Posts Tagged ‘local food’

One thing I really enjoy about living in Chile is that I eat much more seasonally and locally. In the US, sure, I understood that tomatoes tasted better, strawberries were bigger and stonefruits fell off the trees in summer. But beyond that, I couldn’t tell you when celery was in season or where my lemons came from.

In Chile, by contrast, eating out of season is harder than consuming in-season prodcuts. The bigger supermarkets do now tend to stock produce year-round, and I’ve traded the “product of Chile” stickers in December for “producto de California” stickers in July. But when I have the option of spending a bundle for a rock-hard nectarine that’s traveled thousands of miles or for the same price coming home with a bag full of oranges from a few hours away, the choice is pretty clear.

Imported products are also expensive. It’s a long, skinny country, so I suppose technically not everything I consume is local even if it is domestic. Most milk, for example, is produced between the 9th and 10th regions in the south – about 10 hours from Santiago. But that’s still more local than products whose ingredients are flown into US processing plants from around the world, and most fruits and vegetables come from farms relatively close to the city. Plus, the short distance from the coast to just about anywhere means that fresh, local sea food is always available.

Yum!

The difference in price and availability has made me much more aware of what food grows when. Not surprisingly, in-season produce is not only cheaper, it tastes better too. I’d rather really enjoy delicious, juicy peaches for only a few months each year than force down a hard, flavorless one in the middle of winter. It’s also made spring more exciting, as the open-air markets burst into color as myriad fruits come into season. I had my first strawberry the other day, and not only was it delicious but it made me excited for the advent of summer.

We usually buy our groceries at the supermarket for convenience. Nothing can compare, however, to taking a weekend trip to the Vega Central, Santiago’s main open-air market, and seeing stall after stall stacked high with fresh produce. The colors and the smells are enough to tempt me into making the trip, and the products taste better than the industrially produced stuff that hits supermarket shelves.

Clearly I'm not the only one who likes to shop at la Vega!

Chile certainly can’t compete with California in terms of the organic movement, and there isn’t much awareness of the enivronmental benefits of eating locally and seasonally. That said, the simple fact of the matter is that it happens, regardless of the reason, and I for one am appreciative that living here makes it so easy for me to make what I consider to be better food choices.

Emily Williams is a US gringa living in Santiago, Chile. She writes about expat life at AffordableCallingCards.net and on her personal blog, Don’t Call Me Gringa, and loves hearing from readers!