Why Argentines Do Not Have Bad Taste In Food

[Joe]

Argentines do not have bad taste in food, it's simply a simpler palette. The US and much of Europe has been blessed with immigration from many places in the world. Large immigrant communities allow the infrastructure for authentic ethnic food to be produced.

It's simply a matter of variety.

Many of the expats here are addicted to variety. In the US you have large Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Arab, Korean, Cuban, Mexican, etc.communities that don't exist here. If you are not accustomed to these varieties of food they will not be appealing. We all know the first times we tried these cuisines, we probably didn't enjoy the experience.

So Argentina has grown in relative isolation compared to the types of communities our BAexpats have come from.

An addiction to variety is not necessarily a good thing. Are having relationships with a variety of partners a good thing for example? Sure it adds spice to life, but isn't stability also a good thing. Maybe you should be more faithful to that Fugazzeta you past each morning on your way to work...

 

[Chet]

Excellent point Joe
I doubt the Japanese farmer would care much for tex-mex!
Look how many Americans when they travel go straight for the McD etc. that is found around various tourist attractions.
Even Americans that think they know international foods are often unhappy when they go to an authentic Italian restaurant in Italy. What they think they know is an Americanized version.
Long live diversity!

 

[thorsten]

Damn, a post from Joe and I cannot make a cross somewhere?!?

To the topic: I don't think that the "its just less variety due to less immigration" argument counts. Argentina is the country with the second biggest immigration world-wide. There are a lot of people with spanish roots, but its hard to find a good paella. Many italians moved to argentina, so they left they pizza and pasta skills at home. And even a lot of germans immigrated, but still the local "beer" is Quilmes.

Compare the food offer here in B.A. with cities like Rio, Lima or Santiago and you will see its not only variety, but also quality thats lacking.

 

[EdRooney]

I totally agree with the long-live diversity argument, but I'm not letting the Argentine palates off the hook that easily. I've lived in countries that are amazingly homogeneous and which, incidentally, are a lot poorer than Argentina economically, but I've never seen such a blatant aversion to good food as I have here.

One example: Morocco. I worked there for a few months and the food was absolutely stunning.

Personally, I suspect that alot of the Argentine problem is due to oversupply of meat. I ate in the homes of Moroccans who would be lucky to get meat once a month. So when they got it, they would get odd cuts and would have to get as much value out of it as possible; so you get these mouth watering braises and soups that seem to go on forever. Otherwise they make great use of what they can get their hands on: beans, lentils, vegetables, fish...

Here on the other hand, there's never been any need for invention, and vegetables and seafood get scorned. If the problem is lack of diversity here, it's a self-made prison.

 

[Joe]

Damn, a post from Joe and I cannot make a cross somewhere?!?

To the topic: I don't think that the "its just less variety due to less immigration" argument counts. Argentina is the country with the second biggest immigration world-wide. There are a lot of people with spanish roots, but its hard to find a good paella. Many italians moved to argentina, so they left they pizza and pasta skills at home. And even a lot of germans immigrated, but still the local "beer" is Quilmes.

Compare the food offer here in B.A. with cities like Rio, Lima or Santiago and you will see its not only variety, but also quality thats lacking.

The difference is that this was immigration from 100 years ago. Those traditions have been melted down into an Argentine tradition by now. Take for example Irish food in the US. Although a significant part of the population is of Irish ancesterage, Irish Americans do not prepare or consume much traditional Irish food - the're 100 percent American.

 

[Joe]

Italy has had centuries to develop culinary products of high quality, the farms, agricultural techniques, distribution is well established. Argentina simply has not had the time or the capability to domestically supply all the fancy and high quality ingredients available say in Italy or France. In addition the frequent restrictions on imports means that you can NOT count on certain ingredients that would make for a fine meal and so people just learn how to make do with the limited products made domestically.

 

[thorsten]

Joe, while this might be true for a few products, there are tons of examples where it's not a valid argument. One of the best examples is cheese: you should find enough cows to produce milk, getting good bacterias is easy and for the production you don't need complex machines. Also, given the inflation, it would be very smart to produce and let the cheese ripe a longer time, leading to even better quality. Instead, a yellow substance without flavor is sold basically everywhere... In my opinion, its more a cultural thing that most people here don't enjoy/want to pay more for higher quality food, just like teens that prefer a McDonalds burger to the real deal.

 

[Girino]

...they haven't yet invented this:

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Damn, a post from Joe and I cannot make a cross somewhere?!?


. And even a lot of germans immigrated, but still the local "beer" is Quilmes.

FYI : Quilmes Beer was founded in 1888 in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province, by Otto Bemberg, a German immigrant. Maybe he should have named it Bembergs Beer.

http://en.wikipedia....Cerveza_Quilmes

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Damn, a post from Joe and I cannot make a cross somewhere?!?

To the topic: I don't think that the "its just less variety due to less immigration" argument counts. Argentina is the country with the second biggest immigration world-wide. There are a lot of people with spanish roots, but its hard to find a good paella. Many italians moved to argentina, so they left they pizza and pasta skills at home. And even a lot of germans immigrated, but still the local "beer" is Quilmes.


Quilmes beer was founded in 1888 in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province, by Otto Bemberg, a German immigrant.
Maybe he should have named it Bemberg Beer.