This long, thin country, more than 2,600 miles from tip to toe, is sandwiched between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. ‘The soil is so fertile, that the husbandmen have very little trouble; for they do but in a manner scratch up the ground and without any kind of manure it yields an hundred fold,’ wrote a visiting British admiral in the 18th century. True of the temperate to subtropical central zone of wide fertile valleys, where table grapes and stone fruits are grown and vineyards planted, it can hardly be said of the high desert of the northern third, nor of the rain-washed forests of the south, as far as Tierra del Fuego, where neither climate nor terrain is suitable for settled agriculture.
The lie of the land protected Chile from invasion, though the Inca occupied its northern part, and the Spanish succeeded them; not without a fight, so that full occupation was not achieved until 1800, less than 20 years before Independence. The stubborn resistance of the Araucanians, who lent their name to the monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) and delighted in its piñons, left a strong Indian influence. Porotos granados combines three of the staples of Indian diet—beans (most authentically ‘cranberry beans’, the preferred variety of Phaseolus vulgaris), squash, and green or immature corn. Corn also figures in a second, Pastel del choclo (the Spanish for ear of corn), where beef is given a topping of ground fresh corn sprinkled with sugar. Humitas, a purée of green corn with onions, peppers, and tomatoes, popular too in Argentina, is a third Indian dish of wide acceptance.
Lack of plains on an Argentine scale left cattle rearing as second string to growing fruit and edible crops. Argentine beef is imported, and its cuisine has come too, but sheep are reared in the south, and, in the province of Chiloé, pigs have long been farmed, which may account for certain pork recipes like Chancho a la chilena, a casserole of pork and vegetables given spice by Salsa de ají colorado (chilli is ají, here and in Peru). The sauce called pebre, made with onions, vinegar, olives, garlic, chilli, and coriander, is another seasoning of cold meat; and an infusion of garlic and paprika with either oil or lard called color is a cooking medium (made hot or not with chilli) that finds favour.
Some important plants had an early home in Chile: the potato, the bean, and the ancestor of the European cultivated strawberry, Fragaria chiloensis, which was brought to France from Chile in 1714 by Amédée Frézier. So many grew round Concepción, he wrote, that ‘people sell them at the market like other fruits’ (Darrow, 1966).
The long, deeply indented coastline, particularly to the south, combined with the cool Humboldt Current, cause a wealth of seafood. Giant sea urchins called erizos are often served raw with a parsley sauce; species such as mussels, scallops, abalone, and oysters were a staple of Indian diet, gathered freely on the foreshore, and latterly have been cooked in stews such as Chupe de mariscos, with breadcrumbs and cheese, or steamed in stone-lined pits. Another Chilean delicacy, but one which is also found elsewhere, is the fish called congrio. This is not a conger eel but a cusk eel, Genypterus chilensis, or other species of the same genus. These fish are often used in a curanto, or cut into slices and broiled, or made into a stew. One of the species is known as pink ling in Australia. The giant goose-necked barnacle, Megabalanus psittacus, called picoroco, is a delicacy only found on this coast usually cooked with more ingredients than a clambake, but similar in technique and resembling also the hangi of New Zealand. The name for this is curanto, and it is a traditional speciality of southern Chile, often eaten with locally produced potato breads.
Tom Jaine is an independent writer and publisher, specializing in food and food history. He is the author of numerous books, including Cooking in the Country, Making Bread at Home, and Traditional Country House Cooking. He sometimes writes for The Guardian and other publications. He was editor of The Good Food Guide from 1989 to 1994, has presented ‘The Food Programme’ on Radio 4, and has participated in discussions of food on radio and television. (TJ)
Darrow, George M. (1966), The Strawberry, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
