Thanksgiving ingredients

[Atalia]

Hoping a few Americans who've passed at least one Thanksgiving in BA can offer some guidance on where to buy Thanksgiving ingredients....cranberry sauce (or simply cranberries) and pecans are really the two things I'm most hoping to find ('zapallo' can be used for pumpkin pie, no??). Is there a store that sells American foods that will have these things? Preparing Thanksgiving for my boyfriend's family (they are very excited!) and they can't have their first taste of Thanksgiving (pun not intended) without cranberry sauce and pecan pie!!!! PLEASE share!

 

[starlucia]

I buy unshelled pecans at a small store on Rodriguez Pena and Peron. They're very fresh and 34 pesos for a kilo. You should be able to find them at a specialty store or dietetica in your barrio (or Disco/Carrefour, if you want to be wallet-raped), if you keep your eyes peeled.

Cranberries, on the other hand... I have never, ever seen them here.

 

[nikad]

You will not find cranberries, a few years ago they had the canned stuff at Jumbo, but not anymore. Pecans are known as " nueces pecan " and you will find them at a good dietetica. For pumpkin go with zapallo or calabaza.

 

[CarverFan]

I always get shelled pecans at Coto supermarket...

 

[Atalia]

Thank you! I guess I will have to find a substitute for the cranberry sauce, not the end of the world. Thanks again!

 

[BaltRochGirl]

Cranberries don't grow in SA so if you find a random can of imported ones it will probably be the only one you ever see. Though haven't heard of any sightings in a long time.

Last year I used Cassis as a substitute, it’s blackcurrant, grows in Patagonia and it’s kinda sweet, kinda tart and reddish purple, in an apple cranberry sauce recipe and my American friends loved it. You can find it near the jams in any carrefour.

Also brace yourself for the possibility that the Argentines won't really love the dishes you prepare, all my Argentine guests last year did end up liking the pumpkin pie although all of them were really not sure about trying it. My BF even suggested cutting it from the menu when I was trying to decide what all I was going to make! The horror!

 

[vanessa]

Get zapallo for sure. I believe it is a pumpkin. It even smells like it (is orange inside) and has the same seeds as pumpkin (just less of them).

I make zapallo soup all the time.

 

[Napoleon]

Last year I used Cassis as a substitute, it’s blackcurrant, grows in Patagonia and it’s kinda sweet, kinda tart and reddish purple, in an apple cranberry sauce recipe and my American friends loved it. You can find it near the jams in any carrefour.

THIS!!

Thank you. I just went to Malvón for brunch (because I'm a cheto hipster like that) and on top of my pancakes were the typical "fruta' del bo'que" (no "S"s were used in the making of that topping) and one of the fruta' was Cassis. I couldn't remember what it was and I totally wanted to substitute it for cranberries and then YOU helped me remember it.

Gracias and feliz dia del graciases.

 

[BaltRochGirl]

Happy to help, they come jarred in a syrup so I just cut the amount of sugar in the recipe and it came out nice and sweet, and tart, honestly if I hadn't told my friends it wasn't cranberries they probably wouldn't have known I bet.

THIS!!

Thank you. I just went to Malvón for brunch (because I'm a cheto hipster like that) and on top of my pancakes were the typical "fruta' del bo'que" (no "S"s were used in the making of that topping) and one of the fruta' was Cassis. I couldn't remember what it was and I totally wanted to substitute it for cranberries and then YOU helped me remember it.

Gracias and feliz dia del graciases.

 

[Napoleon]

So I followed the instructions and found the little jars of Cassis at Carrefour. WOW they were expensive.

Canned weight: 400gr
Drained weight: 250gr

Price: AR$35.85/jar. WOW!!!

I didn't drain them, but rather poured the contents of both jars (yes, I spent AR$71.70 on fake cranberries not including the walnuts I put in at the end and the sugar either) into a Corningware dish, added some sugar and started cooking it on the stove. I ended up cooking it for about 30 minutes all told stirring it most of time after the halfway point. I also added the zest of two oranges and a lot more sugar. Then when I took it off the fire, I put chopped walnuts in and mixed them around. It appeared that it was getting too solid, so I added some water and stirred it in.

It was tart, sweet, yummy, and a huge hit with all the Americans as well as a Venezuelan girl whose body should be illegal.

Gracias, gracias, gracias