Humitas are a traditional Chilean dish that resembles tamales you might eat in Mexico. While each mamita has her own favorite Chilean humitas recipe, they all have several elements in common.

Humitas Across Latin America

The tradition of humitas dates back to before the arrival of Europeans. You’ll find variations of the humita throughout Latin America. Each country and region seems to have its own variation of this corn-based meal.

What is a Chilean Humita?

The classic Chilean humita consists of a ground corn mix wrapped in corn husks and boiled. The corn used in Chile is called choclo and isn’t very sweet by itself. Where tamales or other countries’ versions are often spicy, Chilean humitas are very basic and plain in taste. Feel free to add some of the ever-present pebre salsa or sugar to add some flavor to the humita.

How to Eat the Humita

When I was first served an humita, I didn’t know how to eat it. Humitas are served in the corn husk. Sometimes the humita is still wrapped tightly with some string that was used to hold it together for cooking.

To eat the humita, untie the string and unwrap the husk. Don’t eat the corn husk! If you are eating with others, you can likely follow their lead.

Humitas are typically served with the tomato and onion Chilean salad (ensalada chilena).

Chilean Humita Recipe

Keep in mind that traditional Chilean humitas are not spicy. The ingredients are simple: corn, salt, milk, and seasonings (onions, basil, paprika, etc.)

The basic steps of making humitas are:

1. Strip the corn kernels off of the ears of corn.

2. Grind up the corn into a smooth creamy mix.

3. Add seasonings for flavor.

4. Wrap the corn mix in a corn husk and tie it tight.

5. Boil the bundles for about 20-30 minutes.

Here are some Chilean humitas recipes you can try:

Step-by-Step Guide to Making Humitas

Humitas Chilenas

Humitas: Chilean Tamales

Picture by Ryan Greenberg

How to say goodbye in Chile is a little different from what you may have learned or seen elsewhere.

Your basic Spanish class taught you how to say goodbye to some one. You learned to say adios as you depart.

In Chile, you won’t typically hear adios. When you depart a friend’s house or leave a group you’ll say chau or chao.

When I first heard this I was a little surprised. I thought I was in Italy.

Pronounce chau with the “ch” of “church” and the “au” like the “ou” in “out”. It sounds like “chow”.

In addition to a single chau farewell, you’ll also hear the rapid double version: chau chau.

It seems like adios is reserved for a more finalized good bye where you’ll never see the person again. However, even in those cases, chau is often used.

Goodbye in Chile is More Than Words

Remember that in Chile, you can’t just say goodbye and leave. You need to personally say goodbye and give handshakes (formal settings), hugs, or cheek kisses to everyone you are leaving behind (give cheek kisses if you’re a woman or saying goodbye to a woman).

Departures are essentially the opposite of how you greet people in Chile. If you arrive with a flurry of hugs (abrazos) and kisses (besos), that is how you’ll leave too.

Make sure you save time for a proper departure. You don’t want to offend anyone in the group. It takes a while to kiss and hug everyone, especially in a larger group.

English Goodbyes in Chile?

Chileans also love to sprinkle in English words occasionally during normal conversations. In place of chau, I’ve heard the Spanish pronunciation of “goodbye” or “bye bye”.

However, as a foreigner in Chile, you shouldn’t use English words trying to be cute. Say chau and everyone will know what you mean.

Picture by Špjwagen!

Chilean avocados are a way of life in Chile. One thing you’ll notice after any amount of time in Chile is that avocado seems to be served with lots of foods.

Why is Avocado so Popular in Chile?

Chile’s climate and agricultural conditions make it idea for growing avocados. Did you know avocados grow on trees? I’ve visited several Chilean homes with an avocado tree growing in the yard. When you see trees and fruits growing in people’s yards, you know that they are easy to grow in that region.

Chilean avocados are a major export for the country. In fact, the majority of avocados imported into the United States come from Chile.

Avocados are cheap. Because avocados grow so easily in Chile, the price is extremely affordable. Where in the United States you may pay one dollar for 2 or 3 avocados, you can get 2 or 3 kilograms (4-6 pounds) of avocados for the same price in Chile.

How is Avocado Served?

Avocados are a great companion food. I don’t recall ever seeing an avocado served by itself. They are typically matched up to another food to bring out the best in tastes and culinary experience.

Chileans typically turn avocados into a guacamole-like, creamy paste that can be spread on bread, sandwiches, and other foods.

