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While chicha is most commonly associated with maize, the word is used in the Andes for almost any homemade fermented drink, and many unfermented drinks. Many different maize landraces, grains or fruits have been and can be used to make chicha in different regions. The way in which chicha is made and defined is likely to change depending on the region.

Etymology and Related Phrases

The exact origin of the word chicha is debated. One belief is that the word chicha is of Taino origin and became a generic term used by the Spanish to define any and all fermented beverages brewed by indigenous peoples in the Americas. It is possible that one of the first uses of the term chicha was from a group of people who lived in Colombia and Panama, the [[Kuna people|Kuna.. However, according to the Real Academia Española and other authors, the word chicha comes from the Kuna word chichab, or "chiab" which means maize. Furthermore, according to Don Luis G. Iza it comes from the Nahuatl word chichiatl, which means "fermented water"; the verb chicha meaning "to sour a drink" and the postfix -atl meaning water. (Note that these etymologies are not mutually exclusive.)

The common Spanish expression Ni chicha ni limonada (neither chicha nor lemonade) is roughly equivalent to the English "neither fish nor fowl". (Thus, it is used when something is not easily placed into a category.

(Jessica Jack)

Maize chicha[edit | edit source] (Alex Neild)

Preparation

Chicha de jora is a corn beer prepared by germinating maize, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the wort, and fermenting it in large vessels, traditionally huge earthenware vats, for several days.

Usually, the brewer makes chicha in large amounts and uses many of these clay vats to do so. These vats break down easily and can only be used a few times. The brewers can arrange their vessels in rows, with fires in the middle—to reduce heat loss. ^[21]

The process for making chicha is essentially the same as the process for the production of malted barley beer. It is traditionally made with Jora corn, a type of malted corn from the Andes. The specific type or combination of corn used in the making of chicha de jora^[8] shows where it was made. ^[21] Some add quinoa or other adjuncts to give it consistency; then it is boiled. During the boiling process, the chicha is stirred and aerated so as to prevent overboiling. ^[21]   Chancaca, a hard form of sugar (like sugar cane), helps with the fermentation process. Other ways of making chicha include having people chew the corn then spit it into water and letting the mixture ferment for a few weeks.^[8]

After the milling of the corn and the brewing of the chicha, the drink is the sieved. Traditionally, it is sieved through a large cloth. This is to separate the corn from the desired chicha. ^[21]

In some cultures, instead of germinating the maize to release the starches therein, 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.^[9] Naturally occurring ptyalin 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 prepared in this manner is known as Chicha de Muko.^[23]

Chicha morada is a non-fermented chicha usually made from ears of purple maize (maíz morado), which are boiled with pineapple rind, cinnamon, and cloves. This gives a strong, purple-colored liquid, which is then mixed with sugar and lemon. This beverage is usually taken as a refreshment, but in recent years many health benefits of purple corn have been found.^[10] Chicha morada is Common in Bolivian and Peruvian cultures and is generally drunk as an accompaniment to food.

Regional variations (Kendall Ryan)

There are a number of regional varieties of chicha, which can be roughly divided into lowland (Amazonia) and highland varieties.

Amazonia

Throughout the Amazon Basin (including the interiors of Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil), chicha is usually made from cassava. Traditionally, the women chew the washed and peeled cassava and spit the juice into a bowl. Cassava root is very starchy, so the saliva's enzymes rapidly convert the starch into simple sugar. This sugar is then further transformed into alcohol by wild yeast or bacteria. After the juice has fermented in the bowl for few hours, it will become mildly sweet and sour chicha and will be similar in appearance to defatted milk. In Peruvian Amazonia, the drink is called masato.

It is traditional for families to offer chicha to arriving guests. Children are offered new chicha that has not been fermented, whereas adults are offered fermented chicha. The most highly fermented chicha has a significant alcohol content and is reserved for men.

