those of Italian and Spanish descent. Nevertheless, there was also a migratory flow of German, Swiss and Middle-Eastern immigrants arriving in Argentina. Among the countless number of changes this melting pot actually brought about, it can be argued that it similarly led to the enrichment of the culinary art. As a result, dishes such as pasta, pizza, polenta (“cornmeal”), stews, tortillas, pucheros (“stews”), croquetas (“fritters”), sauces, embutidos (“sausages”), chicken and meat courses caused daily menus to include a wider scope of options to choose from. Furthermore, the bread-making, desserts, pastries and dairy products industries have achieved a considerable development in this region.

As a matter of fact, eating the above mentioned dishes has developed a distinctively Argentine nuance. That is why, for example, the scope of pasta options above comprises a wide variety of dishes ranging from spaghetti, fusiles (“fusilli”), ñoquis (“gnocchi”), ravioli and lasagne including cintas (“pasta ribbons”), the Argentine made sorrentinos (See Stories), agnolotis, canelones (“canneloni”) and fetuchines (“fetuchini”).

As regards Pizza, it is worthy of being dealt with separately. With very thin high-rising doughs, with or without cheese, cooked in the oven, or “a la piedra” (on a stone oven), and stuffed with a countless scope of ingredients, it is one of those dishes that can almost certainly be eaten in almost every corner of this country. Buenos Aires, Rosario and Córdoba also serve it with fainá, which is a chick pea-flour dough placed over the piece of pizza. In fact, people say that what makes the Argentine pizza unique is the blending of Italian and Spanish cultures. At the turn of the XIX century, it was actually the Naples and Genoa inhabitants that opened up the first pizza bars, though the Spanish subsquently took charge of the pizza business.

With respect to bread products, their consumption is said to be widely spread all around the country. Additionally, the deeply-rooted bread, pastry and dessert making tradition actually derives from blending the nationalities products above. Therefore, it is not unusual to find bakeries at a countrywide level selling not only a wide scope of breads, cookies and cakes, but also of pastries (the latter resembling a sort of rolls pastry) whose main dough ingredient may be either butter or fat, and may be simple or stuffed with dulce de leche (milk jam), crema pastelera, quince or apple jelly, among others. The most popular type of pastry is said to be that of medialunas (based upon the so well-known croissants). Furthermore, another type of bread products refers to sandwiches de miga, made only with thin layers of white bread (generally referred to as crustless bread) and stuffed with food items ranging from ham and cheese, and other more sophisticated combinations such as raw ham, tomatoes, olives, hard boiled eggs, tuna, lettuce, red pepper, and the like.

Desserts and sweets are usually stuffed or covered with dulce de leche, which is made out of milk and sugar. The latter can be usually eaten alone or on top of cakes, alfajores, panqueques (“creppes”) and pastries, or like a topping spread over flan. As to the Chantilly cream,it is largely consumed and used for preparing sweets and desserts. Additionally, cakes, sponge cakes and puddings are very popular types of dishes. Italian ice-creams in this region also achieved a significant degree of development by adding local flavors that somehow preserved the local spirit involved in their preparation.

Even though the origin of the dish known as asado may be traced back to La Pampa fertile lands, it goes without saying that it may be eaten all over the country. In fact, it entails manifold types of meat which are generally eaten as follows: achuras (offal) (the cow´s inner parts) and morcilla (“blood sausage”) and sometimes also a provoleta, which is a piece of provolone cheese cooked on the grill with oregano, are eaten first. Then, there comes the choripán (a kind of spiced sausage made with pork or lamb and placed between two slices of bread), lastly there follows the meat such as asado de tira, vacío (“hindquarter”) lomo (“tenderloin”), colita de cuadril (“rump”), matambre (Rolled stuffed steak cut into slices and served cold, entraña (“innards”) and the list is certainly never-ending. It is quite common to eat and enjoy a dish known as Cabrito al Asador (Roast Kid or Goat) in the province of Cordoba.

Northeast and Cuyo Region
This region is regarded perhaps as the most influenced native indian area, and  this fact is clearly evidenced in its foods, which are closely intertwined to the Andean-Incan tradition. When preparing regional dishes, potatoes and corn or wheat are almost always used, including quinoa (an Incan Cuisine typically used cereal), peppers, squashes and tomatoes.The most celebrated dishes are by far humita and tamal, which are regarded as two courses in which the corn husk is stuffed with the corn filling itself, seasonings or meat, respectively.
 
Nevertheless, the Northeast Region of Argentina is the most suitable scenario to taste empanadas, above all those stuffed with meat and offering different types of tempting varieties such as the meat empanada salteña also filled with potatoes, or the one known as empanada tucumana being stuffed with matambre and cut with a knife, or those made with cheese. Empanadas (“turnover pies”) are individually sized and closed savoury pastries which may be fried or cooked in the oven, and are generally eaten with your hands.

Stews such as locro, carbonada and cazuelas (“casseroles”) also stand as typical dishes characterizing this region, also including pumpkin or potatoe pudding stuffed with meat.

