Comida Criolla

Because I, frankly, don't feel like writing about the Perons quite yet, I am going to write instead about Argentinian food. These people have been doing the whole "global fusion cooking" thing for years and years now. Good stuff, my friends. Mediterranean (largely Spanish and Italian) meets native Indian. Yum. Not to mention the influence had by large groups of immigrants from Wales, Lebanon, Germany, and Asia.

There are several national gastrointestinal delights, the least of which is certainly not their beef. The Argentinian people are obsessively proud of their beef. Some even claim to be able to identify the breed of cow by the taste of the steak. Steak is the most common cut, and a grateful world thanks Argentina for chimmichurri sauce, which is delightful. Apparently, American palattes take time to get used to Argentinian beef. We're used to aged beef (which the Argentines think tastes "cadavorous") and eating beef fresh is quite the experience.

Never ones to waste, these resourceful folk pretty much eat all of the cow. And I mean ALL of it. Eew. Lamb and goat are also popular in this protein crazy nation. Another popular meat item is the empanada, which is a fried pastry pocket stuffed full of meat, cheese, and whatever else happens to be lying about the place.

Dulce de Leche is quite definitely the greatest contribution the Argentine people have made to the world of sweets. This sauce, made by boiling sweetened milk and sugar for hours and hours and hours, is a thick caramel suitable for filling pastries and spreading on anything (Dulce de Leche is to Argentina as peanut butter is to America, and Nutella is to Europe). Some sickos use it to make flan, which is a particularily nasty and slimy concoction. Decent people pour it on their ice cream. Which is more likely in Argentina to be ice cream's creamier cousin gelato because...

Italian cooking is extremely popular, especially in Buenos Aires. Pizzarias positively litter the city, and some seem to believe Italian food is more popular in Argentina than in Italy. This seems a silly idea, but some people will have their crazy notions...

Outside of the city the food is less sophisticated, it seems. The yocals take advantage of the many fresh products, making stews and meats pies and such. If you enjoy stuff made with beans, maize, squash, pumpkin, and chiles, then you'll want to leave Buenos Aires. You won't find it there.

In all my vast research into the topic of Argentinian cuisine, one thing continually cropped up. In addition to beef and dulce de leche, one thing unites this diverse country. That is yerba mate (mate to locals). Yerba mate is a brewed herb drink (questionable? oh yeah!) and apparently tastes something like green tea, though other sites I checked said it's closer to coffee. Yerba is a plant in the holly family and is, seemingly, quite caffinated. Still seems a bit sketchy to me...

Well, I've only scratched the surface of Argentinian food, but I figure as long as you remember that the beef is way good, the pizza plentiful, the dulce de leche yummy, and the mate rather questionable, you'll be okay.

That is all.