Customer Reviews

Tasting Chile: A Celebration of Authentic Chilean Foods and Wines (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book has been a great resource as a gringo living in Chile. My girlfriend and I have made several of the recipies, particularly from the seafood section, a particularly useful resource. Our meals have been delicious. We are making food that at Chilean restaurants costs 4 or 5 times more than it costs us to make. And our food is usually better! The pisco recipies in the back are really useful, too. If not living in Chile, Joelson also provides useful potential substitutes.

The book is well researched, and you can learn a lot about the history and development of Chilean cuisine. Having the Chilean words for the ingredients has been invaluable here, too.

This book has really helped my girlfriend and I embrace Chilean cuisine, as we stand around the oven baking reyeneta or stirring up pisco sours. Instead of living in Chile and making familiar dishes with Chilean food, we are making Chilean dishes with Chilean food. It is really great.

After years of lunching at a Chilean restaurant, I finally decided to research why I was always yearning for this cuisine. 'Tasting Chile' greatly pleased my most refined palate and I've begun trying my hand at cooking Chilean cuisine at home.

Another of the outstanding regional and ethnic cookbooks from Hippocrene Books, Tasting Chile has as its focus the culinary traditions and dishes found in the South American nation of Chile where 2,500 miles of coastline offers and deep fertile valleys offer up a wealth of fish, fruit, vegetables, and more. Of special interest is the chapter dedicated to Chilean wines, and a Spanish-English dictionary of Chilean fish and shellfish. From Milcao Relleno con Chicharrones (Potato Pancakes Stuffed with Pork); to Porotos con Riendas (Cannellini Beans and Pasta); to Filete Serenense (Beef Sauteed in Papaya Sauce); to Leche Asada (Caramel Pudding), Tasting Chile is a welcome and recommended addition to personal and family cookbook collections for those who enjoy exploring the tastes and cuisines of other lands and other cultures.

The hardest thing about cooking Chilean cuisine in the States is that many of the ingredients used in Chile don't exist here. This book gives excellent substitutes that are commonly found here. Pretty much any Chilean dish can be found in this book. Great buy.

I bought this book after a trip to Chile, and wanted to use it to recreate some of the food we tasted there. I enjoyed reading the author's descriptions of Chilean food, especially the cultural references to Chile. I've been quite happy with most of the recipes I've tried, especially the Pastel de Choclo. However, both the recipe for Manjar, and the recipe for Brazo de Reina have problems, and I would recommend against trying them. I've written to Hippocrene Books, asking them to contact Mr. Joelson for corrections, but so far I've not heard from them (which I consider a BIG negative for a cookbook author). If/when I do hear from them, I'll update this review. Chris Braunlich

As the son of Chilean parents, I now find myself away from my family as adult and longing for those Chilean foods that makes me feel like home. The recipes work well and I was even able to prepare them which is a miracle because I can't cook at all.

I was fascinated with this book the moment I picked it up. I loved the way the author brought the recipes to life by sharing his experiences in Chile or telling a bit of history about them. I was pleasantly surprised to find true traditional recipes of which I enjoyed with families and friends while living in Chile. I have not had the opportunity to return to Chile for quite some years but this book help me remember the wonderful food, people and country that Chile is.

A well put-together colection of traditional Chilean recipes, along with a healthy smattering of Chilean atmosphere in the form of sayings and literature.

This book really covers what you need to know about Chilean cuisine. I recommend this book on my website. www.chilean-wine.com

You will enjoy it.

The other reviews for this cook book were very good, but I was a little disappointed there were no pictures of the dishes in the cook book. Knowing that, I may have not purchased it.