Chilean Cuisine

Meals constitute one of the biggest culture shocks I received during my first week in Chile. When North Americans consider the South American diet, tacos and burritos are usually among the first dishes that come to mind. Not so in Chile! These items are more typical of Mexican cuisine, and as the U.S. is so close in proximity to Mexico, we tend to associate their dietary preferences with all of Latin America. In fact, Mexican and Peruvian restaurants are fairly common and popular in many areas of Santiago.



Among the most notable food-related quirks is the importance of avocado in the Chilean diet. Everything here is served with avocado, from bread to hot dogs! There are even avocado dispensers that accompany mustard and ketchup dispensers at hot dog stands. In addition, salt takes on a greater role here than in the U.S., whereas pepper is almost completely discarded. I have now been here for a week and a half, and not once have I spied a pepper dispenser in any restaurant or food stand. Sometimes there are even two salt dispensers on a table, just in case customers have a particularly salty tooth.



I also knew before I arrived that fruit would be extra-cheap in South America, but I had no clue just how cheap it could be. When I met my host mother for the first time, she took me to a feria (a fruit/vegetable market) to take into account my dietary preferences. A kilo of apples can be bought for $1,000 pesos, or around $2.00 in U.S. currency! There was also a variety of fruit which was completely foreign to me: something that resembled a pear, another something that looked like a pumpkin, and something similar to a watermelon were the most striking (I’ll try to take pictures during my next visit).

If Americans would be impressed by the cheap cost of fruit here, they would be horrified by the lack of brewed coffee or fresh milk! Every cup I’ve had of each has come from a box of powder. I had always just assumed that all South American countries sold great coffee, but that is sadly not the case here. Tea is much more popular, so I’ve been trying to slowly replace caffeine with the healthy stuff. Milk seems to be a lost cause, though—there’s just no replacing a fresh gallon of milk from Harris Teeter.

Salads are mostly served with fresh lemon juice as dressing. Lemon is another Chilean phenomenon—bread is sometimes served at restaurants along with a plate of sliced lemons (for water, salad, seafood dishes, etc.). Seafood is extremely popular and cheap, considering the fact that Chile boasts the longest coastline in the world.



The dish above is lomo a lo pobre, a popular item on the menu here that consists of two eggs (usually friend) served on top of a steak with french fries on the side. A stranger combination has never occurred to me.

Finally, as for meals themselves, the Chilean structure is somewhat distinct from that of the U.S. Breakfasts are typically rather continental and consist of bread and jam and coffee or tea. Lunch is served a bit later here, usually around 1:00 or 2:00 pm. Once, or the Spanish equivalent for the number 11, many times replaces dinner and can be served at almost any time of the day (except, ironically, 11:00). As once is always consumed after lunch (the largest meal) but sometimes before dinner (if it doesn’t replace dinner altogether), it usually occurs between 4:00 and 8:00 pm. If there is a dinner served afterward (more common on weekends), it usually takes place after 9:00 pm. Between once and dinner the schedule is very flexible, and I don’t completely understand it yet, but such is the life of a gringa (don't worry, it's considered term of endearment in Chile).