Chile Forum

I don't remember Chilean Sandwiches being very good...
I remember people using 1 slice of ham or 1 slice of turkey which you can barely taste...

Any thoughts?

I also don't understand how they can eat Manjar sandwiches but not Peanut Butter and jelly...

Na, to be honest, they are not very good. Take questionable quality control, together with the Chilean tendency to avoid anything with strong flavors and rather a poor tradition of good bread, and you got bad sandwiches.

What I don't understand however is that you can buy peanut butter in almost any good size store in Chile, even in remote towns of Chile you can find it. Sometimes there are a couple of different international brands. They are never out. Who is eating that much peanut butter in secret? I mean I personally eat a lot of peanut butter, but I sure am not supporting the industry all by myself. There simply can not be sufficient gringos in the country to do it either. It is fairly low margin product, after import cost.

Right now in little Temuco (what 150,000 people), I know there is at least 4-5 brands on sale between about 4 major store chains including a wallmart brand, skippy, and some others. Most stores will have at least two brands to choose from and a good size shelf. Who is eating it all?

That's funny Charles...
Do they use it for any recipes maybe??

Surprised to hear about the bread being bad though.. I remember liking allullas (sp?) and pan batido when I was a kid... But that was about 30 years ago and I was like 5, so maybe I just didn't know any better...

What about cold cuts? How are the ham, turkey, salami, etc. We have talked all about the cheese already, so I know we're lacking in that department.

I'm going to miss my Roast Beef, Pastrami, Corned Beef and Turkey Club sandwiches... (not all at the same time, lol)

A Chile Barros Luco or Charrasco with black pepper and aji usually hits the sandwich craving spot for me.

I do make a makeshift BLT out of chicarones when that craving hits.

I've had some really good Barros Lucos y Barros Jarpas - as for the P-nut butter, i wonder, too - people who tried it with me either loved it or hated it and no one had ever tried it before. There was a little negocio on one of the main streets in Valpo that had a grinder and made it fresh - very good! i was so thrilled and surprised when I came across it.
Lana
moving to Chile in June

I love Barros Luco... so simple yet so tasty. The best part is the pebre that gets put on for every bite... don't put it on the entire sandwich at once or else the break will get soggy. You have to apply it just before you are going to take the next bite.

I wonder about the peanut butter too. I never see anyone but me purchasing it. I don't use that much, but do buy it to make sauce for chicken satay and on various occasions the clerk has said something about it to me, like that I am the first person they have seen buying it.

Peanut butter does keep for a long time, right? Is it possible that the stores bought some long ago and just haven't run out? LOL

j. Ro wrote:I love Barros Luco... so simple yet so tasty. The best part is the pebre that gets put on for every bite... don't put it on the entire sandwich at once or else the break will get soggy. You have to apply it just before you are going to take the next bite.

The Barros Luco has been my favorite-sometimes I add something to it but I even like it plain. If you want something added, they will add too much mayo, palta whatever....which is my problem with other sandwiches, too many condiments and not enough of the main ingredients. But get a plain Barros Luco, maybe ask for something on the side...

I was discussing this with my wife, and she says it is becoming popular for kids in Chile. It is just not the kind of thing you would see visiting someone in Chile.

Ham and Cheese........OMG, our joke last year if we were uncertain what the restaurant served was "well at least there will be ham and cheese" I BANNED these ingredients from our kitchen for months after we got back to the states.

I also don't understand how they can eat Manjar sandwiches but not Peanut Butter and jelly...

Do you mean why can't you buy PB&J sandwiches in the shops/cafes? If so, I've never seen them sold in any shop anywhere I've travelled in the world (I've never been to the USA, so maybe it's exclusively a USA thing?), but most people I know are capable of taking a slice of bread, adding PB&J and eating it.

I've also never seen a manjar sandwich sold in a shop, so I'm assuming you mean why can't they *make* it, or perhaps, why don't they *like* it. Which could simply be due to personal taste. Just like if you're from the USA, you probably won't like vegemite or marmite and again, even in Australia, vegemite sandwiches are usually not on the menu at cafes.

As for store/cafe bought, the choices are varied. Churrasco Completos or Ham/Turkey, Cheese & Avo, Barros Luco etc.

If you are craving a particular sandwich, nothing stops you from *gasp* making it. You can buy pretty much any ingredient that you like, there are at least 30 varieties of bread in the supermarket, from Ciabatta, to heavy German seed bread, light wholewheat, maraquetas, allullas, raising bread etc. There are many different types of ham (honey baked, smoked, turkey, chicken etc) and you are allowed to add more than one slice if you must. For a bit of excitement, you may even add any of the range of about 20 mustards available, mayonnaise, sour kraut, pickles or any other topping you desire.

So, I think it's safe to say that sandwiches can be good in Chile. (Just quietly, I also don't think that PB&J should be held as the bar to which good sandwiches are judged)

PS
'Tis I buying all the Peanut butter, there will be riot in this house if we ever run out!