Chilean cuisine stems mainly from the combination of Spanish cuisine with traditional Chilean ingredients, with later influences from other European cuisines, particularly from Germany, Italy, Croatia, France and the Middle East. The food tradition and recipes in Chile stand out due to the varieties in flavors and colors. The country's long coastline and the Chilean peoples' relationship with the sea adds an immense array of ocean products to the variety of the food in Chile. The country's waters are home to unique species of fish and shellfish such as the Chilean sea bass, loco and picoroco. In addition, many Chilean recipes are enhanced and accompanied by wine because Chile is one of the world's largest producers of wine. The country's immense geographical diversity allows for a wide range of crops and fruits to be present in Chilean food.




SEAFOOD


A characteristic of Chilean cuisine is the variety and quality of fish and seafood, due to the geographic location and extensive coastline. The Humboldt current causes a supply of seafood that gathers along the Pacific coast perpendicular to Chilean waters. These include squid, soleidae (sole), albacore, codfish, hake, corvina, salmon, batoidea and tuna. Seafood such as abalone, prawns, clams, crabs, shrimp, oysters, lobsters, percebes, picorocos, and eels are also fished in large amounts.

Congridae or in Chile known as congrio can be deep fried in batter, or seasoned and baked. It may also be made into a stew: this popular dish, called Caldillo de congrio, was praised in an ode by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

EMPANADA DE HORNO

In Chile, the most traditional empanada filling is called "pino". Pino is a seasoned mixture of ground beef, onions, raisins, black olives, and hard boiled eggs. The empananda dough is quick and easy to make, and can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator. The pino tastes best if made the day before and allowed to rest overnight before filling the empanandas.


COLA DE MONO

Cola de mono (literally, monkey's tail) is a traditional Chilean drink served around Christmas time. As far as texture and taste, it can be fairly compared to the mixed drink White Russian.

MOTE CON HUESILLOS

Mote con huesillo is a traditional Chilean summer-time drink, known as the “refreshing national drink.” It is a non-alcoholic beverage consisting of a sweet clear nectar like liquid made with dried peaches (huesillo) cooked in sugar,water and cinnamon, and then once cooled mixed with fresh cooked husked wheat (mote).The sweet clear nectar is usually made with sugar, but can also be supplemented or replaced with honey.

CHILEAN WINE

chilean wine is wine made in the South American country of Chile. Chile has a long viticultural history. Chilean wines have ranked very highly in international competitions. For example, in the Berlin Wine Tasting of 2004, 36 European experts blind tasted wines from two vintages each of eight top wines from France, Italy and Chile. The first and second place wines were two Cabernet-based reds from Chile: Viñedo Chadwick 2000 and Sena 2001.The Berlin Wine Tasting of 2005 held in Brazil featured five Chilean wines in the top seven. In the Tokyo Wine Tasting of 2006, Chilean wines won four of the top five rankings.