• Meat & barbecue: Argentina is famous for its beef. The best meat can be found in carnicerías(butchers) or in small stores with a meat counter.

• Fruit & vegetables: The freshest and cheapest way to buy fruit is in a Verdurería (greengrocer’s store). The quality is usually better there than in the supermarket and the offer depends on the season.

• Bread & pastries: Fresh bread and sweet pastries such as medialunas can be found in panaderías (bakeries). You won’t find wholemeal bread here.

• Dairy products: Milk, yogurt and cheese are available everywhere – dulce de leche and regional cheeses are particularly popular. In Argentina, unlike Chile, cheese is more common and tastes good.

• Staple foods: Rice, pasta and canned food are best found in larger supermarkets, as they are cheaper there.

• Mate & coffee: Argentina is the land of mate tea – you can get it in any store. Coffee is often only available ground and is relatively expensive.

Saving tip: At La Anónima in particular, it’s worth applying for a customer number to take advantage of all the discounts. Here is the link for registering a customer card. However, you will need someone from Argentina to provide you with their DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad) number and an Argentinian telephone number. We helped ourselves by simply asking someone nicely for their customer number. We now always quote it when we make a purchase and receive the discounts.

What we haven’t found in Argentina so far: Coffee filters, couscous, wholemeal bread and crispbread. If you don’t want to do without these, you might want to bring a supply with you or look for alternatives. What is a little difficult to find is yogurt without sweetener or sugar.