Argentine Sweets

[Ries]

I am not in Argentina until December, so I cant duck over to the chino to check, but my guess is that the Coto price is the highest in town, and that its cheaper at the Chino.
And while I am in CABA this summer, I will do the blind taste testing to see if any of the newer, "quality" fernet brands are actually any different from Nightclub Grade Fernet.
In the last couple of years, there have been several companies making higher priced fernet with fancier labels, touting it as artesanal or small batch, or other buzzwords currently in vogue with other high end liquors.

 

[Girino]

@Ries: it sounds like you have a mission to accomplish!

 

[wineguy999]

What I find hard to find here is coffee without sugar in it

I find that fascinating. I've had coffee all over Argentina, and no one has once added sugar. Where exactly are you getting coffee?

 

[Girino]

I find that fascinating. I've had coffee all over Argentina, and no one has once added sugar. Where exactly are you getting coffee?

I think she is referring to the ground coffee or dried (solvable) coffee found in supermarkets.

 

[scotttswan]

fernet is crap but as a scotsman i find it hard to turn down a drink.

The sweets here have far too much dulce de leche. I don't mind it but its fecking everywhere.

Best south american cuisine comes from Peru.

 

[Matt84]

fernet is crap but as a scotsman i find it hard to turn down a drink.

The sweets here have far too much dulce de leche. I don't mind it but its fecking everywhere.

Best south american cuisine comes from Peru.

From Bahia, Brazil!

 

[Dada]

Although far from knowing enough to be able to judge, I must agree that Bahian moqueca is absolutely unmatched :wub:

When it comes to fernet, I actually prefer the cheaper brands (Vittone, Ottone) because they feel rougher and more bitter than the "finer" ones. I would like things like Jagermeister or Becherovka, too, if only they also had a sugar-free version. Sweetened spirits feel like a bad joke to me. And I'm neither diabetic nor on diet, just love it bitter and detest it sweet.

Coffee, yes, I was talking about supermarkets. There actually is a Nescafe without sugar in most of them, but I would much prefer something more local, if only they didn't put that damned sugar in it.

 

[Matt84]

Moqueca; Vatapa!!! So delicious
I remember Maria Fulo in San Paulo and Palermo.
Unfortunately the one in Palermo closed years ago.

I learned to make a *version* of Moqueca myself.
----
That s North Brasil. Great fish, truly creole savoir faire. NOLA any comments on that?

The best cow meat I ever had was probably in France (not Paris) and (Br)Gaucho Picanha in the US. I dont know what part of the animal picanha is tho.
I don't like cow too much.
Slow cooked baby pig and lamb are my favorite red meats.
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Argentine sweets:
I ve heard all too often even from Argntines who d lived in the States and Europe, that Arg pastries are superbe! (????)
I guess it's the unique combo of lard, flour and sugar.
But the other 30% surely doesn't feel that way.
The Chocolate House or Compania bakes real fluffy butter croissants and other French pastries at moderate prices and outrageous snobby service, because in Arg you need to be landed Aristocracy to demand minimum quality.

 

[cheerfull]

hi there, arriving very soon for my monthlong sojurn in BA. My question is where can I find real good dulce empanadas. Can u recommend a place? Saludes

 

[Girino]

______
Argentine sweets:
I ve heard all too often even from Argentines who d lived in the States and Europe, that Arg pastries are superbe! (????)
I guess it's the unique combo of lard, flour and sugar.

My husband's grandpa, who was born in Italy but grew up here and travelled extensively to Italy during his lifetime, keeps telling me that the Italian bread is unflavored, that it is nothing special and that the Argentine bread is so much better. He always have "pan francés" here, so trying to avoid a clash, I told him "but you can't beat a French baguette still warm with butter and ham", and he really insisted that the Argie bread is the best and the French and Italian bakery can't compare (????). I still haven't had the heart to tell him that Argie bread is nothing but a lump of poor flour and lard and that it reminds me the bread I was served at my old company's cafeteria.

I came to the conclusion that you can hold a foreign passport or have spent time abroad, but the real knowledge can come only if you have a local that explore/explain you things and differences, that brings you to the right places. He spent a lot of time in Italy, but without guidance or any special interest in food and not with an Italian family. Of course he came here with his Italian family, but you can't really reproduce any plate at a professional level in your home when you are living abroad.
For example, last week I tried to make pandoro, it was a total failure (consistency and flavor not okay, I was ready to throw it away), but everybody was happy because they never tasted the real thing. Imagine an Italian emigrate keeping cooking it the wrong way for decades.... and you get the Argentine cuisine!

At the same time, my husband, who was born here and moved to Italy when he was 10, living in Italy with an Argentine mother who knew the basics at an Argentine level and basically nothing at an European standard, was food-ignorant until he met me. Even after 20 years in Italy, some things he couldn't appreciate, some cooking technique or tools he didn't know, some words or food he hadn't even heard about, etc. His palate or his mind didn't change in a day, but at least now I have a complains-mate here in Argentina! ^_^

Knowing about food is like knowing another language: some are taught by their family, some develops an interest at a later stage, some will make of this their profession, some will be simply interested and with different levels of understanding and with their opinions.