[Sca-cooks] politely deflecting food you don't want

[JIMCHEVAL at aol.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicha   

"In  some cultures, instead of germinating the maize to release the 
starches therein,  the maize is ground, moistened in the chicha maker's mouth, and 
formed into  small balls, which are then flattened and laid out to dry._[6]_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicha#cite_note-6)  Naturally occurring 
_ptyalin_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptyalin)  _enzymes_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzymes)  in the maker's saliva _catalyses_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalysis)  the breakdown of _starch_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch)  in the maize into _maltose_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltose) 
.  (This process of chewing grains or other starches was used in the 
production of  alcoholic beverages in pre-modern cultures around the world, 
including, for  example, _sake_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake)  in Japan.)"


By  the way, when I was reading up on an ancestor who fought beside 
Bolivar, I saw a  reference in a French memoir to Ecuadorian bread being finer and 
lighter than  French bread. This implied some form of yeast to me and I idly 
wondered if  chicha wasn't somehow used in the absence of European brewers. 
And in fact, as  it turned out, that was exactly the case - bread for a 
while was leavened with  the dregs of chicha. But then the country became 
somewhat more Europeanized and  the bread, basically, went downhill.
 
Otherwise, while it's nice to know other cultures did this as  well, not in 
any hurry to try the home-brewed stuff myself.
 
Jim  Chevallier
www.chezjim.com

The doctor's blancmange: Medieval recipes  from medical texts
_http://leslefts.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-doctors-blancmange-medieval-recipe
s.html   

 
In a message dated 3/7/2014 8:01:00 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com writes:

<<< I'm  still wondering what I'll do if I go to  Ecuador and someone 
offers me 
homemade  chicha.

Jim   Chevallier  >>>

Thanks for the link to the article.  However, I didn't see Ecuadorian 
chicha mentioned there. What is  it?

_ 
(http://leslefts.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-doctors-blancmange-medieval-recipes.htmlIn a message dated 3/7/2014 8:01:00 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, 
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com writes:<<< I'm  still wondering what I'll do if I go 
to Ecuador and someone offers me homemade  chicha.Jim  Chevallier  
>>>Thanks for the link to the article. However, I didn't see Ecuadorian chicha 
mentioned there. What is it?)