A great deal of sweets such as quince, sweet potatoe, molasses and cayote jams produced in this region have given rise to a very well-known and easily made dessert referred to as “vigilante”, or the so-called “queso y dulce” (where a piece of fresh cheese is served with one of the sweets above).

Mesopotamia
This is another area influenced by native indians, particularly by the Guarani tribe. Abounding in rivers and shores, it offers an irresistible diversity of fish species, such as dorado, pacu, surubi, boga and silverside.

Widely grown in this area, cassava will Typically be included in the region’s dishes, as well as will other by-products of its meal, such as the chipá (a cassava and cheese bread), which originally proceeds from Paraguay. As regards sugar-made products, the mamon fruit (“mamoncillo”) jam is typical of the province of Corrientes.

The unmatched product in this region is certainly the yerba mate. Consumed countrywide, this product features a peculiarity of its own in this area: not only is it prepared  with hot water, but, driven by the region’s high temperatures, it is a commonplace to see it prepared with cold water as well, in which case, the  beverage is known as “tereré”.

Patagonia – Southern Region
Delicious marine species such as salmons, spider crabs, squids and other shellfish and molluscs may be fished in this region shores. Furthermore, tasty trouts may be found in Patagonian rivers.

The diversity of red fruits grown in the area feature cherries, billberries, strawberries, rose hips and elders, which are eventually turn into delicious jams and marmalades.

The Northern and central European settlements in this region have built up a large-scale production of chocolate and its byproducts, thus rendering them  quintessential products in the region. Vienese and German cuisine and pastries are also typically associated with this region.

As far as meat is concerned, sheep and lamb, together with wild boar and venison all make up highly appealing dishes. Also typical of this Southern region are  smoked products, including salmon, stag, wild boar, and pheasant, among others.

Patagonia has also been exposed to the profound influence of native indian tribes, in particular, those of the Mapuches and the Araucanos. A typical dish prepared by the latter is the “curanto” (a term standing for “hot stone”). Its preparation process involves digging a 15-cm hole in the ground, within which incandescent stones are placed inside a bonfire. A bed of nalca or maqui leaves is arranged on top of the stones, and these ingredients come, in turn, on top of this bed: beef, lamb, pork, chicken, chorizos (pork sausages), potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples and holed squashes filled with cheese, cream and peas. Subsequently, all these ingredients are covered with leaves and damp pieces of cloth are placed on them, so as to ensure heat preservation. Next, the preparation is covered with plenty of soil, thus turning the whole arrangement into a genuine pressure oven. Wisps of smoke start billowing out of the ground once the cooking process has come to its end. 

Daily and traditional dishes
In general terms, an Argentinian´s daily menu is likely to include: asado (“barbecue”), beef and chicken milanesas (“breaded steaks”), pasta in bolognese, pesto, bechamel or pink sauces, mashed potatoes, French fries, salads (including lettuce, tomato, onion, carrot, potatoes and corn), entrecotes and steaks, baked meat and chicken with side potatoes and sweet potatoes, stews (prepared with rice, lentils or chick peas), meat balls, Spanish potatoe or swiss chard omelettes, potatoe and meat puddings, pizzas, empanadas (turnover pies), pies (including “pascualinas” or egg and spinach pies) , risottos, “matambre” (Rolled stuffed steak cut into slices and served cold), fish filets, rabas and cornalitos, polenta (cornmeal), bread, toast, pastries, sandwiches, “picadas” (a serving of assorted snacks stemming from the Spanish tapeo) and some desserts or sweets such as “alfajores” (chocolate-coated butter cookies sandwiched with “dulce de leche” –milk jam-), fruits, dulce de leche, “pastelitos” (sweet potato or quince jam-stuffed pies), “tortas fritas” (fried pies), “budín de pan” (a bread-made pudding) and creme caramel, ice-creams, ricotta or apple pies, puddings, sponge cake, “pasta frola” (quince jam-topped pie) and lemon pie.

Other more traditional dishes may well be added to the list above, which, due to either their complex ellaboration process or to their standing as celebrations icons, are not typically found in daily meals. Yet, they are an uncontested part of the typical Argentine menu, as is the case of locro and carbonada, or even that of more European-style dishes such as paella, buseca or stewed tripe.

Mate is the quintessential local infusion, even though the consumption of coffee and tea is widespread all around the country. The afternoon mate is traditionally served along with pastries, tortas fritas and pastelitos, the latter two being the typical delicatessen found at any national celebration. The pastelito is a flaky-dough pie, stuffed with quince or sweet potato jam, and subsequently fried. The torta frita is a type of thin dough made with meal and beef or sheep fat and fried. It is particularly suggested to eat it lukewarm with sugar unevenly sprinkled all over.

When it comes to alcoholic beverages, the Argentine wine is internationally acknowledged and it is indeed the one of choice by Argentine people for their daily meals. Additionally, beer makes another popular beverage while vermouth and fernet-style liquors are always a must in any picada prepared before an asado.