Tesgüino

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Tesgüino is a corn beer made by the Tarahumara Indians of Sierra Madre in Mexico.[1] The Tarahumaras regard the beer as sacred, and it forms a significant part of their society.[2] Anthropologist John Kennedy reports that "the average Tarahumaras spends at least 100 days per year directly concerned with tesgüino and much of this time under its influence or aftereffects."

Varieties[edit]

The general Tarahumara term for an alcoholic beverage is "Sugíki"; and "batári" is used when the beer is specifically made from corn or lichen flour;[3] "paciki" is used when the beer is made from fresh corn stalks.[4] While tesgüino made from corn is considered the most sacred, the Tarahumara also make beer from agave[2] and wheat,[3] as well as other alcoholic beverages made from fruits such as peaches, berries, crab apples, cactus fruits, and mesquite seeds.[5]

Production[edit]

The beer is made from corn kernels which are soaked, then ground up, boiled and left to ferment naturally with wild yeast. A local grass is used in place of hops for flavouring.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ NPR: The Sacred Corn Beer of the Tarahumara
  2. ^ a b Southwest Agave Project Archived May 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ a b TARAHUMARA (rarámuri)
  4. ^ Pennington, C. W. (1983). Tarahumara. In W. C. Sturtevant (Ed.), The handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 10. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution.
  5. ^ Tesguino

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Boza is an Eastern European beer made from wheat.
  2. ^ Pulque is a Mexican alcoholic beverage made from agave.