Chile, South America’s long and thin country has over 4,300km of Pacific coastline; it is therefore no surprise that seafood features heavily on the menu. There are some cracking fish markets which we thoroughly enjoyed, but we noted that the mega-supermarket and industrially produced goods like plastic ham and cheese have a place in the modern life of Chile. Unfortunately we found much of Chilean food lacking in seasoning, but we did discover a little enclave of culinary joy on Easter Island with its mix of mainland and Polynesian influences. Of course the country is world-famous for its wine and we certainly took advantage of the fact! So, the way to go is definitely seafood and wine in Chile.

SEAFOOD

The oxygen rich Humbolt current makes Chile’s Pacific waters a rich fishing ground, the most popular fishes are Congria (Conger Eel) and Reineta (Southern Ray’s Bream), although delicious salmon is found in Chilean Patagonia. Ceviche is also a common dish, but we found it bland, unseasoned and lacking spice in comparison to Peruvian dishes. That said, Easter Island had some delicious ceviches with fresh ingredients like avocado, octopus salads and tuna steaks.

Crustaceans and shellfish are also plentiful in the Chilean kitchen; seafood is often served in soups like the Paila Marina or with copious amounts of cheese as with the Machas a la Parmesana (Pacific razor clams with parmesan cheese) or the Pastel de Jaiba (cheesy crab pie). Locos (abalone) and a kind of giant barnacle called Picorocos are also popular, but we weren’t brave enough to have a go!

In Patagonia the salmon and smoked salmon is to die for and they also have the monstrous King Crab and a penchant for smoking all sorts of shell-fish like mussels and hanging them up on strings like crazy fly curtains.

The best place to experience seafood is in a market. We enjoyed the fish markets in Puerto Montt and Santiago. Once proper markets these are now a hybrid between fishmongers selling the freshest produce and a never-ending array of little restaurants, all serving the local specialties. Not too many tourists make it to Puerto Montt, but if you happen to be in Santiago do not miss out on this awesome market.

WINE

Chile is one of the greatest producers of wine in the world. Whilst normally quite expensive abroad, Chilean wine is dirt cheap in its motherland, we were picking up very decent bottles for about £3. The most common types of wine are Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon (red) and Sauvignon Blanc (white). You can read more about our visit to the Casablanca wine region in our post about Santiago and around.

PISCO

Like their Peruvian neighbours, Chileans like their pisco, although they will of course tell you that their version is better! (In case you are interested, we side with the Peruvians on this one!). Pisco is a distilled spirit made from a certain type of grape and is most commonly used in cocktails like the pisco sour or the terremoto which means earthquake in Spanish. Pisco is most famously grown in the Elqui Valley in northern Chile. You can read more about our visit to a pisco factory here.

BEER

There is a variety of good beer in Chile and it has a strong German influence due to the arrival of German immigrants during the 1800s. We drank Austral, Kunstmann and Escudo, but there are also craft breweries popping up here and there. For example in Puerto Natales there is Baguales and in Valparaiso there is Hotzenplotz.

BAKERIES

Chileans are huge consumers of bread and there are well stocked bakeries on every street corner. Whilst ending up thoroughly breaded-out, we got to quite enjoy a variety of pastries. It was touch and go whether Jess would actually be able to leave Chile after she discovered the Berlin; a deep-fried doughnut filled with vanilla custard. Other popular bakery goods are the Kuchen which is a German fruit cake, Lemon Pie, a sort of fried bread called Sopaipilla, and the Delicia, a jam filled biscuit with a hole in the middle.

SNACKS/OTHER

In the Chilean interior stews called Cazuelas are regular fare and there is also a dish called Pastel de Choclo, which is a cheesy corn pie. Of course empanadas are ever-present and a handy snack when you are on the go, and we also saw that hot dogs called Completos are a very popular fast food. They consist of a normal hotdog drowned in anything that is going, including chips and rivers of sauces.

In Patagonia you can also find asado (BBQ) of lamb, cooked in a traditional fire pit.

Finally we found a curious drink containing dried peaches and cooked husked wheat called Mote con Huesillo. It is sold on the street from big vats like in Bolivia, but also in more sanitary form in the supermarket!

To conclude, other than the consistently glorious wine, Chilean food was a bit hit and miss for us. Quite often the raw ingredients looked better than what was prepared with them, and we couldn’t help but compare their seafood with that of their culinary giant of a neighbour that is Peru. But, we certainly didn’t strave what with the all those lovely bakeries to fall back on!