To most people, steak, mate and malbec are the bastions of Argentina’s gastronomy. Yet according to Slow Food, an international grassroots, eco-gastronomic non-profit organisation, the three bastions that truly demonstrate the country’s biodiversity are yacón, Andean corns and Andean potatoes.
Slow Food is a movement that challenges the current industrialised food industry and global economy, which are threatening communities, native foods and environments around the world. Slow Food is dedicated to strengthening the relationship between the world of food producers and that of consumers. It strives to transform food policy, production practices and market forces to ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat. Founded in 1986 in Italy in protest against the opening of a McDonald’s near the Spanish steps of Rome, it is now a global movement, with headquarters in over 100 countries.
Of the 750 regional conviviums, or branches of Slow Food, in the world, there are seven in Argentina. The Argentine conviviums cover the vast country from the altiplanos of Tucumán and Salta all the way to the capital.
While steaks made from grass-fed, free roaming cattle, fair trade yerba mate and artisanal wines certainly have a place under the umbrella of Slow Food, Slow Food Argentina strives to preserve and promote an extremely diverse array of foodstuffs. But, in order to fit into the philosophy of Slow Food each item should be good, clean and fair.
Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food, defines these simple words in their relationship to sustenance in his book Slow Food Nation.
That food should be good signifies that it should be a quality product that brings pleasure to the person consuming it. Food is to be savoured; it is not only what fuels our bodies but can also bring us joy and happiness through sensory pleasure.
That food should be clean means that it should not contaminate or harm the environment in any of the processes that it undergoes from the field to the table. It also should not contain chemicals or genetically modified organisms, it should be as close to its natural state as possible.
That food should be just means that the people who plant it, cultivate it, harvest it, transport it and cook it should be paid fairly, treated properly and respected for their dignified work, on which all human beings ultimately depend.
A unique element of Slow Food Argentina is its Network of Cooks. According to Petrini, their involvement in the movement is extremely important.
By incorporating a network of cooks, Slow Food Argentina ensures that there is a growing body of people utilising and thus spreading awareness about the indigenous and local ingredients that are struggling to enter the market, such as Argentina’s bastions.
Yacón
Yacón is a sweet Andean root, whose origin has been lost in Argentina’s past. In Aymara, the region’s indigenous language, the root is known as aricoma or aricuma. The cultivation of yacón requires a great deal of water and well-fertilised earth, and it grows well in the area of Quebrada de Humahuaca, in the north-western province of Jujuy. The towns most noted for the production of yacón are Barcena and Volcan.
The plant is cultivated using ancient techniques and tools like the taclla, a wooden tool that can be traced back to the Incas. The taclla is used to prepare the land for planting and is then used to place the bulbs in the furrows. In the cool months of August to September, yacón is harvested. The shrub has a thin trunk that can grow to one and a half meter in height and lanky green leaves. The edible part of the plant grows below ground, where the root, after being peeled of its dark brown skin, boasts sweet and succulent pale yellow flesh similar in texture to an apple’s. With time, the root sweetens further as the starches transform into sugars. Once the root has been left out in the sun long enough for the skin to shrivel up, the flesh can be enjoyed raw.
The people of the Quebrada also use yacón to make juice, jams, and fruit jellies. Dried, the plant’s leaves can also be used to make a very fragrant tea. Today, the vast majority of yacón is consumed locally. However, yacón has great potential; it is wholesome, versatile and has important dietary properties. The fruit contains inulina, a natural substitute for sugar, making it suitable for diabetics.
Andean produce
The history of corn, today one of the most highly consumed grains, dates back thousands of years. In northern Argentina, particularly in the province of Catamarca, many ancient varieties still exist, including capia, blanco criollo, amarillo socorro, morocho and chullpi.
These native corn varieties are raised in small plots, grown along side peppers, potatoes, and aromatic herbs, primarily for family consumption. The fields are sown by hand during the first days of October and the corn is ready to harvest in April. Before it is ready to eat however, the corn must go through a lengthy arduous process of drying, after which the kernels are cut off the cob and peeled. Because the capia variety has tender grains that shred easily, the corns are first baked in water and lime and then peeled and dried in the sun. Andean culinary traditions have played an important part in safeguarding the biodiversity of these crops. Each variety has a role in the local cuisine and festivities, and cooks prepare a great variety of distinct dishes with each one.
Andean corn, along with Andean potatoes, provides the foundation of the local population’s diet. Yet potato biodiversity, much like that of corn, in the world is under serious threat. Ancient varieties cultivated for millennia have been lost and wild species are threatened by climate change. In the north of Argentina, perija, papas azules, lisa verde, negrita, oca papa, lisa overija, are just a few of the Andean potato varieties that continue to sustain local populations, both as alimentation and a source of income.
While Slow Food brings attention to and gives technical and financial support to preserving these three culinary bastions, it also brings something else. According to Susana Martinez, president of the Patrimony Agriculture Cooperative, ever since yacón was designated a Slow Food bastion, people and producers began to look at yacón production and agriculture in a different way, with much more respect and appreciation.
Slow Food Argentina has a lot of work to do seeing that these three bastions are just the beginning of Argentina’s incredible biodiversity and food traditions.
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