Many other drinks across Latin America are very similar to chicheme; among them are Peruvian api, Bolivia and Argentina, Bolivian Somó, Venezuelan chicha, Peruvian purple chicha, among others, as they are all mainly made from corn (whether purple maize, frangollo, malted or pilado).
A Delicious Cream
Chicheme is essentially a cream that undergoes a fermentation process made with pilado corn, milk (evaporated or coconut milk), sugar, and water to which various spices and aromatic ingredients are added such as ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, chocolate, vanilla, and panela.
When preparing it, there is no exact recipe or set steps to follow, as it depends on the consumer and the location where it is prepared. Usually, all ingredients are mixed, cooked in a pot, then the corn is soaked to ferment and later blended.
Once the type of corn masa is ready, it should be cooked and cooled with water before finally straining it.
A Bit of History
As for the origin of chicheme, it is known to be an ancestral pre-Hispanic drink from Mesoamerica. Its name may come from Nahuatl (a major Yuto-Nahua language of Mexico) as a word derived from chicha, which means "fermented maize wine".
It is also thought that its name might be from the Guna or Kuna language (an autogloton from the Panama isthmus), and could be a derivative of the word chichab, which means "corn".
We hope you have learned a little more about chicheme and encourage you to try it!
