South American Cuisine |
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Traditional Foods South America is a land of diverse food, culture and geography. Its Caribbean coastline gives way to the Amazon’s tropical rain forests, south through the Pampas grasslands and the windswept dunes of the Atacama Desert, and on to the Patagonia plateau on the continent’s far southern tip. The snow-capped Altiplano Andes Mountains form its backbone, towering from the north to the south. Largely dominated by the Inca civilization, later colonized by the Portuguese and Spanish, and eventually settled by other Europeans, South America is home to the mestizos, a majority in many regions, as well as the mulattos and the zambos. Brazilians and Guyanese and other Caribbean South Americans largely constitute the indigenous, non-Hispanic South American population. Japanese, Chinese and Jewish emigrants are prominent in Argentina, Peru and Brazil. Spanish is spoken all over, except in Brazil where Portuguese is the rule. Many Amerindian dialects prevail, specifically within the Quechua, Guarani, Aymara and Mapuche populations. South America’s culture and “foodways” are as diverse as its geography and people. For lunch, savor the clean, cool taste of an Ecuadorian ceviche of mixed seafood “cooked” in the tart juice of the Seville orange, mixed with hot chillies and accompanied by toasted corn. Or snack on Bolivian humitas, cornmeal dough with potatoes, onions, aji chillies and cheese fillings, steamed in cornhusks, with a sip of stimulating yerba maté from Paraguay. For dinner, feast on Argentinean churrasco, an array of juicy, fresh meats roasted over an open fire and served with chimichurris, vinegary sauces accented with fresh herbs. Or enjoy Peruvian papas rellenas, deep-fried potatoes stuffed with spicy meat, eggs and olives. Wash it all down with Brazilian caipirinhas, made from cachucha (sugar-cane liquor) and fresh limejuice served over ice. End the meal with Bolivian corn pudding and a cup of Colombian café con leche. |
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Everyday ingredients South America is home to many primary ingredients we use in our everyday meals, such as potatoes, chillies, beans and corn. While South American cuisine has great diversity, some foods, such as chicken soup, white rice, stews, ceviches, tamales and empanadas, are common around the continent. Foods are generally served with white rice or potatoes. Arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) is popular all over. Potatoes are daily foods of the indigenous peoples of the Andes highlands and come in a wider variety of sizes, shapes, colours and flavours than we typically find in North America. Other staples include maize (corn), yuca (manioc or cassava), squash, sweet potato and hardy grains. Maize comes in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. Andeans still grow and eat the large, white corn, called Cuzco corn. Corn is enjoyed fresh off the cob (choclo), boiled, baked, stewed or ground into a meal for arepas (baked or fried cornmeal cakes). It is also made into corn fritters, corn bread, added as fillings for tamales or empanadas, or toasted as snacks. Purple corn is made into a dessert, mazamorra morada (purple-corn pudding), and an alcoholic corn drink with pineapple and sugar called chicha morada. Lima beans, black beans and chickpeas are made into soups and stews. Lima beans are cooked and served chilled and seasoned with salt, black pepper, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, onions and chillies. Tarwi (or chocho), an Andean leguminous member of the lupin family, was domesticated by the Incas. It has high protein, up to 50% — rich in lysine and cystine — and is added to ceviches, stews and breads. Guava, mango, oranges, pineapple, passion fruit, apples, peaches and pears are abundant. They are canned; added to meat and seafood stews; and made into sauces (with hot peppers), juices, fruit nectars, beverages, and desserts. Other, more-exotic fruits include camu (high in vitamin C), guarana (high in caffeine), acerola (also known as Barbados cherry due to its cherry like flavour), açai (berrylike) or caja (the plum like “purple mombin”). Bananas, avocados, limes and coconut milk are also plentiful to season dishes or made into snacks, bakery items or beverages. |
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Beverage bonanza A favourite South American beverage is yerba maté, a strong, bitter drink with a high caffeine content (the dried leaves contain about 0.5% to 2.0% caffeine, so the content varies with preparation). It is made from dried, roasted or fermented leaves of the Paraguayan holly tree. Traditionally, the dried leaves are crushed and placed in a gourd container, called a maté, which is filled slowly with hot water, sweetened with sugar or flavoured with lime juice, and then drunk through a straw called a bombilla. Locals take it to reduce fatigue and treat digestive ailments. South Americans enjoy sweetened fruit juices (sucos or jugos), licuados (light, frothy, blended fruit shakes typically made with milk, but sometimes with water), refrescos (still drinks with juices or flavours) and fizzy drinks, like Inca Kola, with fruits or fruit flavours, sugar and/or vanilla and sweet spices. Sugar cane and coconut juices are refreshing street drinks. Guarana beverages are taken as an aphrodisiac and stimulant. Traditionally, guarana — a small, red fruit containing about 5% caffeine in the seeds — is roasted, ground, mixed with manioc meal and rolled into sticks and left to harden; these are then mixed with water as a drink. Coffee, a commercial crop in Brazil and Colombia, is popular with all South Americans — generally served as café chico (strong black coffee), café cortado (espresso with a dash of steamed milk) or café com pingo (coffee with a little milk), or café con leche (coffee with a lot of milk). Herbal teas made with chamomile (manzanilla), mint (yerba buena), boldo (the leaves of Peumus boldus) or lemon are taken after meals for their purported healing properties. |
