Chicha-de Maíz Recipe

Long before slow-cooking became a household phrase among the stressed out urbanites of wealthy countries like Canada and the United States, the Nicaraguans knew that a good Chicha-de Maíz drink can’t be hurried. If you want to make this recipe you need to start at least two days in advance.

Chicha-de Maíz ingredients for 50 glasses

2 lbs of corn
A lot of water for cleaning, soaking, cooking and thinning
1 cup of sugar cane juice
12 cups of sugar (or to taste)
Red vegetable-based food colouring, e.g. pitaya juice
Vanilla to taste

How to make Chicha-de Maíz

Clean the corn well.
Place the corn in water to soak over night.
Remove the water, wash the corn in fresh water, and ground the corn into a paste.
Wash the paste and remove any husk.
Place the paste in a pot and add 1 gallon of water.
Bring to a boil. Stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
When the corn is cooked, leave it to cool down a bit.
Mix the sugar cane juice with half a gallon of water and stir the liquid into the corn paste.
Leave to rest until the next day.
Mix the sweetened corn with 2 gallons of water.
Stir in sugar, food colouring and vanilla and mix well.
Chill in the fridge before serving.

Tips!
Today, Chicha-de Maíz is often flavoured using various essences, such as banana essence or raspberry essence.