WOAH!! Did I just have my eyes opened as I walked in the Amazon jungle to a yuca field, half-way hidden beneath a canopy of tall trees. I was led in by a Huarani woman, a member of one of the tribes most recently to be touched by “civilization”. Gami harvested the huge “hands” of brown, hairy roots pulling the 20 or 30 pound root structure from the sandy soil. Near the field was a small lake of boas; otherwise we could have pulled up larger hands across the lake, but the bridge was broken Gami told me.
Yuca (also called cassava or manioc) is peeled and then boiled. Once cooked soft, women chew it, spit it out and let it ferment. With only the addition of water, it becomes a drink. When hunting no longer provides game or fish, this yuca “chicha” becomes the mainstay of the population. I must admit it is not my favorite and yet it is amazing how healthy the population looks, as they subsist mainly on this fermented drink. At least It has no sugar or salt added, and is certainly not a processed product coming from the industrialized food chain.
Posted by: michellefried in Amazonia, Ecuador, beverages, indigenous
October 30th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I went to a conference several years ago at which a woman presented ethnographic data from a comunity in peru that produces peanuts as the main industry. They brew peanut-butter chicha. At the time I thought that was absolutely bizarre, but I have warmed to the idea and wish I had had a chance to try it. She said it had a certain amount of residual peanut flavor. I did get to try raspberry chicha in Cuzco, which had a strong fruity flavor. Yucca flavor is so much subtler than either of those, I wonder how you would describe the flavor?
November 15th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Michelle –
There is little bit of a murmur going on statesides about trying to get Michael Pollan appointed Secretary of Agriculture. I think that is fairly unlikely, but it raises the question of what the role of the federal government is in encouraging consumption habits. Given the current turnover, it is an interesting time to think about such things. I came across a blog post discussing these issues: http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do?diaryId=613 which includes a list of specific suggestions for the Obama administration regarding food policy.
I wonder what Ecuador does in that respect. One of the things I was most impressed with when I moved down was the Buena Leche truck – fersh milk to the doorstep sure beats beer from Supermaxi. Is Buena Leche still active? Are there other programs/policy that are pointing things in the right direction? Or not?
January 7th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I have tasted chicha de maní. A gorgeous Quechua woman sold in on the bus, as we were twisting along the highlands of Peru. I found it amazingly light, and still with a peanut flavor. Quinua chicha is also good, frothy and fun. My favorite chicha is made from “chonchta dura”, the golden fruit of a palm tree. It is only available during certain seasons of the year and is preferred by all to taste it!
January 7th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
No more Buena Leche trucks. The global food industry now has us consuming Ultrapasteurized Milk which requires no refrigeration! What is happening is Food Sovereignty. It is a key topic within the new Ecuadorian Constitution. At this moment the Law for Food Sovereignty – to operationalize the policy — is being written up. A nation which can feed itself is not at risk in the global economy. According to the new Constitution, farmers with small and medium size plots are to be given priority, since their crops are what are eaten in the country. The newly created Ministry of Social and Economic Inclusion (old Social Welfare) has a program which promotes the consumption of “real food”. They’ve placed colorful, movable billboards on the new, no pollution buses in Quito. Fresh fruit and vegetables are being promoted in relation to their colors in markets.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I find yuca to have a very gentle almond flavor. However, in the chicha that lovely flavor gets lost, I fear.