Fact Friday #12- Food I

Simply Chilean-

Here are a few Chilean dishes.

1. Almejas con Limón- raw clams with lemon juice.

2. Carbonada- meat soup with finely diced beef and all kinds of vegetables such as potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli, green pepper and parsley.
3. Charquican- ground or diced meat cooked with garlic, onions, potatoes and pumpkin all mashed.
4. Milcaos- grated raw potato squeezed until dry then added to minced cooked potatoes and flattened to a bread-like form then baked or fried. Sometimes filled with meat and raisins.

5. Palta Reina- an avocado half which is filled with tuna fish or ham and covered with mayonnaise. It is served on lettuce leaves, normally as an entree.
6. Pastel de Choclo- a typical Chilean summer dish. Ground corn and meat, chopped onions small pieces of chicken, pieces of hard boiled egg, olive raisins - baked in clay or regular oven. Similar to a shepherd pie.

The Pastel de Choclo that I ate in the market. Sooo yummy!

7. Sopaipilla- a flat circular deep fried 'bread' made of pumpkin and flour. Sometimes without the pumpkin.

Indigenous and Spanish Influence-

Many ingredients are from the indigenous culture, especially staples such as maize also known as choclo, quinoa and potatoes. Other dishes from the indigenous tribes include Curanto, and Humitas.

The Spanish brought grapes to Chile, first starting the wine industry. They also brought Empanadas, olives, wheat, spices, beef, sheep, pigs, milk and cheese.

Regional Cuisine-

Just like climate, food varies greatly throughout Chile. The main cuisines are that of Northern, Central, and Southern Chile. However, food is also heavily influenced by seafood along the coast.

Northern Chile- Both N. and Central Chile use beef or pork as their main meet source. Northern cuisine is filled with fruit and seafood. It is also famous for its wine and pisco.

Central Chile- A few traditional Central dishes are empanadas, pastel de choclo (corn pie), humitas (steamed corncakes) and caldillo de congrio (white sea bass). They are also said to have amazing wine. Especially sparkling.  

Southern Chile- Some main dishes of this region are Pastel de Choclo and longaniza sausages. It is known for its use of potatoes, seafood and lamb.

The Cost of Basic Items-

	Temuco, Chile	South Bend, IN USA
Liter of Milk	CH $640 or USD $1.00	CH $640 or USD $1.00
Butter	CH $1,282.39 or USD $2.00	CH  or USD $4.00
Dozen Eggs	CH $1,613 or USD $2.52	USD $2.50
Loaf of Bread	CH $633.95 or USD $.99	CH $640 or USD $1.00