One of the things that argentines like to do most is to hang out. Hang out with family, hang out with friends, with co-workers, in large groups or small groups, but we always hang out. And almost always, in all those meetings … We eat!
We meet sometimes to have breakfast with a latte with croissants, to have lunch or dinner, to eat an “asado” or some “empanadas”, or in the afternoon to share some delicious “mates”. The youngests hang out to have a beer or a “Fernet” in a bar, and the older ones in the house of whoever wants to invite with a pizza, a “picada” or a “milanesa napolitana” with french fries. What is certain is that we always get together, and if that meeting involves food … Much better!
The Argentinian population is composed in part of descendants of natives, but also, in large number, by immigrants of different origins. Once, the Mexican poet Octavio Paz said: “The Mexicans descend from the Aztecs, the Peruvians from the Incas, and the Argentinians from the ships”. And it must be said that in good part he is right … The current inhabitants of our country, have a good mix of ancestors. This mixture of cultures of course, also impacted on what we eat today. Our current cuisine is a combination of native cuisine such as the “mate” and most of the meals made with corn, beans, potatoes and cassava; the african cuisine of whom we inherited, among other things, the “achuras” we eat in the “asado” and the “mondongo” that is cooked in stews; the “Criolla” cuisine inherited from the Spanish colonizers; and the most current Spanish, together with the Italian cuisine, as a consequence of the massive immigration at the end of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX.
Nowadays, argentinian cuisine offers a wide variety of dishes for all tastes and palates. In this article, I would like to share a list of the most typical foods and drinks that are so characteristic of our table and that cannot be missing in any argentinian table. If you want to know more about them, I will be publishing one post for each topic with more information and photos, one by one. Keep posted, to read about argentinian food!
Current published topics
The following topics have their own posts already published and are ready for you to be enjoyed!
- The “asado”: Without any doubt, one of the foods from which we are really known in the world, is the “asado”. The questions and doubts that arise around this typical argentinian preparation are so many and very varied. I invite you to join me in a Post about the “Asado”, where I will try to clear some of those doubts and tell you how to live the “ritual of the asado” from the point of view of the argentinians.
- The “empanadas”: The “empanadas” are a typical dish and very popular in Argentina. Each region has its own variety. I invite you to visit our article about “empanadas”, where I want to share everything about the delicious empanadas.
- The “mate”: The “mate” is a characteristic infusion of the Argentine Litoral that is consumed in almost every household in Argentina. The preparation is a ritual and even has its own language. Click on this link and I will share with you some interesting and funny things about this drink so typical of our country and often unknown in others.
Coming soon topics
The following topics will have their own posts published very soon. Until then, the links will not be usable and will just redirect the page to the google portal.
The pizzas: Argentinian pizzas are worthy to name. They are different from the italian pizzas and people eat them a lot. Please let’s accompany me in muy post about Argentinian Pizza.
- The “milanesa”: The milanesa and the “milanesa napolitana” are also very popular dishes between argentinians**.**We eat milanesas everywhere, with french fries, with salad, with smashed potatoes, in sandwich ore alone only with lemon. Please come with me to talk about “Milanesa”.
- **The stews:**The stews are long cooking preparations, usually very caloric, that carry a wide variety of ingredients. As a general rule, the foods available or those that are the taste of the cook who prepares it are usually used. In Argentina the stews are a typical food of winter times. Check the post about the stews to know more about this typical food.
- The “humita” and the “Tamal”: They are two very characteristic dishes of the Argentine Northwest. The main difference between tamales and humitas, lies in that, the last tender corn, so they are much lighter and fresher, and thus they do not contain stuffed meat in sauce as if required by tamales. Let’s talk in this post about Tamales and Humita!
- The sweets: In Argentina there are many desserts and sweet preparations that are the delight of the most sweet ones like “dulce de leche”, “pastelitos”, “facturas” and “alfajores”. I invite you to enter each link and learn more about these delights of the Argentine bakery.
This is just a small compilation of the most important or popular Argentine foods. If you want to know more about the subject, you can consult this Wikipedia where you will find much more information about this topic.
Did you try any of these foods? What do you think about them? Leave me your message in the comments. If you did not try them yet … Just do it! You will not regret!
This post is included in the series about Argentina, included in the Team Challenge proposed by @ErmesT .This series is oriented to introduce our country, its culture and traditions.
We invite you to know more about our country, reading the post series Living Argentina.
You can find all the posts of this series searching by the hashtags #teamChallenge and #teamArgentina.