The classic Chilean hot dog, the completo, is often overloaded with a thick layer of the delicious green avocado mush. So much so, that you will have a hard time getting it all in your mouth. Avocado will likely end up on your shirt or lap.

Chileans love their sandwiches and you’ll definitely find avocado on the Chilean lomitos and other sandwich variations.

Avocado spread will also served with the daily fresh bread that Chileans eat for breakfast and dinner.

While the diversity of Chilean avocado opportunities might not surprise you, the volume of avocado in any given serving will be noteworthy. Chileans don’t just serve a little bit of this green food, they pile it on in huge, excessive amounts.

Palta is the Chilean Avocado

You will only hear avocados referred to as palta in Chile. While other Spanish speaking countries translate avocado as aguacate, you’ll never hear or see that variation in Chile. Palta is used to describe both the creamy green paste and the whole avocado fruit sold at supermarkets or local street ferias.

While in Chile, enjoy the fresh (and cheap) avocados and don’t be afraid when you see a thick layer of palta on your next sandwich.

Picture by Olle Svensson

While empanadas in some form are found all over Latin America, Chile offers up its own variety.

An empanada is a type of turnover where a thin pastry shell is stuffed with a filling and then cooked before serving. Chilean empanadas typically come in two popular variations: oven-baked meat-filled empanadas and cheese filled, fried empanadas.

Empanadas de Horno

As you walk through a local feria market or see a vendor on the street, you’ll hear cries of “empanadas de horno“. These are oven-baked empanadas. A traditional empanada de horno is also called an empanada de pino.

These empanadas are filled with a meat mixture consisting primarily of ground beef, onions, raisins, a slice of hard boiled egg, a whole olive, and seasonings. The pastry shell is sealed up and baked in the oven.

Recipes vary so don’t be surprised if you taste a something different in your empanada. Empanadas de pino are typically large enough to constitute a meal even though they often are served only as appetizers.

The first time I ate an empanada de pino I bit down on the whole olive (pit included) and nearly broke my tooth! Use caution when eating fresh empanadas as they will be really hot inside.

Cheese Empanadas

Cheese empanadas are simply cheese inside a pastry shell and then fried. These are so easy, you can make your own cheese empanadas. Since these are fried, you get a different texture and flavor. Cheese empanadas are also typically smaller than their meat-filled cousins. So you’ll be tempted to eat several at one time.

Variations

As you travel around the country, you’ll find different variations of the empanada. Look for seafood empanadas or whole wheat empanadas in more trendy restaurants.

What is your favorite type of empanada?

Pictures by Juanjo+Willow and Francisco Javier Argel

Halloween in Chile is a great example of globalization and Chilean’s local adaptation of another country’s tradition.

While Halloween is October 31st in Chile, that day wasn’t always celebrated as such.

In fact, November 1st is All Saints Day and is a national holiday in Chile where people will visit cemetaries to honor their deceased ancestors.

In 2008, the Chilean government, recognizing that All Saints Day was a Catholic holiday, established October 31st as “Day of the Evangelical and Protestant Churches” for those of Protestant and Evangelical faiths.

Despite the days around Halloween being set apart for religious holidays, Chileans have slowly adopted the Halloween practices typical of celebrations in the United States.

Large global companies and their pervasive marketing have accelerated the imagery and traditions of a Gringo Halloween in Chile. This includes large displays and decorations at retail stores across the country.

Today many Chileans go Trick-or-Treating in their neighborhoods just like their North American counterparts.

Chileans will dress up in costumes and go door to door proclaiming dulce o truco with the hopes of getting some candy for their neighbors.

So if you are in Chile on Halloween, don’t be surprised to see little ghosts and goblins wandering the streets.

Picture by Mateo Gajardo

You’ll encounter this receipt bureaucracy as you travel around the country. Some smaller vendors will realize that you are a foreigner and won’t bother with the receipt but that is usually the exception rather than the rule.

Typical Chilean receipts are called boletas, or literally “tickets”. Many are hand written on carbon copy paper that has the store’s address and even an official looking embossed stamp on them. Boletas show you the total amount you paid for the merchandise and usually a date. There is often no itemized record of what exactly it is that you purchased.

When you go to larger stores like a supermarket, you actually have a choice of what type of receipt you want.

This can be confusing because you’ll see signs on the checkout lanes that say boleta and others that say factura.

As a tourist, you probably don’t care about factura. These are itemized receipts with a print out of everything you’ve purchased. Unless you really need this for some type of business deduction or reimbursement, you can just get a boleta.

