The first time I had chicha was when I was dining at a Peruvian restaurant. It was a purple drink that was sweet, and paired well with various entrees. When I dined at a Venezuelan restaurant yesterday, I was surprised to be served a drink that resembled a milkshake. So that prompted my round of research to what other versions of chicha are around.
It turns out, depending on what region/country you’re in, chicha is prepared with maize, yuca, quinoa, pineapple, rice, or potatoes.
The purple, sweet version I was accustomed to is called chicha morada – made with blue corn. In Venezuela, chicha is a rice shake made with milk, with cinnamon sprinkled on top.
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| Venezuelan-style Chicha |
Chicha is also a corn beer. Dogfish Head was featured on the Discovery Channel show: Brew Masters and they showed us how chicha is made. Check out more details on the Dogfish Head website.
For more information, see the full Chicha entry on Wikipedia.com
