Taste Tests

Last Saturday we went to the Caminos y Sabores Expo, a convention of over 300 producers of cheese, meats, sweets, olive oil, beverages and so on from all over Argentina. Last year producers from 23 different provinces came and over 62,000 people attended the expo. Given the uncertainty of farmer protests now a days, this seemed like an excellent way to get a taste of what Argentina has to offer without the risk of getting stuck at a roadblock out in the boonies.

The thing I love most about expos are the taste tests. Taste tests are fun! This expo helped me figure out so many things like: how creamy I like my dulce de leche, what type of cookie I prefer in an alfajor, or even try things I would never actually buy...




like jarred racoon...









hmm...Needless to say, the jarred raccoon did not make it to my personal shopping list. Nor any jarred woodchuck, for fear of giving my parents any ideas for their elusive garden marauder.

Here is what did make it home:

We bought sheep cheese (hard, plain and a semi-hard, smoked) and a one kilo tub of dulce de leche, produced in the La Pampa province. Basil flavored olive oil from Cordoba, another (very creamy) dulce de leche from Salta, and Alfajores de maicena (the cookie in the corner) from Buenos Aires province.

All in all, a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

What's the strangest animal you ever ate? Have any Expos you can recommend?