Enjoy the extra paperwork you’ll get while in Chile. Think of the boletas as extra Chilean souvenirs. You’ll likely collect multiple versions that all have unique shapes, colors, and sizes.

Picture by Beatrice Murch

The completo literally translates to “complete” and is everything the name describes.

While there are variations of completos, the basic version consists of:

1. A large hot dog roll, about twice as thick and long as the whimpy store-bought hot dog buns I ate as a kid.

2. A typical hot dog, usually cooked in boiling water.

3. Diced tomatoes spread across the hot dog.

4. A generous helping of smashed avocado (palta).

5. Too much mayonaise to resonably fit on the roll.

Completos can also sport some sauerkraut or chucrut.

Regardless of the topping, the completo will be the messiest thing you eat all week. The toppings outweigh the hot dog by a significant margin and almost overpower the roll which holds it all together.

I purchased my first completo from a street vendor and ate it outside trying to stand such that the mayo and avocado which oozed out with every bite would drip on the street and not my clothes or shoes.

Ask the locals near where you live or are staying where to get the best completo. They may just point you to a street vendor with a small kiosk. You’ll find yourself trying to wrestle with something that seems too large and messy to reasonably eat, yet is indescribably delicious. That is the Chilean completo. Enjoy!

Picture by Carolina Hornig

Chile’s Fiestas Patrias are upon us. These are the annual celebrations of all things Chilean.

For the entire week around September 18th, Chileans across the country party and celebrate their country.

There are many traditional activities that happen during the Fiestas Patrias. Perhaps you have some favorites.

Here are my top ten favorite things to do during the Fiestas Patrias:

1. Eat an empanada. Here’s an easy cheese empanada recipe.

2. Dance la Cueca, Chile’s national dance, although I’ll admit I have to be retaught every time!

3. Go to the Chilean rodeo

4. Attend a parade.

5. Go to a fonda / ramada.

6. Eat some delicious food at a typical Chilean barbecue

7. Fly a hand-made kite.

8. Play a traditional Chilean game like Rayuela.

9. Sing Chile’s national anthem or the unofficial national anthem “Si vas para Chile”.

10. Try and count the nearly infinite number of Chilean flags I see flying every where.

What is your favorite thing to do to celebrate Chile’s Fiestas Patrias?

How to Make Your Own

Wash and soak the dried peaches (huesillos) overnight to rehydrate. Cook the rehydrated huesillos in sugar water with some cinnamon for 30 minutes. Cook the husked wheat (mote) until tender, then drain. Add the cooked mote to the sweet huesillo liquid and then put it in the refrigerator. This drink is served chilled.

If ever there was a drink that symbolized Chilean summers it would be mote con huesillo.

You’ll find Mote con huesillo for sale from various street vendors that you’ll see as you travel around. If you are staying with friends or family, ask if they have a good family recipe they can share or a favorite place to buy the drink.

Mote con huesillo is so ingrained in Chilean culture and life that you’ll find ready-made variants for sale at the supermarket:

Be sure you get spoon to “drink” your mote con huesillo or it might be a hard time getting it down. Also keep in mind that depending on who makes your drink, the dried peaches might still have the pit in them. Careful how you chew!

Picture Credits:
Mote con Huesillo in a Cup by Jamie McIntyre
Mote con Huesillo at the supermarket by Pepe

If you want to stay hydrated while visiting Chile, you’ll need to be proactive in your preparations. This entails knowing what to expect when you get there, and having a few extra pesos in your wallet.

If you are accustomed to super-sizing your drink or receiving free refills when you eat out (common in North America), you’ll be in for a surprise when you visit Chile. In restaurants, there are no such things as “free refills.” When you order a Fanta or Nectar Juice, you’ll get a single serve, glass bottle. When you finish that bottle off, you can ask for another but you’ll pay for that one, too.

If you are with a group of people, one way to get around this would be to buy a liter or two of soda or juice and share around with your group.

You may think you’ll be able to skip the hassle by ordering water to drink. However, if you ask for water at a restaurant, you’ll likely get carbonated bottled water, also charged to your bill.

If you won’t be dining out for every meal, you’ll still need to stay hydrated. The tap water in Chile is safe to drink. So don’t fret if that is your only option at a hotel or private home.

Travel with an empty water bottle that you can fill before you leave your hotel for the day. You can also stock up on bottled water at a corner store or supermarket that you can carry with you or in your car.

Chile is too beautiful a country to miss enjoying due to dehydration. Be proactive and prepared.