I cannot start writing about food in Argentina without first mentioning “mate”. This is a caffeine-rich drink shared amongst friends in many of the places I was visiting in Argentina. It would be similar to me having my mug of tea each day, except I am not sharing my mug with others and not carrying around a thermos of hot water to refill my cup throughout the day.
The dried yerba mate plant leaves are put into a “gourd”-shaped cup. Hot water, not boiling, is poured into the cup, and drunk through a filtered metal straw. One person oversees the making of the mate and in being sure it is shared among others.
BBQ, especially out on the ranches, is very common. It was a delicious lamb BBQ at one location.
Argentinian food includes beef, chicken and fish; however, here are a few unusual foods I tied. Isn’t that what travel is all about?
Sometimes a plate was with a variety of foods on it. Such as this one with muffins, ceviche, 3 different empanadas and passionfruit dessert in the middle. The food item with a brown, sweet block of something on top of a cube of cheese was very different.
Someday I will visit Mendoza, Argentina’s wine country! I drank Malbec wine while in Argentina and tried some cerveza … beer!
Our guide introduced us to a liquor: Fernet-Branco. It has 39% alcohol, so we had a third of a glass with Fernet and the other 2/3’s with Coca cola. I would not run anywhere for this drink; however, it is known to be a digestif.
Snacks though I am always looking for, especially since Snicker bars, my favorite travel snack is not in the local markets. One snack, I also found on restaurant tables, was alfajors. These cornstarch sweet snacks have dulce de leche, a caramel filling, which you’ll find everywhere in Argentina.
In Calafate, Argentina there is calafate jam and ice cream often served. The calafate berry is on a thorny plant and similar to a blueberry.
We made a dessert with chocolate cookies dipped in coffee and placed on a layer that had dulce de leche, caramel filling, spread on it. One photo shows us making it and then the finally look at it before eating a bite!
Other snacks:
The food was delicious everywhere I went. What I loved most were the local markets where people bought their food. There we had an opportunity to watch the fish be filleted, see the giant garlic bulbs, and enjoy the interaction with local people. It was a great opportunity to be on this adventure.