Follow petcha on Twitter
Search
Journals
Amazon Associate

If you see books or music or tools on this site that you would like to buy through Amazon, click here and thus i have seen will get a small percentage of the purchase price of the item. Thank you. 

The Elements of Typographic Style

Patagonia Synchilla Snap-T Pullover

Minding the Earth, Mending the Word: Zen and the Art of Planetary Crisis

North Face Base Camp Duffel (Medium)

 

 

 

« Petai | Main | Weaving a Trivet »
Friday
Nov142008

Masato

The potent, milky-white beverage produced by fermenting cassava (Manihot esculenta) is called masato in the Peruvian Amazon.  The brew is also known (to non-Amazonians) as "spit beer" because of the way that it is prepared.  To stimulate the fermentation process, the cooked cassava tubers are first chewed and then spat out into a large pot.  Apparently, the enzymes and bacteria in saliva give the beverage its characteristic taste.  New (young) masato tastes a bit like yogurt; older masato is really, really alcoholic and strong.  You are always offered a glass of masato the first time you visit a village. [NOTE: The image above, scanned from a print, was taken along the Rio Ucayali.  I can't remember the name of either the village or the lady. Must have been good masato].

Reader Comments

There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>