Chicha - the beer brewed with saliva, or how the Andes chewed corn
Imagine a beer whose first step of production is not malting the grain but chewing it in the mouth and spitting it into a communal vessel. It sounds shocking, and yet that is exactly how chicha was brewed in the Andes for thousands of years, one of the oldest alcoholic beverages of the Americas. In the most traditional version people chewed boiled corn so that the enzymes contained in saliva would break down the starch into sugars capable of fermentation. Behind this seemingly disgusting custom lies brilliant, intuitively discovered chemistry. Saliva did exactly the same thing that malting the grain does today. Chicha is a fascinating example of how ancient people, without any knowledge of enzymes, could solve a key problem of brewing. Here is how this ancient beer is made, what the role of saliva is and why this tradition has survived to this day.
What chicha is
Chicha is a traditional fermented beverage of South and Central America, most often brewed from corn, though it is also made from other plants. It has a long history reaching back to pre-Columbian times and played an important role in Andean culture, including in rituals and social life. It is a beverage of low alcohol content, cloudy and refreshing, often drunk fresh. In different regions chicha takes on different forms and names, from lightly fermented versions to stronger ones. What unites them, however, is a common idea: the conversion of starch from plants into sugars and then their fermentation. What makes chicha so fascinating to a beer lover is the way the ancient Andean peoples dealt with the most difficult stage of this process, namely breaking down the starch into sugars that yeast can use.
The problem of starch and sugar
For alcohol to form, yeast needs simple sugars that it can turn into ethanol. Yet grains and corn do not contain ready sugars but starch, a complex carbohydrate that yeast cannot process directly. This is the central problem of brewing any beer. The starch must first be broken down into simple sugars, and this is done by enzymes called amylases. In classic European brewing this step is carried out by malting, that is the controlled germination of the grain, during which the plant itself produces amylases. The Andean peoples did not know European malting, but they needed to solve the same problem. And here appears a brilliant, if surprising, solution that uses something every human carries within them, namely the enzymes present in human saliva.
The brilliant role of saliva
Human saliva contains an enzyme called salivary amylase, also known as ptyalin. It is the same type of enzyme that breaks down starch into sugars. This is why, when we chew bread longer, it begins to taste sweetish, because the saliva breaks down its starch. The ancient Andean peoples used this mechanism intuitively. They chewed boiled corn, mixing it with saliva, and the enzymes began to break down the starch into sugars. The chewed lumps of corn were formed into balls and dried, and then used for further brewing. In this way saliva performed exactly the same function as malt in European beer. It is astonishing that without any knowledge of enzymes people discovered and used this reaction, guided by observation and tradition passed down from generation to generation.
What the process looks like step by step
The traditional process of brewing chicha from chewed corn has several distinct stages. First the corn was boiled or soaked to soften it. Then it was chewed and mixed with saliva, forming small lumps that the enzymes in the saliva began to break down. These lumps were dried, and then a kind of mash or porridge was prepared from them. The mash was strained, boiled and left to ferment in large clay vessels, usually for a few days. During this time wild yeasts present in the environment turned the sugars into alcohol. The result was a cloudy, lightly sparkling beverage of low strength. The whole process relied on simple tools and natural ingredients, and the key, most characteristic stage was the chewing, which began the whole chemical transformation leading to the formation of alcohol.
The taste and character of chicha
Traditionally brewed chicha is a cloudy beverage, colored from pale gold to milky, slightly sourish and refreshing. Its taste is sometimes described as slightly astringent, grainy, sometimes with a note of sourness coming from the fermentation. The alcohol content is usually low, comparable to a weak beer, which makes it an everyday drink rather than a strong spirit. Depending on the region and recipe, various ingredients were added to enrich the flavor. Chicha was drunk fresh, because it was not suited to long storage. For many communities it was a communal drink, shared during work, festivals and rituals. Its simplicity and naturalness made it an everyday element of life rather than a luxury. It is a beverage deeply rooted in culture, in which the taste is inseparably linked with the manner of production and with communal drinking.
Chewing versus malting today
It is worth noting honestly that the chewing method is the oldest and most traditional form, but not the only one. Many contemporary varieties of chicha, especially the popular chicha de jora, are today made from corn that has been malted, that is germinated, rather than chewed. Germinating corn, like malted barley, itself produces amylases that break down the starch. It is exactly the same chemical principle, only the source of the enzymes is different: not saliva but the germinating grain. This is why not every chicha is brewed with saliva today, and many people drinking it in the Andes use the malted version. The chewing tradition has survived, however, in some communities and variants of the beverage. It is a good example of how the same need, namely breaking down starch, can be met in two different but chemically identical ways.
Cultural significance
Chicha is far more than a beverage. In Andean cultures it played and still plays an important social and ritual role. It accompanied festivals, fieldwork and ceremonies, and drinking chicha together was a gesture of bonding and hospitality. The preparation of the beverage, especially in its traditional form, was an activity deeply embedded in local life and often belonged to particular people in the community. Chicha brought people together and set the rhythm of communal events. This binding function is as important as the taste or the alcohol content itself. It shows that fermented beverages around the world fulfill a similar role: they are not only a source of pleasure but also a social glue around which the life of the community, its festivals and everyday gatherings, is focused.
What chicha tells us about the history of beer
The story of chicha broadens our understanding of what beer is and how humanity discovered fermentation. It shows that, independently, in different parts of the world people solved the same problem, namely the conversion of starch into sugars, by reaching for the means available to them. In Europe it was malting, in the Andes chewing, but the goal and the chemistry were the same. It is proof of the ingenuity of ancient people, who without scientific knowledge could put enzymes to work. Chicha also reminds us that the concept of beer is far broader than the European model of malt, hops and water suggests. Around the world there existed and exist many brewing traditions, and each of them tells something about the local culture, the raw materials and the ingenuity of the people who created and cultivated it over centuries.
Key takeaways
Chicha is an ancient Andean fermented beverage, in whose oldest tradition corn was chewed so that enzymes in saliva, namely salivary amylase, would break down starch into sugars capable of fermentation. It is exactly the same chemistry that malting carries out in European beer. Although today many varieties of chicha are made from malted corn, the chewing tradition has survived and remains a fascinating testament to human ingenuity. Chicha also played an important cultural and communal role. It is proof that the history of beer is far richer than a single European model. If you enjoy discovering unusual faces of fermentation and recording your impressions, GustoNote will guide you through it.