Ha beste lezers. Ik heb het even opgezocht voor jullie. Het drankje waarover ik sprak draagt de naam "chicha" en is een gefermenteerd maïsdrankje. Om het fermentatieproces te versnellen werd vroeger (?) de maïs in de mond van de bereider fijn gekauwd. Een smakelijke gedachte, maar die moet je even opzij zetten. Chicha heeft een laag alcoholpercentage, maar het is nogal verraderlijk en je kan er goed zat van worden. Ik vond het een beetje smaken naar een zure versie van vodca-orange, ofwel waren het mijn ogen die helpten bij deze zintuiglijke gewaarwording, want het drankje heeft een geel kleurtje. In Peru kan je dit drankje drinken in de chicheria's. Deze zijn te vinden in de huisjes waar een rode bloem uithangt. Voor de freaks heb ik er even de encyclopedie bijgehaald. ¡Salut!
Preparation
Chicha de jora is prepared by germinating maize, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the wort, and fermenting it in large vessels, traditionally huge earthenware vats, for several days.
chicha morada; unfermented chicha made from black maize and boiled with pineapple and spices.
In some cultures, in lieu of germination of the maize for release of the starches in the maize, the maize is ground, moistened in the chicha maker's mouth and formed into small balls which are then flattened and laid out to dry. Naturally occurring diastase enzymes in the maker's saliva catalyses the breakdown of starch in the maize into maltose. (This process of chewing grains or other starches was used in the production of alcoholic beverages in pre-modern cultures around the world including for example sake in Japan.)
Chicha Morada on the other hand is not fermented. It is usually made of black maize which is boiled with pineapple, cinnamon, and clove. This gives a strong purple-colored liquid which is then mixed with sugar and lemon. This beverage is usually taken as a refreshment.
A good description of the preparation of a Bolivian way to make chicha can be found in Cutler, Hugh and Martin Cardenas, Chicha a Native South American Beer, Harvard University Botanical Museum Leaflets, V.13, N.3, December 29, 1947
Use
Chicha de jora has been prepared and consumed in communities throughout in the Andes for millennia. The Inca used chicha for ritual purposes and consumed it in vast quantities during religious festivals. Mills in which it was probably made were found at Machu Picchu. In recent years, however, the traditionally prepared chicha is becoming increasingly rare. Only in a small number of towns and villages in southern Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia (specially in the Colombian andean region -on and around Bogotá-) it is still prepared.
In Peru, mature chicha is used in cooking as a kind of cooking wine, in, for example, seco de cabrito (stewed goat).
Chicha Morada is said to reduce blood pressure. It is also under investigation that Chicha de Jora acts as an anti-inflammatory on the prostate.
10-10-2007 om 00:00
geschreven door pieter 
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