Argentina's Food and Culinary Delights

Argentina’s food today has developed from a melting pot of cultures. The Spanish, Italian, French and German immigrants all bought their culinary talents, which when combined together seem to offer up the best of each culture.

In the 1500’s the Spanish settlers bought cattle to graze on the grasslands in the south, creating huge ranches and making beef a staple in the diet. The rich, open grasslands of the south make the Argentinean beef lean, tender and melt in the mouth. With the high quality beef on offer, it’s no wonder the Argentineans eat it at least once a day.

The later immigrants bought with them their staples. The Italians bought their pasta and pizzas, the French their baked delicacies and bread and Germans clearly influenced the cold meats. Each culture has kept their heritage alive making Argentina’s food a culinary delight.

Meats cooking around an 'asado' a traditional Argentine barbecue

Empanadas a South American delicacy of meat or vegetable filled pastry parcels

The palate of Argentineans is actually quite bland. Their South American roots of spicy food have been pushed aside for the more simple flavors which allow you to savor and revel in the quality foods of Argentina. The only spice we came across was a dipping sauce often served with meat called chimichurri and the occasional empanada stuffed with spicy chicken, although both of these hardly had a kick.

Savoring the sweeter side of life

Each panaderia has a bakery on site. Most are family run businesses and open for long hours. Going to our local panaderia became a daily delight where we picked up our bread, savory tarts for lunch or the occasional treat of facturas (little cookies).

Most cakes and sweet pies are filled with cream or dulce de leche – a favorite among all South Americans. This rich, creamy, toffee like filling is made from condensed milk and in each region of Argentina (in fact, in each country in South American too), it differs slightly depending on the local’s taste.

Wherever you are, to sample this rich, fairly addictive cream is a must. You can find it as a topping on cookies, a filling in pies, a spread for bread or a topping for cakes. It’s frequently used in Argentina’s famous cakes called alfajores - look out for Havanna's coffee shop they have the best alfajores in Argentina.

Delicious dulce de leche filled alfajores

Tiny cookies called 'facturas'

Sweet croissants 'Media lunas' a must with coffee

Delicious cold meats with hints of Europe

Dining habits of Argentineans

The Argentineans have a light breakfast of rolls or medialunas (light croissants) washed down with lots of coffee.

Lunch is generally a big meal of pasta, pizza or meat with salad. Later this is followed by facturas around late afternoon and then much later in the evening they sit down to their main meal of the day.

This later meal is often not started until 9pm and it’s not unusual to see diners still eating with their family’s way past midnight. It is often focused around beef or other meats accompanied by salads and bread and washed down with Argentinean wine.

All in all, Argentina’s food will impress you. You won’t experience the high quality meat anywhere else in the world and the European influence on cold meats and baked goods makes the dining in Argentina a gastronomic delightful.

Other related articles:

Argentina’s Beef – Why It’s The Best In The World
Argentina’s beef is so good it’s worth coming to Buenos Aires just to try it. Find out why it’s the world’s best beef and what to order in the hottest grills in town.

Mouth Watering Steaks At A Buenos Aires Parrilla
Find out what’s on the menu at a fantastic Buenos Aires parrilla restaurant. Also discover how Argentines cook steak in the home using the traditional method of the gaucho and where the hottest grills in Buenos Aires are.

Essential Terminology For Dining At A Buenos Aires Steakhouse
This article is stuffed with essential terminology for dining in Buenos Aires steakhouses. There's tips for ordering your steak so you can make sure you get a nice rare rump and not a well done rib-eye.

Discover Argentina's Wine And Wineries
History of wine in Argentina. Argentina wine exports, preferred grapes and recommended wineries and shops.

Return from Argentina Food & Wine to the Buenos Aires City Tourist Guide homepage