Over here, at the Peruvian Andes where agriculture is one of the main economic activities and main source of food, it is crucial to have a good conservation of the produce as it must last for the whole year. Therefore, it is important to use some traditional techniques such as sun-drying to keep it in good condition, benefiting from the weather around this area.
In Perú we can find many varieties and each of them is used for different preparations, for example: "mote" (boiled corn), "cancha" (toasted corn), "lawa" (Quechua word for cream soup made from corn flour) and one of the most important and our favorite: chicha de jora (fermented drink).
For brewing chicha, first we will need that the corn grain releases all the nutrients it has inside, that it why we will malt this corn by germinating the grains and then sun-drying them, as in ancient times.
Nowadays, we know that "malting" is an industrial process held at big malthouses where the procedure is similar than the ancient one: steeping, germinating and drying but in a bigger scale and with specialized equipments for every part of the process in which they will be able to control the temperature, moisture and ventilation to assure an optimum and standard product.
Our town, Mollepata (Cusco) is located in the Andes at 2,900 meters above sea level; the average temperature during the day is between 20 and 24º Celsius. During rain season (from November to March) days may be too cloudy and the rain is constant, so it too difficult or impossible to sun-dry grains. However the best time for doing it is during the dry season (from April to August), when there is almost no rain and sunlight is constant.
In Cusco, the kind of corn that has been germinated and sun-dried (malted) is called "jora" in Spanish or "Wiñapu" in Quechua. This "wiñapu" is the main ingredient for a delicious chicha and here below we share how we do it:
First, to make chicha, we generally use a medium-sized variety of grain, like the ones we know as "Chaminko" or "Amarillo". The smallest varieties are used to make "cancha" (toasted corn) and the biggest ones to make "mote" (boiled corn).
To start, we will wash the grains many times to remove any impurity.
Then, we will steep the grains from 24 to 48 hours, changing the water every 12 hours. We want that the grain absorbs a large amount of water and as it has a hard coat, we would recommend to steep it for the whole 2 days.
After this period, we will separate the grains from the water to start the germination process. For this, we will need a spacious surface to spread the grains. We use a wooden frame with a nylon mesh where we can spray water continuously and keep it ventilated from below. And we will definitely need sunlight.
This germination process can take 7 days approximately. It mainly depends on the ambient conditions and the type of grain. During this week, we will spray water over the grains every 4 hours and keep removing them each time so that all the grains are moistened evenly. We will repeat this process every single day. A range of temperature for a good germination is between 15 and 35 º Celsius.
During the first 2 or 3 days of this routine, you will notice the growth of the first part of the root (radicle) and during the next 4 days you will see the sprout. After this week of germination, the sprout may be of ¾ or same size of the grain, this is when we want to stop the process and start the drying.
It is possible that the sprouts are of different sizes, this may be due to the different conditions of temperature and moisture that every single grain was exposed to. That is why it is so important to stir the grains constantly, every 2 hours if possible, to get a more homogeneous result.
Finally, for a correct sun-drying we need a very warm temperature and constant ventilation. This process will take up to 7 days, you may use the same wooden frame with the nylon mesh (which will allow a better ventilation) or you can spread it on the floor, under the sun, in an open space, again remembering to stir it constantly, every 4 hour if possible, so that all the grains are drying evenly.
And we are all done! After 2 days of steeping, 7 days of germination and 7 days of drying, we finally have malted corn ready to brew a delicious chicha!
This is an artisanal way to malt corn using traditional techniques. In spite of it, we truly believe that it is possible to obtain a semi-standard result. We have learned that when you are really careful with every part of every process, you will be able to get malted corn of the quality that you wanted. The best quality malted corn for the best chicha!
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Would you like to know what we brew with this malted corn in Cusco? Feel free to visit our section: "Victoria Chicha Brewery" and learn from all of our products!
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