Georgia
SEASONINGS
Georgian food tastes sour and savory first, then nutty and herbal, with warmth. Flavors are built around contrast between richness and acidity. Sourness is very important; it is created with sour plums, pomegranate juice, grape verjuice, and small amounts of vinegar. Fruit acidity sharpens meats and walnut sauces and often replaces the role that citrus or dairy plays in other cuisines.
Walnuts are a structural element, ground into sauces satsivi and bazhe, used to thicken stews, and mixed into fillings. Walnuts add fat, bitterness, and body without cream or butter.
Fresh herbs define much of the aroma. Fresh cilantro is the most important, used both as leaves and seeds. Dill, parsley, summer savory, and especially fresh tarragon are used generously. Many dishes combine dried and fresh herbs in a single dish. Garlic is used confidently but in balance, rarely sharp.
Georgians use coriander seed, fenugreek, marigold petals, and black pepper a lot. Chili exists, but does not define the cuisine. Blue fenugreek is much more prominent than in neighboring cuisines. It belongs to the same family as fenugreek, but has a milder, sweeter flavor reminiscent of autumn leaves. Also, the marigold flower is quite distinctive, called the Imeretian Saffron. Georgians use the dried and ground petals to give an earthy flavor and bright yellow color to walnut dishes and sauces.
Many spices are dried and ground together rather than added separately; thus there are unique Georgian mixes:
KHMELI SUNELI – a distinct blend, which combines coriander, fenugreek, blue fenugreek, marigold, bay leaf, summer savory, celery seed, dried basil, dill, parsley, and mint. There is no fixed recipe for khmeli suneli, like Indian masala.
SVANETIAN SALT is a popular mix; the recipe originates in Svaneti, but nowadays it can be bought virtually everywhere and is a practical souvenir. Salt contains a mixture of sea salt, dried garlic, fenugreek, coriander, cumin, chili pepper, dill, and several other herbs.
AJIKA – a spicy and subtly flavored condiment made with hot peppers, garlic, coriander, tomato, fenugreek, marigold, and salt. It is a part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia. It comes in red and green varieties, with red being the hotter option. Red ajika exists in two variants – dry and wet. Dry is a seasoning mix used on raw meat, while the wet one has the consistency of a thicker mustard and is used to highlight the already roasted meat.
TKEMALI – Georgian sauce made of cherry and red-leaf plums. The flavor of this sauce varies, but it’s generally pungently tart. Alongside plums, garlic, cumin, coriander, dill, chili pepper, pennyrile and salt are used. Tkemali is used for fried or grilled meat, poultry and potato dishes, and has a place in Georgian cuisine similar to the one ketchup has in the United States.
BAZHE – rich and creamy sauce of ground walnuts, coriander, fenugreek, blue fenugreek, marigold petals and sometimes onions and garlic. The unique texture comes from the way the walnuts are processed and emulsified with water or other liquids. A touch of vinegar or pomegranate juice is often added to balance brightness. It can be served as a dip for vegetables or bread or poured over grilled meats or fish.
SATSIVI is a thicker, more luxurious sauce compared to bazhe. It’s made with ground walnuts, coriander, fenugreek, blue fenugreek, sometimes cinnamon or cloves. Satsivi can be served hot or cold and is a classic accompaniment to poultry dishes, especially chicken or turkey.
Argentina
Argentine food runs mild — far less chili than Peru or Bolivia, less layered with dried spice than Brazil’s Bahian cooking. The Northwest, closest to the Andes, uses cumin and ground ají (capsicum pepper) more. Everywhere else — the Pampas, the coast, Patagonia — runs on salt, garlic, and parsley. Seasoning is restrained during cooking, sharper on the finished dish. A steak may reach the grill with little more than salt, then meet chimichurri or salsa criolla at the table.
Fresh aromatics dominate: onion and bell pepper cook into empanada fillings, stews, and tomato sauces. Garlic and parsley often work to flavor meat, potatoes, and sauces. Oregano goes into pizza, tomato sauce, and chimichurri. Black pepper is used everywhere. Bay leaf goes into anything cooked a long time. In the northwest, dried cumin, pimentón (dry paprika) and ají molido are more widespread. Ají molido — the most characteristically Argentine dry chile seasoning. Usually mild to moderately hot, with more warmth and pepper flavor than aggressive heat.
The Argentine flavors run around vinegar, salt and oregano, basil, bay and ají; household versions commonly add garlic, parsley and oil.
PROVENZAL — hopped garlic and parsley with no oil or vinegar, dusted onto milanesa, papas fritas, or sautéed mushrooms after cooking. Functions as a finishing seasoning.
CHIMICHURRI – a loose herb-and-vinegar sauce, usually made with parsley, garlic, oregano, vinegar, oil, salt and ají molido. It is served with grilled beef, sausages and offal, or used as a marinade. Sharp, herbal and only mildly hot in most Argentine versions.
SALSA CRIOLLA is closer to a finely chopped relish: usually tomato, onion and bell pepper dressed with vinegar, oil and salt. It is served cold with asado, achuras and especially choripán. Unlike chimichurri, its main job is freshness and crunch.
MAYONESA CASERA — homemade mayonnaise, looser and more acidic than the commercial jarred kind, standard on sandwiches de miga and alongside milanesa.
SALSA GOLF — mayonnaise beaten with ketchup. Cold, used for shrimp cocktail, fries, sometimes milanesa.