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The Caribbean coast This area, also called Caribbean South America, includes Suriname (Dutch), Guyana (English) and French Guiana. They follow the foodways of the Caribbean and their European colonizers, as well as the Asian and African labourers brought to their colonies. Pepper-pot stew, cow-foot soup, curries, Indonesian satay and fried rice, and Vietnamese noodles and soups abound. In Guyana, pickapeppa sauce, made with limejuice, chillies, ketchup and brown sugar, adds a punch to many dishes. |
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Colombia and Venezuela These countries have retained a strong Spanish influence. The Pacific and Caribbean surround Columbia. Thus, seafood dishes are abundant: mariscada (seafood stew); paellas; sopa de pescado Tumaca, a fish soup from Tumaco, Colombia with tomatoes, coconut milk, onion and lemon; and sancochos (meatand- vegetable stews), generally prepared with chicken, fish, plantains, squash, potatoes, avocados and yuca, seasoned with coconut milk, cilantro and cumin. Rice is a favourite along the coast, while potatoes and corn are eaten further inland. With similar flavours as found in Colombia, Venezuela also has Caribbean influence, with fish, black beans, corn & rice as staples. Black beans are popular and used in caraotas negras (with onion, garlic, cumin and chillies), frijoles negros con jamón (with ham hocks, bananas, tomatoes, paprika and cilantro) and pabellón Criollo (shredded flank steak, rice and black beans seasoned with cumin, tomato, bay and oregano, topped with fried bananas and/or fried eggs). Arepas (thick, round, white-cornmeal cakes with crisp exteriors & doughy interiors) are enjoyed in Columbia & Venezuela, served with cheese, ham, guava paste or butter. Arepas de choclo are made from fresh corn kernels, kneaded & roasted over a charcoal fire, & served piping-hot with butter, salt & white cheese. |
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Ecuador Located north of Peru and along the equator, Ecuador is renowned for its ceviche, made with bitter-orange juice and chillies. The Afro-Ecuadorians along the northern coast enjoy seafood seasoned with coconut milk. Peanuts and bananas are staples on the lower-coast regions. Corn and potato pancakes and soups, as well as grilled cuy (guinea pig), are staples further inland along the Andes. Bananas form the basis of many products: a dip for tortilla chips with beans, sausage, tomato sauce and spices; platano verde, thinly sliced and fried bananas; and patacones, thick-sliced bananas fried in lard, then mashed flat and fried again. Foods are cooked in achiote oil or lard. Refrito, a fried mixture containing chopped onions, green peppers, tomato, achiote and salt and/or garlic, is added to many cooked dishes, like sofrito. Aji peppers form the basis of many condiments and sauces, such as aji costeño with onions and cilantro and aji serrano with chopped tomato and carrots. |
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Bolivia Around Lake Titicaca and the lowlands, trout, freshwater fish, veggies and fruits predominate. Bolivians serve humitas (tortillas often filled with puréed young corn, potatoes, onion and cheese, with ajis, cooked in achiote oil), empanadas and salteñas (corn pies), and pukacapas (spicy cheese patties) with cold beer or other drinks. Spicy sauces and condiments made with ajis, tomatoes & spices are served with stews and soups such as chairo with cured lamb or alpaca, chuno (freeze-dried potatoes), corn and camote/saice (meat soup with onions and tomatoes). |
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Peru This “land of the Incas” is the world’s potato capital, with numerous varieties and colors (including purple, blue, yellow and shades of brown to pink), as well as various sizes, textures and flavours. Many dishes are served with boiled potatoes. Papas (potatoes), which played a religious role with the Incas, are made into many dishes, including: papas a la huancaina (sliced potatoes with spicy sauce and cheese), ocopa (boiled and sliced yellow potatoes covered with a sauce of walnuts, ajis and white cheese), papas rellenas (deep-fried stuffed potatoes with ground meat, eggs, olives and spices), and papas arequipena (potatoes in peanut, cheese and aji sauce). Corn is mashed and made into breads, tamales and beverages, and choclo is added to soups and stews or toasted and eaten as a snack. A variety of soups and stews are also popular, including sancochado, a hearty beef-and-vegetable stew that includes yuca and camote; crema de tarwi (or chocho); yuca chupe; and chupe de pescado (fish chowder), popular along the coast. Rice is cooked with chicken stock or with green sauce, or served as arroz chaufa (fried rice seasoned with ajis and garlic) in Chinese restaurants (called chifas). Meats are served in a variety of ways. Butifarras is a sandwich with Peruvian ham and spicy sauce. Carapulcra has pork, chicken, yellow potatoes, chillies, peanuts and cumin. Aji de gallina is a peppery chicken served in a creamy, yellow, spicy, nut-based sauce. Lomo saltado is fried chopped steak with onions, tomatoes, potatoes and rice. Seco de cabrito is goat marinated with chicha de jora (a fermented maize drink) or beer, cilantro, and garlic. Chalona is cured lamb, alpaca or llama in which slits are made for the salt to penetrate; the meat is left to dry in the sun and cold nights for about a month. Grilled or fried guinea pig (cuy) is a favourite in the highlands. Pachamana, a big feast of Inca origin, consists of cuy with other meats (pork, ostrich or goat), cheese, potatoes, yuca and tamales cooked underground for several hours, covered with leaves. The areas surrounding the Pacific Ocean, the Amazon River and Lake Titicaca have abundant seafood and turtles. Ceviche, the national dish comes with many different flavour variations, served with boiled potato, sweet potato or cancha (toasted corn kernels). Ceviche de conchas negras (black clams), ceviche de Huachinango (with red snapper and ajis), and mixed seafood ceviches are popular. Chupe de camarones (shrimp soup) is a popular dish using shrimp stock, potatoes, milk and ajis. Other seafood dishes include escabeche de pescado, escabeche de Huachinango (with ajis or rocotos, achiote, and cheese), chupa de camarones con pescado, (shrimp and fish stew with potatoes, corn and milk) and chupe de camarones y papas. Maca, grown in the Andes, is a root vegetable used to enhance strength and endurance and to treat male sexual dysfunction. It contains 10.0% protein and 8.5% dietary fibre. Peruvians consume maca in many ways: pit-roasted; mixed with milk for porridge; mixed with other vegetables, grains or potatoes; made into flour for baking; fermented for beer called chica de maca; and puréed into smoothies with water or milk, honey, cinnamon, and fruit. Peruvian cuisine is often made spicy with ajis or rocotos (called uchu by the Incas). Some Peruvian chilli peppers are not spicy but give colour to sauces. Rice often accompanies dishes in Peruvian cuisine. Street foods include tamales; ceviches; choclo con queso; potato snacks; anticuchos de corazón, marinated, grilled beef hearts dipped in spicy sauce; pickled black beans with ham and olives, seasoned with annatto, cumin and chillies and grilled fish kebobs (pinchos). |
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Argentina, Uruguay and Chile These southern countries border the Atlantic and are more European than the other regions, with many Spanish, German, Welsh, French, Italian, Swiss and Eastern-European immigrants. These are the lands of the gaucho, where beef is the staple. Argentina is the beef capital of the world. The rich grassland plains of the Pampas, located below the Andes, are home to cattle, sheep, wheat and corn. The food is strongly influenced by Italians and Germans with pizzas, fresh pastas, gelatos, sausages, cheese or sauerkraut served at most cafés and restaurants. Fish are plentiful, while game meat, such as deer, hare and emu, are also eaten. Parilladas and churrascarias that serve meats grilled or barbecued over open fires and asados (roasts) are popular. Beefsteaks — skirt steak, (flank steak) and churrasco (grilled sirloin, flank or rump steak) — are most popular cuts of beef, often served with ribs, sausages, sweetbreads and organ meats. Parillada is a multicourse meal with grilled steak and sweetbreads, sausages, and kidneys. Chinchulines are sheep and beef intestines grilled over open fires and have a crispy, crunchy texture. All are served with chimichurri, an olive oil and vinegar based condiment with garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Other beef dishes include carbonada Criolla and puchero (beef stews, often with sausage, bacon, corn and potatoes), matambre (thin flank rolled with fillings), beef empanadas and bife a caballo (steak topped with eggs). In Uruguay, common dishes include biftik a la Montevideo, a sauced, simmered steak; chivito, a sandwich with thin slices of sirloin steak, lettuce, bacon, tomato, hearts of palm, olives, onions and cheese; and seafood or tripe soups. |
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Chile Because of its long coastline, Chile’s seafood forms the basis of many dishes, while corn and beans are enjoyed in the interior. Seafood is made into almost everything: stews, ceviches, escabeches, or snacks with potatoes, corn, squash and other vegetables. Many of Chile’s lamb dishes (such as lamb ribs or lamb shish kebabs), baked deer dishes and cakes stem from Welsh influence. Popular dishes include caldillo de congrio (fish stew with potatoes, tomatoes, cilantro and oregano), curanto (indigenous seafood stew with chicken, pork, lamb, beef and potato); chupes de camarones (shrimp stew with potatoes, corn and milk); porotos granados; pastel de choclo (corn pie), charquican (mashed potato with squash, ground beef and corn) and pastel de papas (potato pie with a sprinkling of salt or sugar). Pebre, prepared with garlic, lemon juice, chillies and cilantro, is a popular Chilean condiment served with stews and grilled seafood and meats. |
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