A Serious Thread About Food In Argentina

[BaltRochGirl]

In my personal experience, with our family here I think it's due to lack of experience. They all work and don't have big families 1 or no kids, so they rarely cook/cooked and if they do it's very simple since they never really learned or experimented in the kitchen. Also I think that by not cooking and not really knowing or thinking about how food is prepared it's a lot easier to eat food that isn't as healthy.

 

[Ries]

Part of it is cultural.
Every culture is different, and one womans idea of good food is another's idea of inedible.

For instance, the Mormons in Utah eat sugar in absolutely everything- sugary sauces on meat, salads, vegetables, all drinks, and so on.
Personally, I find it horrible, but I have mormon friends (well, Jack mormon friends) who grew up on it, and they wont eat salad without sugary salad dressing.

Some cultures love bitter. Others spicy. Umami was virtually unknown in the West, until japanese chefs introduced us to the concept.

So- its unfair to use your personal version of Italian culture as a yardstick for all other foods.

That said, of course, some of what you are saying is true, for SOME argentines.
But not all.

I have a Porteno friend whose mother is the "Julia Child" of Argentina, who has written and taught argentines to cook better for decades. Her books are bestsellers, her classes always full. If you watch any local tv, there are always cooking shows with real gourmet chefs cooking.
There is a cooking subculture here, that values good food, fresh ingredients, and looks around the world for inspiration.
I have been coming to Argentina since 2007, and I have noticed huge differences in the food available, and the restaurant cooking, since then.
And many of those chefs, like, say, Lele Christobal of Cafe San Juan, have been on TV, spreading the idea that there is more to life than Milanesa.

Most people, in most countries, eat crappy food. Particularly if they dont have a strong homogenous culture. Italy, and Japan, may be exceptions, but certainly street food, and average home food, in England, or the USA, is pretty terrible.
McDonalds is the biggest restaurant chain in the world, and they have em in Italy too.

In the last 20 years or so, Argentina has become much more aware of the outside world. This applies to literature, music, art, and, yes, cuisine.
But most people fix their tastes in all those things by the time they are 20 or so- most US citizens over 35, for example, refuse to even try sushi, while most kids grow up eating it, and think its no big deal.

To change Argentine food culture will take years, as the old grandmothers will not change their tastes- it has to filter down thru the 20 somethings, the ones who are now, for the first time, eating mexican food and sushi and bagels and ramen and so on.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

That was definitely not my experience. In Assuncion I ate an AMAZING fish curry that was very popular with the locals. They also eat a lot of Guarani based food that is quite flavorful, including one of the best tapiocas I have ever had. The meat was well seasoned and full of favor. It was very different from what I see in Argentina.

I wrote about this recently, with reference to Anthony Bourdain, at http://tinyurl.com/l4tdysq

 

[Patagone]

I travelled through most countries in continental America (North/Central & South) and think that this phenomenon is not limited to Argentina alone. The only countries where we had some nice, variated and spicy food were Guyana & Surinam, and that is because of the colonial history (British/Indian and Dutch/Indonesian mixes).

Everywhere else from Alaska down to Patagonia, processed and fried 'kid meals' are main staple. It seems to be a product of recent times though, as in most countries we stayed with families that cooked some more traditional meals. In Mexico, we had wonderful food, extremely variated and no cheesy texmex things. In the US we had the best vegetarian dishes, straight from the farmer's market and in the Amazonas the best fish and ofcourse fruits. A Bolivian woman in the middle of nowhere offered us a simple plate of Quinoa, potatoes and some veggies, all grown outside her home.

I assume it is a result of a mix of things:
- globalisation/industrialisation in its different forms: the food supply (monsanto, fish farms, chickens in boxes and feedlot cows), monoculture (no more hundreds of different types of corn as the Incas had) etc
- Economics in supply and demand: cheaper to feed cows genetically modified corn together with antibiotocs, than real food they can actually digest. The consumer wants cheap food first, healthy food second.
- Lazyness and time/priorities: Everybody in the Americas seems to want the American Dream, including the microwaveable and processed Nightmare that comes with it. Everything must be fast, cheap and easy and pre-made.

And in Argentina, it seems it must be known food as well. That's why you get atrocities like ham in Sushi etc... And not even a pepper mill on the table in a restaurant!
Just my 2 pesos.

Cheers

 

[Crema Americana]

I think poverty and lack of know-how or recognition of good quality has a lot to do with it.

