We’d been living in Cusco for a while and I had read and heard about chicha, the fermented corn drink that is popular in southern Peru. I’d occasionally looked for it on restaurant menus but never saw it. I'd heard that the locals drank a lot of the pale, milky, straw-colored drink at important festivals and occasions, but for my first month in Peru I never saw anyone drinking it.One day as we were driving in the Sacred Valley, I noticed that each village had at least a half dozen mud homes with red plastic bags attached to bamboo poles above their doors. There were too many of them not to be some kind of local sign. I asked our driver what they were and he said “chicherias.” So that’s where they were imbibing the chicha! (The picture here is the front of a chicheria in Ollantaytambo) I later learned that chicherias can be identified in southern Peru by either a red flag, a bouquet of flowers, ribbons or plastic bags affixed to bamboo poles. Typically, a family will mix up a big batch, set up some tables in a spare room of the house and raise the bamboo pole for a little extra income. Chicha is prepared from a specific kind of yellow maize called jora and it has a slightly sour aftertaste.
We tried some that weekend, not in someone’s house but at a weaving contest that my NGO was hosting. I steeled myself as they ladled me a glass of the slightly alcoholic drink that looks a lot like, well…spit. I intentionally spilled a bit on the ground as an offering to the pacahmama and tried it. (Okay, maybe it was kind of a big offering) The aftertaste was indeed sour and I vainly struggled to identify any type of corn taste. I proudly downed my cup and brought over some to my family, who each took a sip and wanted no more.
While regular chicha de jora was not to our liking, we all enjoyed chicha morada and towards the end of our stay in Cusco, started making batches of it from boiling purple corn cobs, pineapple rinds, and spices. We did not make chicha de jora.
This post was part of the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa carnival "Toasting Around the Globe" from Orange Polka Dot.
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Very interesting the different alcoholic offerings in this region. Once in southern Chile, I was offered a drink called Pisco that was similar to a tequila but is made from grapes. As you did, I could only consume a small volume of the drink. The rest, well went to the Gods.
ReplyDeleteRyan
Hi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI love Pisco. You should try a Pisco Sour, which is not unlike a Margarita. Pisco is grape brandy and is actually from the town of Pisco in Peru. Chicha is basically home-brew but Pisco is usually bottled and sold in stores, as well as availble in nicer Peruvian restaurants.
Thanks for stopping by.
Jason
woow............................. excelent bro....
ReplyDeleteDid you try boza in Turkey? It sounds like it might be a bit similar. Although now I think of it, it's made of chick peas not corn, and of course it's not alcoholic. I don't like it very much.
ReplyDeleteSounds a lot like what I was offered by the Tarahumara Indians in Copper Canyon, Mexico, at the end of Semana Santa. Brave soul, thou art, to try it.
ReplyDeleteLucy,
ReplyDeleteNo I did not try boza. We were "travelers" in turkey and saw a lot of the country in 4 weeks but never stayed in one place longer than 4 days (except Istanbul). In Peru, we were more like expats.
Next time I'll try it, though.
Jason
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI'll bet you were offered pulque, a fermented local drink made from cactus. I tied some in a Mexico City pulqueria and let's just say it was an "acquired taste."
Jason
What an interesting story. It's the little things like this that make great traveling stories. I'm glad you could find it even if it tasted sour and looked like spit.
ReplyDeleteHi Jason.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if they use this phrase in Peru: "ni chicha ni limonada"? (it's the Spanish equivalent of "neither fish nor fowl") It's very common in Argentina, I guess because chicha is popular in the North.
Hi Ana,
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I've never heard than term, although I like it a lot. I'm sorta between intermediate and advanced levels of Spanish so it is entirely possible that I've heard it and missed it while trying to literally translate it in my head.
Thanks for commenting.
Jason
Interesting because it is well observed.
ReplyDeleteThis has got me thinking about the red flags to indicate a butcher's shop or a striped red and white pole to indicate a barber's shop. I wonder how and from where the idea of a specific sign to indicate what was inside, originated?
For S. America and Spain I wonder whether the movement was one way and which?
Chicha sounds interesting indeed. I guess you can ferment everything! I hope I have a chance someday to try it at a home displaying the red plastic bag on a stick.
ReplyDeleteHm...I'm definitely not a fan of a pisco sour. Never tried chicha but it's not sounding good! Then again, I will, pretty much, try anything once ;)
ReplyDelete