Every time I think I know something in Spanish, they throw me a curve ball! Like most of the rest of the world, Uruguay is not particularly “big” on salad dressing—though it does exist and is slowly catching on at about the same rate as conversions to Tree Worship.
Friday I ordered a enslada mixta, a mixed salad with greens and assorted other stuff that they throw in—I throw back out anything I can’t pronounce (plus any carrots which I can pronounce). The waiter asked me if I wanted dressing: my choices included several types of oil, a couple types of vinegar, and a half lemon thrown in for variety. I prudently chose the virgin olive oil and the balsamic vinegar—mainly because I knew what those two were.
But there are other choices as well. Our local Uruguaya-Americana food expert, Clara, has been kind enough to put together a glossary of terms to help me and other ignorant gringos like me. A quick review of the glossary shows me the following oil and vinegar choices (Southron kibitzing is in italics—don’t blame Clara):
Aceite = oil—I guess this is the “oil du jour”
Aceite de Oliva = olive oil (a wide selection of types, flavors and strengths)—if there is such a wide selection, how come I only ever hear of ‘virgin’ and ‘extra virgin’—how the heck do you get an extra virgin anyway?
Aceite de girasol = sunflower oil
Aceite de maiz= corn oil
Aceite de arroz = rice oil. Used for frying as it tolerates higher heat.
Vinagre = vinegar—I guess this is the “vinegar du jour”—I am never ashamed to use a good line twice…
Vinagre de manzana = cider vinegar—this also Works for Montezuma’s revenge!
Vinagre de vino = wine vinegar
Balsamic = balsamic vinegar—SAFE! I know this one.
There is at least one other dressing you can usually find, Salsa Golf, which is mayo and ketchup combined in a kind of Russian dressing. But, is it really Russian if there is no alcohol in it???
Clara’s complete Spanish/English Glossary of food terms is coming soon on www.UruguayDailyNews.com in the Extras section.
