Guarapo

Guarapo

The guarapo (from Quechua warapu) is a drink obtained from the juice of sugar cane, either fermented or unfermented. In general, it is the liquid extracted from pressed sugar cane. It is consumed as a beverage in many places, especially where reed is grown commercially, such as Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, and Latin America. The sugarcane juice is obtained by crushing the peeled sugarcane in a mill and is one of the main precursors of rum. According to the RAE, in some countries the fermented drink made with guarapo is also called guarapo. It is also the name given to an infusion-type drink, prepared with nuts, saps or cane, which varies by region.

Etymology

The word guarapo derives from the Quechua warapu, juice from ground sugarcane.

Pedro José Ramírez Sendoya defines it as follows: Cane juice. It brings the following etymological considerations. “Et. Cuamanagoto – Huarapu = Cup, according to Wendel. Ta. According to Henriquez. Ke. Huarapu (Lopez and Tascon). Guarepo = The peasants call the lime to chew coca.”

History

The cane was first domesticated in New Guinea and the islands east of the Wallace Line by the Papuans, where its modern center of diversity is found. From New Guinea it spread west to Island Southeast Asia after contact with the Austronesians, where it hybridized with Saccharum spontaneum . The original guarapo could be native to the Canary Islands or was even already known on the coast of Malaga and Granada, from where the sugar cane reached the Canary Islands and possibly was already known by the Berbers of North Africa before the expansion of the empire. Roman, like the sweet called bienmesabe that comes from almonds and that in the American continent is recognized as Venezuelan, the cross contamination of knowledge in the Canary Islands during the colonization of America as a strategic port has exchanged various terms and this case is quite a common.

In the Mexican state of Tabasco, during the time of the Spanish colony in the XVI century and with the introduction of With sugar cane from the Caribbean, the Chontal Indians began to make the drink by fermenting the juice of the cane, becoming very popular among the indigenous population who used it mainly at parties and celebrations.

As a historical anecdote, the consumption of guarapo and chicha can often be related to the social disorders of independence. The clandestinity of the consumption of chicha and guarapo coincides with the beginning of the beer industry in Colombia at the beginning of the 20th century. Beer industrialists were strong promoters of the prohibition of this type of drink, arguing its lack of hygiene and its supposed toxicity, to the point that regulations were created prohibiting its manufacture and sale.

Varieties

Indian

Guarapo is sold by street vendors throughout India. The sellers put the sugar cane in a machine, which presses and extracts the juice from it. Guarapo is usually served with a dash of lemon juice and/or ginger. It is a very popular drink, especially during the summer months as a refreshing form of relief from the heat..

Canary Islands

In the Canary Islands, guarapo is the name given to the sweet juice extracted from the Canarian palm tree (Phoenix canariensis), with which both palm honey and the sweet drink of the same name are made, among other products. The Guarapo on the islands is a mixture of raw and elaborated sap that flows from the heart of the Canary palm tree, very sweet and with a peculiar flavor, it is a refreshing, energetic drink (high concentration of minerals). It is common in La Palma and La Gomera.

The term guarapo also refers to other juices obtained from plants such as sugar cane, especially in the eastern islands, where the tradition of extracting honey or palm guarapo is not so common.

Cuba

In this way, in Cuba guarapo is called, in commonly peasant homes, a fermented or unfermented drink prepared in two ways, the first is that obtained from cane syrup or of panela. It can be easily prepared by dissolving honey or panela in water and fermenting it using a type of yeast that in popular language is known as "cunchos" or "Supias". This yeast is frequently shared among those who produce the drink; The other way and the most common is the result of grinding sugar cane in a trapiche or mill, which can be consumed fresh or fermented. From the latter, a typical drink of Cuba is obtained.

Mexico

In the state of Tabasco, Mexico, guarapo is a very popular drink among the Chontal indigenous population, and it is consumed mainly during the Day of the Dead or during prayers, since it is customary to put it in the altars. This drink is made with fermented cane juice. There is also corn guarapo which is whitish in color, and is created through the fermentation of toasted corn, panela and water.

