86 kilos of meat

Seriously Uruguayans. How do you eat so much meat?


This article says the expected number of slaughtered cattle for this year will be around 2.21 million. Whoooah. That's a lot of cows. Further more:

Uruguay's beef consumption per capita in 2009 is expected to reach 58 kilos and 86 kilos of all types of meat according to the latest estimates from the National Meat Institute (INAC).

86 kilos of meat per capita??!!


No wonder why you can't walk into a restaurant around here and not find some form of beef on the menu. A lot of Uruguayans have told me they eat beef everyday of the week, and I'm not surprised after living here for 7 months. Apparently you can never have too much beef.

Chivitos

Chivitos (literally translated, little goats) are anything but little sandwiches that are 100% Uruguayan.


They include beef, bacon, ham, fried egg, cheese, mayo, tomato, lettuce, olives, ketchup, and mustard all smooshed between two giant pieces of bread. Or, if you are feeling less sandwhichy, you can order them "al plato" which is the same thing just layered right on the plate. Your arteries will feel like they are going to explode after eating these, so don't say you haven't been warned.

Bags of Milk and Runny Yogurt

In the mood for some yogurt? Get out your twisty straw. Yep, that's right, no spoon needed. Yogurt is a slurp-able substance south of the equator.

Thick creamy yogurt is not the norm for South American households; it's usualy runny, or "bebible" as they call it ("drinkable"). In the hotter months, this consistancy didn't bother me because I just threw it in the freezer and had a thickened yogurt smoothie, but now that it's cold outside the only way to have yogurt is the drinkable way.


I suppose the consistancy is something I can get used to, but the packaging is something I will never fully enjoy. Liquidy dairy substances, like milk and yogurt, are always sold in rectangular plastic bags. Once you cut of the tip of the bag to pour yourself some milk you have to put the bag in some sort of container or it will spill everywhere (unless you can drink 1 Liter of milk with your coffee every morning), and sometimes it will spill everywhere just from the pouring, if you don't have your skill just right.

In addition, the plastic bags aren't very sturdy. I always see some poor grocery store employee mopping up milk spills in the refrigeration section. I bet s/he wishes Uruguay had cartons for their milk too.

Futbol

While Emily was visiting me in Montevideo, we went to a futbol (soccer) game at the estadio central (which also happens to be where Uruguay won the first World Cup in 1930 for all you sports fans out there).


The game was fun, although I felt a little out of place for three major reasons.

1. We were two women in a sea of testosterone.
2. We didn't know the cheers of the "barra brava" (aka. crazy futbol fans, mostly 19 year old boys with firecrackers and drums)
3. I dressed inappropriately. I knew our team's colors were blue and black because I made a specific point to ask someone which colors to wear. But, it was rather cold that night so I wore my red coat over my blue and black shirt only to find the other team showed up in red. Great.


And on topic of discomfort, my stomach was less than pleased with me that evening as well. I have never eaten a more greasy hamburger in my entire life. My stomach gurgles just thinking about it. The bread's only function was to sop up the grease from the burger. And the woman I bought it from touched my money and then touched my hamburger. Yummy.

But even more yummy was the torta frita (fried dough) we had afterwards. There's just something about sports stadiums and fried foods together--they're universal.

Delicious Food

Mmmm. I had some delicious food tonight.


This week Anthony's parents are visiting Salto and they took us out to dinner at a local restaurant called La Caldera. Mmmm. I had pollo glaseado which was glazed chicken stuffed with ham, raisins, and onions, served with a side of warm apple sauce. It was delicious, but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. I think finding good food in Uruguay is a matter of knowing what to order (or where to buy your groceries). I was despairing for a few weeks when I thought the only things I could find were fried foods, gooey pasta, mayonnaise, and greasy pizza. The options are much more palatable now that I've learned the ins and outs of this South American cuisine.


Then for dessert Christie and I stopped by a nearby bakery to get masas (bite-sized pastries) for everyone. Most include dulce de leche in their ingredient list and all seem to be super tasty.

Asado

I went to my first asado this weekend with new friends. Yay!


I've been hearing soooo much about Uruguay's amazing asados and now I've finally had a chance to partake. An asado is something like what American's would term a "BBQ". In a nutshell, it implies large groups of people assembled to grill up a bunch of meat. The word "asado" can also refer to the actual grilled meat itself--from beef steaks to chorizos.


Yes, I like these asado things. Good company and good grilled meat. What more could one want?

Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche is the most popular dessert in Uruguay hands down. The closest thing I can compare it to is caramel, but dulce de leche is distinctly different, perhaps a bit thicker and creamier. It is almost a source of pride for the nation.


Uruguayans spread this ooey gooey amber-colored stuff on everything--on cookies, candy, cake, ice cream, fruit, bread, tostados, pancakes, etc. But who needs something to spread it on? They could eat it straight out of the can.


I can eat dulce de leche in small amounts with other foods, but a big spoonful of dulce is too sweet for my tastes. Christine and Anthony seem to like it though. Scratch that. Christine and Anthony seem to be obessesed with it...

Love from Home

I got something in the mail today. A box. A big box of goodies!

I was so excited when I saw it sitting on the table, I could hardly wait to open it. There were about 10 various stickers pasted all over the box. It likely had an interesting journey getting here, only taking 8 days to get from the Northeastern United States to Uruguay. Definitely sent Priority Mail.

Inside was lots of American junk food, including peanut butter! Mmmmmm. It all looks so tasty (although very bad for my diet). Looks like I'll have snacks to last me quite a long while.


Unfortunately, I do believe the package was a bit expensive (we're talking about 49 US dollars here!!!). Goodness. This might be the most expensive bunch of sweets I'll ever have in my entire life, so I shall have to snack treasuring each bite.

The package made my day. And my week. I certainly didn't expect it. Thank you parents and grandparents!!!!

Parillada

So what does one eat when they go to Argentina? Well, let me tell you. It's beef. That is what you order. In particular, parrillada. But, you have to be careful, parrillada can include some interesting cuts of meat. This site says: "In Argentina, the meat is often grilled at the table, and includes various cuts of steak, lamb, pork, sausages, sweetbreads, and internal organs not often found on US menus." Mmmhhhhmmm. Knowing what you are ordering is the name of the game. Stay away from the chorizos, kidneys, intestines, livers, udders, and sweetbreads. In my opinion, avoid being "adventurous" when it comes to strange words on the menu of a parilla restaurant.


I ordered a bife de costilla which is a t-bone. As you can see it turned out to be huge. I'm not the biggest red meat fan, but this steak was good. Yes, Argentina has good meat if you stick to costillas alone.