Parakari is a fermented alcoholic beverage made by Amerindians of Guyana and Venezuela. Like other cassava alcoholic beverages, parakari is made by dual fermenting cassava (a large starchy root), which involves the use of an amylolytic mold (Rhizopus sp., Mucoraceae, Zygomycota) by chewing it.
Parakari is produced by Pemon, Wapishana, Macushi, Patamona tribes, and production was observed among the Wai-wai, but is said to have ceased due to Christian missionary suppression. [1] For the Makushi tribe, parakari making and drinking are an important part of group cohesion and cultural identity. [2]
In a study of the production process in a Wapisiana village, thirty steps were involved in parakari manufacture, including the use of specific cassava varieties, control of culture temperature and boosting of Rhizopus inoculum potential with purified starch additives. [1] [3] The cassava contains high amounts of cyanide and can be deadly if not prepared properly.
To prepare parakari, cassava root is grated and placed in a long, woven strainer to drain out the juice of the cassava. Toxins are rinsed out and the resulting flour is made into bread. The bread used to make parakari is deliberately overcooked, as burning lends the drink its characteristic taste. This bread is then soaked in water, broken up, and placed in a bed of leaves. A powder of dried cassava leaves containing the Rhizopus inoculum is added as well as tapioca starch and dried cassava slices that encourage fermentation. The bread is removed after a number of days and placed a vessel for further fermentation, in which a shorter time will yield a sweeter drink, and a longer time a more bitter, alcoholic drink. [2] This second fermentation can take between 1 day to 5 weeks. [4]
Sarawi is another cassava-based beverage made by the Wapisiana tribe. [5]
Guyanese culture reflects the influence of African, Indian, Amerindian, British, Portuguese, Chinese, Creole, and Dutch cultures. Guyana is part of the mainland Caribbean region. Guyanese culture shares a continuum with the cultures of islands in the West Indies.
Cauim is a traditional alcoholic beverage or beer of the indigenous peoples in Brazil since pre-Columbian times. It is still made today in remote areas throughout Panama and South America. Cauim is made by fermenting manioc, or maize, sometimes flavored with fruit juices. The Kuna Indians of Panama use plantains.
Rice wine is a generic term for an alcoholic beverage fermented and possibly distilled from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch that has been converted to sugars. Microbes are the source of the enzymes that convert the starches to sugar. Sake in Japan, Mijiu in China, and Cheongju and Makgeolli in Korea are some of the most notable types of rice wine.
Ethanol fermentation, also called alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process which converts sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose into cellular energy, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as by-products. Because yeasts perform this conversion in the absence of oxygen, alcoholic fermentation is considered an anaerobic process. It also takes place in some species of fish where it provides energy when oxygen is scarce.
Purposeful production of alcoholic drinks is common and often reflects cultural and religious peculiarities as much as geographical and sociological conditions.
Ugandan cuisine consists of traditional and modern cooking styles, practices, foods and dishes in Uganda, with English, Arab, and Asian influences.
The Macushi are an indigenous people living in the borderlands of southern Guyana, northern Brazil in the state of Roraima, and in an eastern part of Venezuela.
Ghanaian cuisines refer to the meals of the Ghanaian people. The main dishes of Ghana are organized around starchy staple foods, which goes with either sauce or soup accompanied with a source of protein. The main ingredients for the vast majority of soups and stews are; tomatoes, hot peppers and onions. Most Ghanaian soups and stews are red or orange in appearance as a result of the main ingredients used.
Aishalton is an Amerindian village that is situated in the Rupununi savannah of southern Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of the country.
The Patamona are an Amerindian people native to the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana and northern Brazil. They speak a Cariban language, Kapóng, and have often been referred to interchangeably as Akawaio or Ingariko. Patamona are considered a sub-group of Kapon people.
In food processing, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids using microorganisms—yeasts or bacteria—under anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions. Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is desired. The science of fermentation is known as zymology or zymurgy.
Tapai is a traditional fermented preparation of rice or other starchy foods, and is found throughout much of Southeast Asia, especially in Austronesian cultures, and parts of East Asia. It refers to both the alcoholic paste and the alcoholic beverage derived from it. It has a sweet or sour taste and can be eaten as is, as ingredients for traditional recipes, or fermented further to make rice wine. Tapai is traditionally made with white rice or glutinous rice, but can also be made from a variety of carbohydrate sources, including cassava and potatoes. Fermentation is performed by a variety of moulds including Aspergillus oryzae, Rhizopus oryzae, Amylomyces rouxii or Mucor species, and yeasts including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Saccharomycopsis fibuliger, Endomycopsis burtonii and others, along with bacteria.
A fermentation starter is a preparation to assist the beginning of the fermentation process in preparation of various foods and alcoholic drinks. Food groups where they are used include breads, especially sourdough bread, and cheese. A starter culture is a microbiological culture which actually performs fermentation. These starters usually consist of a cultivation medium, such as grains, seeds, or nutrient liquids that have been well colonized by the microorganisms used for the fermentation.
Mageu, Mahewu, Mahleu, Magau (xau-Namibia), Madleke, maHewu, amaRhewu or amaHewu is a traditional Southern African non-alcoholic drink among many of the Chewa/Nyanja, Shona, Ndebele, Nama Khoikhoi and Damara people, Sotho people, Tswana people and Nguni people made from fermented mealie pap. Home production is still widely practised, but the drink is also available at many supermarkets, being produced at factories. Its taste is derived predominantly from the lactic acid that is produced during fermentation, but commercial mageu is often flavoured and sweetened, much in the way commercially-available yogurt is. Similar beverages are also made in other parts of Africa.
Kasiri, also known as kaschiri and cassava beer, is an alcoholic drink made from cassava by Amerindians in Venezuela, Suriname and Guyana.
A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated, and the ingredient is included many national or ethnic specialities.
Jiuqu, also known as just qū or qú, is a type of East Asian dried fermentation starter used in the production of traditional Chinese alcoholic beverages. The word jiǔqū specifically refers to a type of qū used to manufacture alcoholic products, such as huangjiu, baijiu and jiuniang.
Indigenous peoples in Guyana, Native Guyanese, or Amerindian Guyanese are Guyanese people who are of indigenous ancestry. They comprise approximately 9.16% of Guyana's population. Amerindians are credited with the invention of the canoe, as well as Cassava-based dishes and Guyanese pepperpot, the national dish of Guyana. Amerindian languages have also been incorporated in the lexicon of Guyanese Creole.
Huangjiu is a type of Chinese alcoholic beverage most popular in the Jiangnan area. Huangjiu is brewed by mixing boiled grains including rice, glutinous rice or millet with qū as starter culture, followed by saccharification and fermentation at around 13–18 °C (55–64 °F) for fortnights. Its alcohol content is typically 8% to 20%.
Nuruk (누룩) is a traditional Korean fermentation starter. It is used to make various types of Korean alcoholic beverages including takju, cheongju, and soju. It is an essential ingredient in Shindari and is mixed with rice. Historically, it was used in a variety of provinces of Korea, including Jeju Island.