People Ferment the Darndest Things

Where I come from spitting in someone's beer would set off a right good brawl.

clipped from www.mentalfloss.com If you want to try traditional chicha, go to Peru or Bolivia, where women chew corn flour and then spit it into bowls. Enzymes in their saliva help break down the sugars in the corn. Manioc, also known as cassava and yucca, is a worldwide staple, especially in South America, where many cultures have developed beers from this tuber. You’d think it would be dangerous, because manioc contains cyanide, but local women know how to remove the poison through careful preparation. Tesquino, the yellow, harsh corn beer of the Tarahumara people of Mexico, is considered a highly spiritual drink. It’s supposed to scare out the “large souls” out of the body, leaving the “little souls,” which, they says, explains why drunk people act childish. Hard apple cider was a staple drink on the American frontier, consumed by adults and children alike. Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman was planting apple trees for cider, not for eating.

People Ferment the Darndest Things