It is Easter, and all I want is a peanut butter-filled chocolate egg.
Peanut butter is hard to find in Latin America. They just don’t have a taste for it I guess. And when you do find it in a store, it is ridiculously expensive because it is an imported brand from the US. The one and only time I ate peanut butter since I’ve been traveling was in Panama City. The country has so much US influence and so many US expat residents that you can even find multiple brands of peanut butter at a reasonable price. Now that I am in Argentina, I have discovered that peanut butter is even harder to find.
That damned dulce de leche has taken over as the preferred spread/ dessert-flavoring of choice. I went to the appropriately named Jumbo, which is like the Super Wal-Mart of Argentina expecting to at least find an overpriced jar of imported peanut butter. Nada. Only this sad imitation crema de maní (peanut cream) that tastes like the main ingredient is sugar.
A part of me wonders if I can bring the wonders of peanut butter to the Argentinian people.
Surely if they just tasted real peanut butter from the US, they would be just as crazy about it as they are about dulce de leche, right? Maybe importing peanut butter can be my new business. Email me if you are interested in investing.
I once met an Australian traveler in Europe who was carrying with him a giant container of Vegemite, a brown paste-like substance made from yeast extract. Aussies are crazy about Vegemite; they usually spread it on toast for breakfast or on sandwiches. This traveler could not go without his Vegemite for the four weeks he was traveling around Europe. And he was not ashamed. He was prepared.
I am no longer ashamed to ask the next person that flies over for a visit to bring a jar (or two or three) of natural, creamy peanut butter. Unfortunately, I will probably consume it all in one sitting.
Found your blog through Ayngelina’s Bacon is Magic and loved it!
As a Brazilian I mut say that the thing I miss the most when I’m outside Brazil is pão de queijo, a kind of bread with cheese in the dough. it’s really super delicious!
If your plans involve coming up to Brazil, I can assure you you’ll find at least two different brands of peanut butter in São Paulo. =)
Glad you found me! Cheese-filled bread sounds delicious. I might have to add Brazil to the itinerary. Thanks for sharing.
Should we bring you a jar in a few weeks?
give me your address, and i’ll gladly mail you your preferred kind : ) give me your address anyway
I appreciate the thought, but I’ve been warned that the Argentina postal system is not so reliable. You’ll just have to bring it to me in person 😉
I would like the Cadbury easter eggs but alas no Cadbury here. Colombia seems to make PB and imports it all around South America, a bit cheaper than the American PB but still $6 a jar. I’ve bought it a few times to supplement the meager hostel breakfasts of jam and toast.
You just reminded me. Easter Peeps!
Wish we hadn’t got cut off yesterday (Easter). Would have told you that Chaunte said Happy Easter” I love Peanut Butter that I get at Meijer. It is just Peanut Butter, no salt , all natural. I do not like all the sugar and the salt that they add to Peanut Butter But that is why we have different tastes. Boring world if we were all alike.love ya.
I miss having lots of salad ingredients. The fruit is phenominal but when you are lucky, you might find a bit of iceberg lettuce in the market and maybe a tasteless tomato. This is not the makings of a salad.
Definitely agree. Now that I’m in BA, I have access to all the packaged veggies, and I am not ashamed to admit I buy “ready-to-eat” spinach in bags from the giant chain supermarket.
When I was in Paris-I rarely found milk in restaurants. It drove me crazy. No oatmeal either. They have cheese out the ying-yang though!
Isn’t it amazing how some cultures can survive on nothing but bad carbs for breakfast!
Stephanie, i’m surprised your not planning to visit Brasil! It was one of the most interesting places Ive been. Brazillian grill is one of my favorites and one of my fondest memories. I really enjoyed Rio De Janairo.
Three reasons:
1. Expensive – $200 visa for US citizens plus the most expensive country in south america
2. Really freaking big – If I’m going to do Brazil, I need 2 months minimum.
3. Portuguese – This is a terrible reason. I do not think people should use language barriers as an excuse for not traveling. But in my case, I’m surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries, so they get first priority.
Ohh, I forgot about the Visa Issue! That makes sense, yes the language barrier was a bummer I do admit!
When my American wife moved to India, this was my first task. hunting stores for peanut butter. Now we know whre to find them in our city.
I have peanut butter mailed to me. In my 10 months here I have received 2 bulk sized jars and I think 3 or 4 regular sized jars. I have also been sent Reese’s many times. Thankfully my mama and friends are very generous.
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You can find peanut butter in the Barrio Chino in Belgrano. And also at Disco, Jumbo and some Cotos, but the natural version, not the creamy kind usually. I have even found a national brand at an Armenian bakery in Scalabrini Ortiz. Expect to pay around 20-25 pesos for it though. Hope that helped!
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Marci knows most of what she’s saying. What you want to look for is an Argentine brand called “Dame Maní”. It’s domestically produced to imitate American peanut butter. And it’s like it used to be made in the States back in the ’70s & ’80s. Not quite as smooth & processed as the stuff today. (There’s also “natural” stuff, but that’s runny.) Mainly in Chinatown, but occasionally found in Carrefour’s around town.
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To Marce and Chance and the many others who answered my cry for help:
You are the best! I just bought Dame Mani in Barrio Chino. I opened the jar as soon as I left the store and did not care at all that I was the freak walking down the street licking peanut butter off her finger. That is some good stuff!
Hey, I found your blog by clicking on a link from Angylina.
I’m also living in Argentina, but in the north, almost six years now (but I’ll be moving soon to Europe)
I don’t think argentineans would like peanut butter very much… The ones who tried it didn’t like it very much
By the way, there are walmart supermarkts in Argentina, perhaps you can find peanut butter there
The funniest thing of all is that Argentina is the biggest producer of peanut butter in Latin America, all their production go for export to the US and Canada since Argentines don’t eat that food. They ship in big containers and in those countries they put the peanut butter in a jar and label it as an American or Canadian product. Something similar happens with Estonian and Polish fresh produce (especially top quality organic berries and mushrooms); they sell in big containers to Finland or Sweden very cheap and once in those countries importers put those things in little plastic trays and label them as Finnish or Swedish products selling later to the rest of the EU countries in a rip off prices.
I learn so much from people’s comments! But I have to say I have never tasted Argentine peanut butter that even comes close to the stuff I eat in the US. They must make different types for the export and keep the really crappy stuff in the country since most Argentines don’t eat it.
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I just want to say.. I feel you completely. But, I found peanut butter in a Disco on Salguero y Cabello. And then I found some natural PB in a natural food shop in Palermo Soho. But that was it, in the whole of the country! You can find it a bit easier in Chile.
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Dame mani is the decent brand I have been able to find in larger supermarkets and in a few chinos. It’s expensive though, and sometimes it tastes burnt (sounds weird, I know). I’ll keep an eye out for a natural food shop in Palermo Soho.
good to know about Chile
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I don’t care for peanut butter w/out chocolate but when I couldn’t get it at is when I wanted it most. It does seem to be expat driven. You can now find it with relative ease in Prague as well.
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Peanut butter and chocolate is the perfect combination. Hooray for the expats driving the increased supply
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I am developing a export company focused on the nut butter industry.
I have over 12 years experience in the export business to South America. Email me, maybe we can collaborate in some way.
Dan
Perdón, no se escribir ingles…. El pote de la foto no es para usar como la matequilla de Maní, sino para rellenos de postres. Es el mismo relleno de un Bombón popular que se vende aquí. De echo el consumo de la crema de Bon o Bon no es popular en Argentina ni para los rellenos, si el Dulce de Leche que no los comemos a cucharadas!!!