Through the paved streets of Tucumán, you can smell homemade bread baking on outside stoves, empanadas stuffed with meat and chicken, and fruits and vegetables falling out of their market containers. Surrounded by delicious smells, you know you are in Argentina. Street vendors with iron bowls are always cooking sweet nuts that give off the aroma of Christmas. in the parks, you can hear the call for helado (ice cream) and achilata (Tucumán ice cream) sold from small coolers on the backs of bikes. The smells, sounds and delicious tastes make you want to stay in Argentina permanently.
Argentina is not only rich in culture but food choices as well. The people here are some of the top consumers of red meat and an herb called yerba mate used for tea. These two products appear on every menu, in every restaurant.
However, the lesser known foods of Argentina are the fantastic desserts. Dulce de leche - a caramel sauce, cookies, ice cream and pastries you never imagined are just some examples. My favorite food that I have tried in Tucumán is a type of pastry called an alfajor, pronounced “alfa-hore”. This cookie dipped in chocolate melts in your mouth and makes you dream of an alfajor Candyland. An alfajor is a great way to tickle your taste buds!
