Corn, cassava, agave and fruit ferments from Mexico to the Andes and the Amazon, and Caribbean drinks.
Chicha de quinoa is an Andean chicha brewed from quinoa instead of maize. Like other chichas, its starch is turned into sugar by malting (or, traditionally, chewing) and…
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Guarapo is freshly pressed sugarcane juice from Latin America and the Caribbean, called caldo de cana or garapa in Brazil. It's usually drunk fresh over ice with lime;…
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Caribbean ginger beer is fresh ginger, sugar, lime and spices fermented with a ginger bug – a starter of grated ginger, sugar and water fed daily until it…
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Cauim is a thick, sour fermented drink made by Indigenous peoples of Brazil from cooked cassava (and sometimes rice, maize or peanuts); traditionally some of the cassava was…
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Balché is a Maya ceremonial drink of honey and water fermented with bark of the balché tree (Lonchocarpus), drunk in group ceremonies in Yucatán and among the Lacandon…
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Tesgüino is a thick, mildly alcoholic sprouted-maize beer of northern Mexico, made by the Rarámuri (Tarahumara) and by Yaqui, Pima, Guarijío and Tepehuán communities. Maize is germinated in…
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Tejate is a cold, foamy maize and cacao drink from the Zapotec Central Valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico. Nixtamalized maize is ground with toasted cacao beans, mamey sapote seed…
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Tejuino is a cold fermented maize drink from western Mexico (Jalisco, Nayarit and neighboring states). Street tejuino is nixtamalized maize dough cooked with piloncillo and water, fermented for…
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Curtido is El Salvador's tangy cabbage slaw, served with pupusas: shredded cabbage with carrot, onion, oregano and chili. It's made two ways – as a quick vinegar pickle…
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Tepache is a Mexican drink made by fermenting pineapple peel and core with piloncillo, cinnamon and cloves in water for 2–3 days at room temperature. Wild yeasts and…
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Masato is a thick, sour, lightly alcoholic Amazonian drink made by fermenting cooked cassava (yuca). Traditionally some of the cassava is chewed so saliva's amylase turns starch into…
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Pozol is a non-alcoholic drink from Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico: nixtamalized corn dough, often mixed with ground cacao, is shaped into balls and fermented for half a day…
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Pulque is a traditional Mexican alcoholic drink (4–7% alcohol) made by fermenting aguamiel, the fresh sap of maguey agaves, seeded with actively fermenting pulque. Leuconostoc and other lactic…
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Mauby (mabí) is a bittersweet Caribbean drink made by simmering mauby bark with cinnamon, clove and star anise, sweetening it and serving it cold. In Trinidad and Barbados…
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Chicha de jora is an Andean corn beer made from jora – sprouted, dried and ground maize. The jora is mashed in hot water (about 65–70°C) so its…
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