Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I had been drinking it in preference to water, which is often bad and never safe, and one
morning when I woke up in an Indian hut I saw a group of men and women squatting in a
circle and speaking in muffled voices which made me wonder what was wrong with them.
Upon watching them I found out that this was due to the fact that they were trying to speak
with their mouths full. They were chewing corn, and when they had masticated it into a paste
theyspatitintoawoodenbowlthatwasplacedinthemiddleofthecircle.Imadeenquiriesas
to what might be the object of this strange proceeding, whereupon one of the men, who spoke
some Spanish, informed me that they were preparing the
moco
. More puzzled than before I
asked what so original a preparation might be used for, and the Indian seemed quite surprised
at my question and explained that this was the first step towards the preparation of
chicha
. At
laterperiodsIhadseveralopportunitiestoseeBolivia'snationalbeveragebeingprepared,and
this is roughly how it is done.
Corn is first of all soaked in water for a day, after which it is spread out on the ground and
covered with a damp cloth. Thus covered, the corn begins to ferment, and next day it is put
into large earthenware pots and boiled for some thirty-six hours. When it has been taken off
the fire and has cooled down, the chewed corn, or the
moco
is added to it, and this acts in a
similar manner as yeast does with flour-paste to make bread. What actually happens is that
the chewed corn becomes impregnated with saliva which contains an enzyme diastase. When
added to a mass of hot boiled corn, the diastase acts upon the starch of the corn, converting
it into malt sugar, and a sweet wort is obtained. Thanks to the climate, and with plenty of ac-
cidental infection this mash becomes infected with yeasts, or perhaps intentionally by adding
some of a previous 'brew.'
In any case, fermentation sets in and alcohol is derived from the malt sugar. Within twelve
hoursthe huge pots are fairly fizzing and humming with the fermentation and the brew begins
to froth; the miracle has been performed;
chicha
has been made! According to the age it be-
comes stronger and stronger, but usually it is consumed before it is three days old, and even
then it is already very strong and has a great deal of 'authority'. I must remark that in spite
of my acquaintance with the finer points of the art of
chicha
making, I continued to drink it.
Possibly some of my American friends will be eternally grateful to me for disclosing this re-
cipe, and it might help them to prepare an especially original and tasty kind of 'home-brew'
wherewith to entertain their thirsty friends.
Bolivian Indians cook everything in earthenware pots, and the food is served in wooden
bowls that are rarely washed, but the traveller who arrives at a hut where he is lucky enough
to find anything at all to eat does not notice such trifles.
