Hoppy Hour

Question: What is used to activate the fermentation process in “chicha,” a traditional corn-based beer made in Peru?

Answer: Saliva

Have you ever seen the size of the corn in Peru? Peruvian corn (choclo in Quechua) has kernels that are simply enormous—two or three times the size of the pale little ones we’re familiar with. Peruvian corn not only has kernels on steroids, it also comes in almost every color of the rainbow—from yellow, orange, red, white, and blue, to a purple so deep, it almost looks black. This ancient staple and mainstay of Peruvian diets is also quite versatile. Different varieties of choclo are used to produce bread, snacks, desserts—and especially an alcoholic drink called chicha.   

Great Expectorations …

The quintessential version of Peru’s most famous traditional beverage is more properly called chicha de jora—jora referring to a specific type of yellow corn. And for thousands of years chicha has been prepared by chewing the jora into masticated balls and then letting it ferment in a brew.

So why saliva? Because the starch in corn is pretty much stuck in the grain kernel, making it unavailable for fermentation to take place on its own. But chewing the corn allows the enzymes in your mouth to break down the corn’s starch into fermentable sugar. Basically, spit is necessary to kick-start the fermentation process, which takes place for a few days in large clay pots.

Still brewed in small communities throughout Peru, locals will usually infuse their chicha with things like fennel, chamomile, mint, or cinnamon, all believed to aid in the digestion process. It’s still fermented in the traditional way, however, in many of the rural chicherias—chicha bars—that dot the Sacred Valley. In the weaving village of Chinchero, there is even a huge statue of a man in traditional dress tipping back a big jug of home-brewed chicha. If you have a craving for the real thing, just look for a red flag hanging off the building—which means “chicha sold here.”

Machu Chicha and the Incas

The real heyday for chicha de jora was during the time of the Incas. Throughout the Inca Empire, the spit-brewed corn drink was considered sacred, and often reserved for the most cherished of ceremonies. The first drink was offered to Mother Earth, the Pachamama, as gratitude for the fertile land in which the corn was grown. The brewers of chicha during Incan times were women, who were often referred to as the Virgins of the Sun or the Chosen Women of the King. They were the ones who had to do all the corn chewing to make the chicha.

By the 15th century, malted corn took precedence over the chewed and salivated variety of chicha—not out of any hygiene concerns, but primarily because the malting process was faster.

Chicha’s spittin’ image—masato

Masato is another ancient, fermented beverage similar to chicha, but it’s made from yucca instead of corn. Indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest have been making masato for thousands of years—and it remains an important source of carbohydrates to supplement their diet. The filling alcoholic beverage is often safer to drink than water, which might be contaminated.

Masato requires an extra step to prepare. Because eating raw yucca is toxic, Peruvians have to boil it and peel it first. Then they can chew the yucca and spit the masticated root into jars for fermentation, let it sit for a few days to work its magic—and voila! Just like it does to the corn in masato, the enzymes in the saliva break down the starch-heavy yucca and turn it into sugar.

Since the resulting drink isn’t particularly pleasant tasting, however, Peruvians will add fruit and spices to make it more palatable (you don’t need guests to gulp down your masato, then make a face and go “yucca” this is terrible!).

Since Peruvian tribes had no written language, it’s impossible to know when masato production really began. The first written reference comes from a 17th-century Spanish historian, whose book on Latin American cuisine described masato as an alcoholic drink made when “girls chew the goo and set it aside in a glass.”  It appears that pompous food critics are nothing new …

Because the preparation of masato takes a long time, there have always been social obligations associated with the drink. Health concerns be damned, if you happen to be visiting a local tribe and are offered a drink of masato, it is not just a grave insult to refuse it, it is closer to cultural suicide.  It is said that when a 16th-century Spaniard refused a drink of masato he was offered by the Inca rulers of the day—he inadvertently set off a war between the two cultures.

So are they safe to drink?

Well, mostly. Except in rural parts of the country, malted barley has largely replaced the traditional “chewing and spitting” process for making chicha and masato. But that shouldn’t matter. Getting past the saliva concerns is really just a psychological barrier. Alcohol is going to cleanse the drinks of toxins or anything else that could harm you. But there is something else to keep in mind. Spit or no spit, chances are that home brews like chicha have been stored in less than sanitary conditions at some point.

Alcohol isn’t going to eliminate hepatitis B, which has been known to transmit from one person to another when drinking chicha or masato. But as long as your shots are in order, the risk is minimal. So while you’re chewing on that, keep in mind that Peru isn’t the only place to craft an alcoholic beverage out of human spit.  There’s plenty of archaeological evidence that saliva was used to induce fermentation in prehistoric Europe before the introduction of malting. And some traditional Japanese sakes are still made from chewed rice. It’s called kuchikamizake, which literally means “mouth-chewed sake.” So there!

But what’s a little “digestive discomfort” compared to the opportunity for authentic cultural exchange?  Raising a glass of traditional chicha or masato with some friendly locals will give you a taste of Peruvian culture and its people—literally.

Ten fascinating facts about Peruvian food and drink

• Sounds rather fishy—The ancient method for making ceviche, Peru’s national dish, was marinating fresh fish in chicha and the juice of tumbo fruit—no lemons or limes.
• What, potatoes again?—Peru grows more than 4,000 varieties of potatoes, by far the most in the world.
• This army marched on starch—Aymara and Quechua people invented a freeze-dried potato called a chuño—the spud lasts for years and fueled Inca armies.
• Super crops—Centuries before they hit Western markets, “superfoods” like quinoa, kiwicha (amaranth), and maca were domesticated in Peru.
• A raw deal—With the second-largest Japanese population in Latin America, Peruvian cuisine is strongly influenced by Nikkei dishes like tiradito—a raw fish dish served with Peruvian sauces.
• And they never heard of Campbell’s—Peru has more than 2,500 varieties of soup, the most of any country. They range from parihuela (seafood soup) to chupe de camarones (shrimp chowder) to their essential comfort food, aguadito de pollo.
• The heart of Peruvian street food—One of the most favorite street food snacks in Peru is anticuchos, which are skewered, marinated pieces of cow heart grilled over charcoal.
• Orange you jealous?—An Amazonian fruit called camu camu has up to 60 times more vitamin C than an orange.
• No drive-through, though—With its fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine, Maido in Lima is consistently ranked as one of the world’s top restaurants. It was also chosen as Latin America’s Best Restaurant in 2017, 2018, and 2019. 
• Spilling the beans— When the Spanish were in Peru, the boxes of “Lunatus” they shipped had origin labels printed on them that said “Lima.” Because of that mistake, they became known as “Lima beans.”

You’ll have the opportunity to sample chicha alongside locals during A Day in the Life of an Urubamba village when you join us for Machu Picchu & the Galápagos.