Central and South America

The guarapo de cane is known particularly in Central America, specifically in Panama, in the Caribbean in countries like Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and in South America in Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru. It is the juice extracted directly from the sugar cane during grinding after the harvest and popularly consumed as a refreshing and energizing drink during the summer months or dry season.

For Venezuelans, even espresso coffee mixed with enough water, or coffee strained with a lot of water, which makes it very clear, is known as guarapo, coffee aguarapado (or shortened as < i>aguarapa'o coffee) or guayoyo.

Teas and infusions made from plants and tree bark that have healing or relaxing power are also called guarapo, such as mint, cinnamon, chamomile flowers, anise seeds, ginger, among others. As well as, guarapo is known as refreshing drinks, which are based on papelón (piloncillo or panela prior to the elaboration of cane sugar) and fruits such as lemon and pineapple, the latter if you want it to ferment a little, leave it at room temperature. They are served cold and are very common in the streets of the cities and towns of Venezuela.

In Colombia, guarapo is often drunk fermented in clay pots, after adding a class of yeast known as "cunchos".

In Cochabamba, Bolivia, guarapo is a product that results from the partial fermentation of the must, stopped before reaching 5% alcohol by volume and with a sugar content that does not exceed 5% and does not drop below 2%., measured with the syrup weight. The guarapo cannot contain the addition of any extra alcohol, except cane alcohol, in which case it is an adulterated product”, it can be prepared on the basis of fresh grapes or raisins. This drink generates a lot of confrontation between the towns of Sipe Sipe and Capinota about its origin. The two towns during the year have their guarapo festivities where the best guarapo of the year is selected.

In the Amazonas region, in northeastern Peru, guarapo is a traditional drink that is obtained by fermenting sugarcane juice, obtained by hand with the help of the mill, and is widely used by community members like an elixir that accompanies everything from agricultural tasks to the most important popular and religious festivities. In the latter, the residents share huge amounts of guarapo, from the stage of preparations (compostures, vigils, vespers) until after the central day of the festivities. Lastly, the guarapo is offered in clay pots as part of the "voto" or offertory that is ready to be delivered to the Mayordomo who will be in charge of organizing and ensuring the celebration of the festivity the following year. Formerly, the inhabitants of the cane-producing communities used guarapo, even, as a means of exchange or barter in the markets, obtaining for their delivery the products of the inhabitants of neighboring districts, such as corn, beans, plantains, meat and other species.

In some provinces of the Ayacucho region in Peru, particularly in the province of Víctor Fajardo, guarapo is also called mead or agave nectar (or cabuya, as it is known locally); both fresh and fermented.

In Argentina, in the Northwest region where sugar cane is cultivated in large quantities (Tucumán, south of Salta, west of Chaco), guarapo is consumed in the festivities of the harvest and carnival, among others. In the famous zamba "A Monteros", by Chango Nieto, it reads "..and sweeter than your guarapo/they are the girls in your town". Monteros is one of the towns in the sugarcane area of the province of Tucumán.

Preparation

For the preparation, a hemispherical clay container more or less than 50 cm high called "moya" is widely used, and to consume it another container made from a gourd known as totumo, is used. The finished container is called a totuma and is generally capable of holding from 1/2 liter to 5 liters or more of the drink.

The sugar cane is the plant from which the guarapo is extracted.

If it is not left to ferment for a long time, a refreshing drink is obtained, energetic due to the honey content and very delicious. In many places in Colombia it is very normal to see sugar mills made of "palo" (wood) with which they crush cane to extract the juice or guarapo that they cool and sell as a soft drink.

Trapiche made of wood, which crushes the rod.

If, on the contrary, the fermentation process is continued long enough, a very high alcoholic degree can be achieved, and with distillation a liquor similar to brandy or rum is obtained. By adding corn porridge and more panela, chicha can be obtained, after letting said mixture ferment in a terracotta container.

On the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands, Spain), the sweet juice extracted from the Canarian palm tree is known by guarapo, with which both palm honey and the sweet drink are made of the same name.