Bolivia

In Bolivia, chicha is most often made from maize. This is especially true in the highlands, but amaranth chicha is also traditional and popular. Chicha made from sweet manioc, plantain, or banana is also common in the lowlands. Bolivian chicha often has alcohol. A good description of the preparation of a Bolivian way to make chicha can be found in Cutler, Hugh and Martin Cardenas' article, "Chicha a Native South American Beer." When chicha is made at home for a social gathering, everyone consumes it by drinking out of a gourd that has been hollowed out. However, it is more common to attend a chicha event than to host one. Aside from the social use, chicha is sometimes offered as a bribe for labor, food sharing, or in forming political alliances.

Chile

Apple chicha from Punucapa, Southern Chile.

In Chile there are two main types of chicha: apple chicha produced in southern Chile and grape chicha produced in central Chile. Both are alcoholic beverages with no distillation, only fermentation. Chicha is mostly consumed in the countryside and during festivities, such as Fiestas Patrias on September 18. Chicha in Chile has an artisan quality created and maintained by people called chicheros. These chicheros are dedicated to producing the drink with care, and they also strive to keep big factories from holding a monopoly on chicha.

Colombia

In Colombia's capital Bogotá, the chicha recipe is plain: cooked maize with sugar and fermented for six to eight days. The cooked corn must be liquefied until the desired thickness. Sugar is added to taste and is fermented for seven to eight days depending on the degree of liquor you want. Regional chicha ingredients include maize, yuca, quinoa, pineapple, rice, and potatoes. Some recipes include cannabis, coca leaf, or other traditional entheogens, such as chichaja.

During celebrations, people drink refreshing and nutritious preparations of chicha. It has always been a ceremonial drink and the process of making Chicha has not changed much. It still involves grinding the maize into a sticky cake with one's teeth and soon begins to ferment with spit.

In Columbia, preparation of creative chicha recipes is considered an art. A person who makes good chicha is respected, but it is usually served only to family and friends. It is typically served privately because of cases of prohibition, difficulty in storing and transporting it, and prejudice against indigenous traditions. While primarily consumed in rural areas, some bars and restaurants in Bogotá and other Andean cities serve chicha. Chicha is home-brewed in some countercultural circles.

Ecuador

In Ecuador, chicha is prepared according to zone: lowland or highland. Highland chicha is likely to contain maize or quinoa. Chicha can be purchased from chicheros, various towns across the country, or in restaurants with type and availability varying seasonally. Otavalo, Ecuador hosts a major chicha beer festival in early September, called Yamor (which was the local, Quechua word for chicha). It began in the 1970s when the locals decided to revive an ancient tradition of marking the maize harvest before the September equinox. The festival includes bands, parades, fireworks, and chicha sampling.

European bread was once made in Ecuador using concho, the dregs of chicha. By some accounts, this produced a bread superior of that later made with other methods (and better milling): "In olden times when the sediment of chicha called concho was used as a ferment, we had good bread; and now with better mills good quality bread has disappeared entirely."

El Salvador

In El Salvador, chicha usually refers to an alcoholic drink made with maize, panela and pineapple. It is consumed as a drink and also used as an ingredient in many traditional dishes, such as Gallo en Chicha (a local version of Coq au vin). A non-alcoholic version usually named fresco de chicha (chicha soft drink) is made with the same ingredients, but without allowing it to ferment.

Honduras

In Honduras, there is a strong tradition of chicha consumption, especially when made from pineapple. This fermented drink is a strong tradition that denotes the consistent respect of indigenous traditions. Chicha is mostly prepared for "Las Ferias" (days of worship) or "Semana Santa" (Easter). Chicha is dispensed among family members and is rarely purchased because it is considered to be a noble drink prepared by family members. Chicha is not sold in Honduran markets or stores since it is considered to be a "family dish".

In Honduras, the Pech people practiced a ritual called Kesh where a shaman talked to the spiritual world. A Kesh could be held for multiple reasons, but a few include helping appease the angry spirits or assisting a deceased member of the community on his or her journey after death. During this ritual, they drank Chicha made of yucca, minia, and yucca tamales. The ritual is no longer practiced, but the drink is still reserved for special occasions with family only.

