Ecuadorian Maize Foodways

Sara / Maíz

Specialised

Maize in Ecuador is not one ingredient but several, and the vocabulary proves it. MOTE — hominy, nixtamalised and boiled, the staple starch of Azuay and Cañar, eaten as mote pillo (with egg), mote sucio, mote pata and mote con chicharrón. CHOCLO — fresh green maize, boiled with cheese, or ground into HUMITAS steamed in its own husk. TOSTADO — toasted dry maize. CHULPI — a sweet toasting variety. CANGUIL — popcorn, scattered on soup and ceviche. MOROCHO — a hard maize made into a milk drink. Plus chigüiles, tortillas de maíz, and the tortilla de tiesto cooked on a clay griddle. ⚠ THE NAMES ARE KICHWA OR KICHWA-DERIVED, and that is the record of who domesticated and classified the crop.