Top 10 favorite Argentinian foods.

What food is Argentina famous for?

As you probably already know, I'm currently staying in Argentina. And it is amazing to discover more about their culture and habits. In this blog I'm going to share the top 10 favorite Argentinian foods (and drinks) with you.

We start this top 10 with mate because the moment you enter Argentina you see all the local people walking around with a strange looking cup with a straw inside of it. So what is mate?

Mate is some sort of tea that is made from the young leaves and twigs of the mate plant that is called yerba mate. These are first dried over an open fire (which gives them a special taste), then finely ground and then hot water is poured over them. They say it has a lot of health benefits and that it can boost your energy.

| Personally I'm still trying to get used to the taste of it.

During the whole day they enjoy the mate. They literally get up with it and they drink it before they go to sleep. They also love sharing the mate with other people so don't be surprised if they offer you to try it out!

Some fun facts about mate;

- It is also a favorite product in Uruguay and Paraguay.

- The strange looking cub (as I call it) is in most of the cases made of kalebas (pumpkin).

- The straw is officially called bombilla.

- You can even buy a special bolso matero, literally translated a bag for your mate. And trust me you can find some beautiful ones!

The next top favorite is asado, also known as barbecue. They are fanatics for it! Here in Argentina you will find a barbecue in every garden! Sometimes the barbecues are even build in inside the house. Almost every birthday, or just for celebrating the weekend, they like to organise an assado with friends and family. The more people the better!

Fun facts;

- The most favorite meat for the barbecue here is; parts of the cow, lamb or sausages.

- The people in Argentina eat really late, sometimes when someone organizes a barbecue you start eating around midnight.

- Everybody brings some food and something to drink!

Argentinian empandas is the next favorite food we are going to talk about. And from my opinion this one earns its spot in the top 3 of favorite foods because it is delicious! Empanadas are made of dough filled with meat, fish, vegetables and even sometimes with fruit. They are prepared in the oven or fried in oil. The name empanada is coming from the verb "empanar" which literally means to wrap or wrap it with bread. You can eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as a snack.

| My favorite empanda is the one filled with spinach and cheese.

The empanada recipe basically consists of three parts: making the dough, making the filling and then stuff and bake the empanadas.

Chipas Argentina, famous and favorite! Chipas are some sort of small breads with cheese. The recipe is originally from Paraguay but those chipas have a different shape, the Argentinian chipas are more round. You can buy them in almost every bakery or coffee shop (I even found them in the Starbucks in Buenos Aires). It is off course also possible to prepare them yourself. Every family has its own favorite way to prepare them.

| I can't wait to prepare chipas with Dutch cheese, that is going to be a golden match.

The 5th favorite food we are going to talk about is choripán. It is literally a bun with a chorizo (you can compare it with a hot dog, but with a tastier sausage). This choripán is a beautiful mix of many top favorites from the Argentinian food culture. Firstly because it is prepared on the barbecue (asado), secondly because it is meat and thirdly because they often use the famous sauce chimichurri to eat it with. Oh and it tastes really good with a delicious red Malbec wine from Argentina. Yes, the Argentines know how to enjoy food!

Fun facts; - The sausage is made from beef and pork. - In most cases, the chorizo ​​​​is cut lengthwise, in which case it is called a mariposa (butterfly).

- It is also a favorite food in Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay.

Let's talk about wine, of course it belongs in this top 10. Malbec is a well-known grape here in Argentina. The grape comes from France but has found its way into several countries with Argentina as a major consumer and producer. The best valued Argentinian malbec wine is the one produced in high altitudes of Mendoza, in the wine regions of Uco Vally and the Luján de Cuyo. Although the grapes grow in different countries, because of the circumstances, like different fertile soil, more or less sunlight, the wine tastes different. Malbec is one the best varieties but Bonarda is getting popular as well. It is a really good wine and the production is bigger than malbec. Mendoza is a beautiful region, so I absolutely advice you to travel there when visiting Argentina.

Fun facts;

- Did you know there is a special term for all the wine tourism? It is called enoturismo, (I hope to be one soon).

- The Malbec has a thin skin and therefore generally needs more sun than other grape varieties.

- The name Malbec comes from the discoverer of the grape, mr. Malbeck.

- France has around 5,300 hectares and in Argentina around 44.000 hectares.

Next up is torta frita, this is a typical snack from Latin America and popular in Argentina. It is a kind of baked bread in a round shape. The recipe is quite simple based on flour, baking powder, butter, water and some oil to fry them in. Of course there are different recipes and there are also different types of shapes. For example, round with a hole in the middle or with two knife cuts. They make an opening so that it cooks evenly. For the same as with chipa they like to enjoy the torta frita with a mate and share it with others! P.s. if you add some sugar over them it makes them more tasteful.

Dulce de leche. Sweet, caramel flavor and in one word delicious! In the supermarket in Argentina you will find a large sector filled with this delicious pasta. It is also possible to make this at home. The main ingredients are concentrated milk and time. So if you are planning on using it for preparing sweets, such as pies, cookies or alfajores, it is easier to buy it in store. I promise you, you gonna love it!

Also an absolute favorite in this top 10 is alfajores. Who doesn't know them? Argentina's showpiece! The Havanna brand is world famous and I have been able to enjoy these cookies from time to time in The Netherlands. My favorites are the alfajores covered in chocolate. But the original recipe is without chocolate and with dulce de leche in the middle, covered with grated coconut. Main ingredients are cornstarch, flour, butter, sugar, eggs, various flavors and dulce de leche. Fun facts;

- Havana's factory is located in Mar Del Plata (beautiful city!).

- It is Maxima's (the queen of The Netherlands) favorite cookie!

- When you fly with Aerolíneas Argentinas you receive an alfajores during the flight.

Last but not least, we are going to finish this top 10 favorite with a dessert. A favorite Argentinian dessert called flan. Flan has a really long history and is eaten all over the world. It's not called the same everywhere. But as you probably already guessed, the Argentinian flan is served with dulce de leche to give it their personal signature. The main ingredients for flan are sugar, milk, eggs and various of flavors.

|Thank you for reading this top 10 favorite Argentinian foods. It is also possible to watch the movie on Youtube

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