Nicaragua

In Managua and Granada, "chicha de maiz" is a typical, unfermented drink that is served cold. It is often flavored with banana or vanilla flavors, and its saleswomen can be heard calling "¡Chicha, cafe y jugo frio!" in the squares.

Nicaraguan chicha is made by soaking the corn in water over night. On the following day, it is ground and placed back in water. Then red food coloring is added, and the whole mixture is cooked. Once cooled, sugar and more water are added. On the following day, one adds more water, sugar and flavoring. Although fermented chicha is available, the unfermented variety is the most common.

Panama

In Panama, chicha can simply mean "fruit drink". Unfermented chicha often is called batido, which is another name for any drink containing a fruit puree. Among the Kuna or Gundetule of the San Blas chain of islands, chicha fuerte refers to the fermented maize and grandmother Saliva mixture. Chicha is enjoyed on special days or holidays. While chicha fuerte most traditionally refers to chicha made of germinated corn (germination helps to convert starch to sugar), any number of fruits can be fermented into unique, homemade versions of the beverage. In rural areas, chicha fuerte is the refreshment of choice during and after community work parties (juntas), as well as during community dances (tamboritos).

Peru

In Lima and other large costal cities, chicha morado is prepared from purple corn (main morado). It is usually sweet and unfermented, and is consumed cold like a soft drink. It can be industrially prepared and sold in bottles, cans, and even in sachets as an artificially flavored powder drink.

• In and around Cuzco, strawberries are added to chicha in season to make frutillada. Chicherias in the Cuzco area can be identified by (depending on the town) a flag, a bouquet of flowers, colored plastic bags, or ribbons tied to a bamboo pole sticking out of the door.
• In Puno, chicha can be found made from quinoa. It is very pale in color, almost white.
• In Ayacucho, chicha de siete semillas is a thick, rich tasting chicha made from maize, wheat, barley, and chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
• In the town of Huanta, chicha de molle is prepared from the small, reddish seeds of the molle tree. It is very rare and perhaps the most delicately flavored chicha. The hangover from chicha de molle is legendary throughout the Andes highlands.

Mature chicha (hora chicha) is used in cooking as a kind of cooking wine in, for example, seco de cabrito (stewed goat) and adobo.

The word "chicha" also means an informal, popular, cheap, and transient arrangement; thus creating the "Cultura Chicha" (Chicha Culture). This is a mix of concepts made by the immigration for people outside of Lima to Lima. For example, "Diario Chicha" (Chicha Newspaper) refers to Peruvian yellow press and Musica Chicha (Chicha Music) refers to Peruvian Cumbia.

Remains of a 1,000 year-old chicha production facility have been discovered upon a mountaintop in Peru.

Corn was considered a sacred crop in Peru, but Chicha, in particular, was considered of high status. Chicha was consumed in great quantities during and after the work of harvesting, making for a festive mood of singing, dancing, and joking. Chicha was offered to gods and ancestors and was considered to be so special that the Peruvians would rub their human sacrifices in the dregs of chicha before offering them to the gods. Special sacred places were also sprinkled with maize flour and chicha.

Venezuela

In Venezuela, Chicha or chicha de arroz is made of boiled rice, milk, and sugar. It is generally white and has the consistency of eggnog. It is usually served as a sweet, refreshing beverage with ground cinnamon or condensed milk toppings. Unlike in other Latin American countries, this chicha de arroz contains no alcohol since it is not fermented. Sometimes it is made with pasta or semolina instead of rice and is commonly called chicha de pasta.

In most large cities, chicha is sold by street vendors, who are commonly referred to as chicheros. These vendors usually use a flour-like mix that they add water to, and generally serve them with chopped ice and a straw. They can also add cinnamon, chocolate chips, or sugar condensed milk on top. However, it can also be found in stores just like milks and juices. The Venezuelan Andean regions (such as Mérida) prepare an alternate version with added fermented pineapple, which gives it a stronger liquor taste. This variety is commonly referred to as Chicha Andina and is a typical beverage at Christmas time.