Popular fruits in Chile and their translations

Naranja (orange)

Manzana (apple)

Piña (pineapple)

Sandia (watermelon)

Pomelo (grapefruit)

Frutilla (strawberry)

Uvas (grapes)

Melón (melon)

• Melón tuna (honeydew)
• melón calameño (canteloupe/muskmelon)
• melón platano

Platano [occasionally banano] (banana)

Platano verde (plantain)

Durazno [occasionally durazno peludo to differentiate from nectarines] (Peach)

Nectarin [or durazno pelado] (nectarine)

Guinda or cereza (cherry)

Pera (pear)

Palta (avocado)

Coco (coconut)

Ciruela (plum)

Damasco (apricot)

Papaya (papaya)

Granada (pomegranate), 

Kiwi (kiwi), 

Chirimoya ("custard apple")

Tuna (prickly pear) [not to be confused with atún which is tuna fish]

Frambuesa (raspberry)

Arándano (blueberry, sometimes called arandano morado) 

Arándano rojo (cranberry) 

Mora (blackberry)

Clementinas (clementines)

Mango (mango)

Guayaba (guava)

Copao: I don't think this has a name in English, but they are popular in the IV region, around Coquimbo/La Serena and Valle Elqui. They don't really export it even to other parts of Chile because it's so difficult to transport!

Maracuya (passion fruit)

Higo/breva (these are... figs? But they are 2 different types from the same tree)

Limón (lemon AND lime)

Limón de pica (key lime)

Pepino (besides being a cucumber [pepino de ensalada], pepino the fruit)

Frutos secos = nuts! not dried fruit..... except... yes, lol. When people say frutos secos they're usually talking about nuts, but it can also include dried fruit.

High protein flour

Do you want to make french bread, bagels, or other baked goods that require flour with a high protein content?

I've found one such flour here in Chile, and it's only carried in Lider and Lider Express since it's a store brand item.

It's called Triple Cero and includes vital wheat gluten in the ingredients list. Vital wheat gluten effectively ups the protein content on normal wheat flour.

Read more about vital wheat gluten and what it does here.

Link: Triple Cero at Lider.cl

Ingredients (Spanish): Harina de trigo, glúten vital, peróxido de benzailo, hierro (sulfato ferroso), niacina, tiamina, ácido fólico, riboflavina, oxidante (ácido ascórbico), complejo encimático (hemicelulosa fungal y bacteriana) cilanosa alfa molisa pentasomasa

Zapallo makes a great pumpkin pie

With the upcoming Thanksgiving, I decided I'd try my hand at a FROM SCRATCH pumpkin pie. Yes, a pumpkin pie without pumpkin in a can, (because no canned pumpkin here in Chile D: ). It turned out fantastic! It was just a trial, so I only made half of this recipe

For the "mashed, cooked pumpkin":

I bought one of those small zapallos (cost CH$1.500 at my local Tottus, could probably be found for cheaper elsewhere, or you could get a couple cortes de zapallo at the feria or La Vega), cut out a quarter of the pumpkin, scooped out the seeds and scraped off the "gunk", and chopped into chunks. I then put this in the microwave for 15 minutes (covered pyrex bowl), mixing up and pouring out any water every 5 minutes. (after cooling) I then cut off the skin, and mashed it up with a potato smasher. You could also use a potato-ricer, blender, stick blender, fork, etc.

I also made some substitutions in the recipe because I'm lazy: instead of the brown sugar and evaporated milk, I replaced it with condensed milk! Condensed milk is already sweetened! (plus, brown sugar is difficult to find here in Chile). The condensed milk adds a nice, almost caramel flavor to the pie.

I also added ground cloves, because I felt, how do you not add ground cloves to pumpkin pie!?

So, basically my ingredients (I only did half since it was a test batch):

• 1 1/4 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
• half of a 396g can of condensed milk (so.... 198 grams)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

(I didn't cut down the cinnamon and ginger from the full recipe since I love strong spices, but I cut the nutmeg in half since I added cloves)

I just whisked it all together (didn't bother with a beater), poured into pie crust (I used 3 ramekins, not a big pie crust), cooked at 200C for about 35 minutes (until toothpick/fork comes out clean in the middle)

The pie filling turned out wonderful!

The pie crust... well, let's just say that apparently lard (manteca here in Chile) is not a good replacement for shortening... So good thing I did a test batch before our Thanksgiving dinner, lol!

Caster/Bakers sugar

First, you might be asking what caster/bakers sugar is.

From Cookthink.com

Caster (or castor) [or bakers] sugar is superfine refined sugar. That makes it finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as confectioners [powdered] sugar.
Caster sugar dissolves easily and so is used to give baked goods (especially meringues) a lighter texture.
If you don't have any or can't find caster sugar, you can pulse regular granulated sugar in a food processor to help break down the grains.

I don't have a food processor,or even a blender at the moment, and I did that a couple times in the US, and it just doesn't work as well.

I've searched high and low for caster sugar here in Chile so that I could make a meringue, without feeling the texture of normal sugar, but I failed to find any.

So, I did what any logical crazy person would do: I emailed the largest sugar producer in Chile. Turns out, this isn't a product for public consumption.

"Efectivamente, el caster sugar es el producto, pero hace algunos años tuvimos el formato retail de 500 grs. en el mercado, “azúcar fina”, pero nos fue muy muy mal con él. La demanda en Chile de este producto sólo es para la industria de jugos en verdad. Por eso lo discontinuamos. Quizás puedas probar nuestra “azúcar flor” la cual tiene un pequeño componente de antiaglomerante (almidón), que es utilizado en pastelería y en preparación de tragos."

“azúcar fina” = caster sugar
“azúcar flor” = powdered sugar

So, caster sugar is just used for industrial use in Chile (like for powdered juice), and the smallest size they sell is 50kg (110lbs)! The Iansa representative mentioned that they used to sell a 500g (1.1lb) version, but it went "very, very poorly" and they discontinued it.

Alas.

If you find a store with caster sugar, let me know!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!

As an American expat in Chile I'm often intrigued, and even perplexed by food here in Chile. Whether I'm just trying to figure out how to say "cornmeal" in Spanish or trying to wrap my head around why someone would enjoy eating blood-sausage, I've been learning a lot along the way.

While I always enjoyed cooking in the US, living in Chile has made me look at it a whole other way. When bagels and Reese's peanut butter cups are not readily available, one can get creative. So, that's what my blog is about. I'll not just be presenting recipes and good places to eat, but trying to help other expats find their much needed ingredients and suitable replacements if they're not readily available.

Suggestions, comments, and criticisms are more than welcome.

Enjoy!