Tesgüino Preparation

If hard corn is used it must be soaked in water for several days, then placed in a basket or hole in the ground to germinate. If soft corn is used, it is put directly into a shallow basket or hole in the ground. In either case, the corn must be germinated in darkness or the Tarahumara believe that the tesgüino will be bitter. The enzyme diastase is produced during germination, which converts the starch in the corn into sugars that can be fermented. The process of germination usually takes several days depending on the season and the amount of moisture. Once the corn is germinated, it is then ground or mashed into a paste using a mano and metate. The paste is then mixed with water and boiled in an olla for approximately eight hours until the liquid turns yellow.

Figure 2.3.19  Cooking tesgüino in oil drum next to fermentation pot (© Arizona State Museum).

At this point, different catalysts are added to the boiled mixture in order to make it “strong,” according to the Tarahumara (Pennington 1963:151). There are many different types of catalyst used by the Tarahumara, depending upon availability and personal preference, such as the bark from batári trees, pulverized Stevia serrata leaves, lichens (e.g. Usnea subfusca), roots (e.g. Phaseolus Metcalfei), and many other plants. These catalysts are often prepared in their own special pots after being ground and mixed with water; these small pots are only used to make a specific catalyst and are apparently never washed (Pennington 1963:152).

Figure 2.3.20  Corn pulp from tesgüino (© Arizona State Museum).

After cooking is completed, the mixture is strained through a basket made of agave fibers while being transferred into another olla for fermentation. More catalysts may be added to the fermentation olla, or second or third ollas of boiled corn sprouts may also be added. Tesgüino made from agave or other plants is also often added to the fermenting mixture to make it stronger. Sugar can be added to start the fermentation process again for tesgüino that has “passed” (Merrill 1978:105). The Tarahumara refer to the fermentation process as “boiling” and judge the fermentation process to be completed when "boiling" has almost ceased (Merrill 1978:105). This generally takes approximately 24 hours or less depending on the season. Fresh corn stalk tesgüino is prepared in the same basic way except that the stalks are beaten with an oak mallet on a rock with a depression. The juice is collected from the depression, strained, boiled with water, mixed with catalysts, and set aside to ferment for two to three days. Tesgüino spoils quickly and must be consumed within a few hours of the completion of the fermentation process. The basic process has apparently changed very little since the first Spanish chroniclers in the early 17th century described the Tarahumara's “maize wine” and their drunken festivals (Pennington 1963:153; Kennedy 1963:622).

Figure 2.3.21  Tesgüino pot and other pots in a Tarahumara yard (© Arizona State Museum).

(Continued)