The other part is fickleness and capriciousness that runs rampant in this society. Taste over health. Ease over work. Cheap over expensive. Why spend good money on a beautiful piece of fish that tastes rather bland, when you can spend a lot less on something that goes down a lot easier?

I for one don't mind simple dishes - too many foods in other places gets overtaken by spices, sauces, and strong flavor ingredients that mask the quality of the underlying meat. But a little effort is appreciated. The differences between Spain and here is astounding... I keep being told that the restaurants and cuisine here have Spanish influence (and it does in the most superficial ways) but there's really no comparison. In Spain you can buy excellent fish in even the smallest towns way up in the mountains away from the sea. Here in Buenos Aires, living right next to the sea, you have to really search. In my area, there isn't one pescaderia that I know of, and even if there was, I wouldn't trust it. The Spanish also have a sort of obsession with food quality and health - at least my mother always did. Having grown up on a farm, maybe they didn't have money to buy clothes or other things, but they ate well. Lots of fruit, vegetables, salad, potajes (garbanzos, lentejas, etc.) all your typical healthy peasant dishes. Here peasants didn't really develop in the same way with land and farming. Yea, you had some, especially in the interior -- but poor people were more poor and Buenos Aires doesn't seem to have the same culture.

I don't want to speak too badly of society here because Argentina (and Argentines) has a lot of redeeming qualities... but I think this blindness to quality has a lot to do with the immaturity of the people. Look at the politicians and who gets in power... the most recognized stars (Mirtha Legrand for example... would she be seen the same way elsewhere?)... the obsession over a sport as the most important thing... it's rather adolescent. Argentina is a young country, but not that much younger than the US (obviously with very different beginnings and history.) The people here have been stunted in growth by all the awful governments and poverty that has plagued them.

 

[Napoleon]

With the indigenous and immigrant cultural heritage, being a food basket nation and having once been relatively wealthy it is a mystery to me why the food in Argentina is so bland.

I just use my go-to culprit whenever I complain about anything in Argentina- Peronism.

The Peronists killed food culture in Argentina.

Just "Liking" this wasn't enough. I have to repost.

(Because the more often it is posted, the closer it will get to an accepted "fact".)

 

[pitipur]

I really don't see a ton of difference from the US diet. Sure there's lots more variety in the states, but most of it is still terrible for you, ESPECIALLY the cheapest foods (it makes no sense that there are high obesity rates among the most impoverished in the states). I dont see this as an exclusively argentine problem at all

 

[TomAtAlki]

I really don't see a ton of difference from the US diet. Sure there's lots more variety in the states, but most of it is still terrible for you, ESPECIALLY the cheapest foods (it makes no sense that there are high obesity rates among the most impoverished in the states). I dont see this as an exclusively argentine problem at all

I wouldn't lump the entire USA together. Diet's vary from region to region. And the variety of food (unbelievably great and healthy food ) is easily available except in poverty areas (food deserts). Just my opinion.
Nancy

 

[mimyr]

I really don't see a ton of difference from the US diet. Sure there's lots more variety in the states, but most of it is still terrible for you, ESPECIALLY the cheapest foods (it makes no sense that there are high obesity rates among the most impoverished in the states). I dont see this as an exclusively argentine problem at all

I have to agree, I don't see that big of a difference between here and the typical working-class/middle-class US home. Growing up, I frequently ate things like fried chicken, lasagna, sugary cereals, pizza, hamburgers, burritos (filled with refried beans and cheese), etc. Eating well in that environment requires time, money, and the knowledge of what eating well actually entails.

 

[Davidglen77]

Being back in the US (and I know New York City) is somewhat of an exception when it comes to food. I can't begin to express how happy I am about the food and how accessible it is. Every store sells items that are very affordable to everyone (I am living in middle class Queens, NY) that would be luxury items in Argentina. From meat to any neighborhood fish market sells over 30 varieties of fresh fish and shellfish, supermarkets are full of healthy and not healthy foods. There are tons of options where you can eat out for $10-$20 dollars and have an awesome meal complete with salad and a drink. As much ice water as you want in every restaurant glass refilled without even asking, free coffee refills in diners, salad bars everywhere some with over 100 dishes to choose from all for the same price. Great Chinese food everywhere you go, sushi, falafel, Greek food, Thai, Nepal, Indian, Bangladeshi, Russian, Georgian, Kosher, etc all within a 10 block radius!! Fruits and vegetables are overflowingly abundant and affordable, from blueberries to raspberries, avocados, pomegranate, figs, persimmons, etc the list doesn't end.