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The Peruvian Amazon Version Of Masato De Yuca

By Nonso Egbo
02 February 2022   |   7:00 pm
In Amazonian Peru, a popular drink, Masato de yucca, is made with human spit and cassava. Masato is a fermented drink that has its roots in Yuca- a big tuber with lots of starch and very little sugar. Masato de yuca has been prepared in the Peruvian Amazon for at least a thousand years, before…

Masato De Yuca. Photo El Siglo de Durango

In Amazonian Peru, a popular drink, Masato de yucca, is made with human spit and cassava. Masato is a fermented drink that has its roots in Yuca- a big tuber with lots of starch and very little sugar.

Masato de yuca has been prepared in the Peruvian Amazon for at least a thousand years, before the rise of the Inca Empire and the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. It’s considered both a sacred and nutritional drink and is used in social and ceremonial gatherings.

How to make it 

Traditionally, Masato is made by first boiling yuca, a tuber that is also known as cassava, for at least 10 minutes to remove its toxicity. Making Masato is a simple process that takes a lot of coordination. Preparing enough for a party requires a lot of planning that can start up to a year in advance through planting, harvesting and processing the yuca. The indigenous Masato brewers are normally the women who pick up clumps of the mashed yuca and chew it. They’ll often chew a mouthful for up to 30 minutes while continuing to mash more yuca by hand, and then they spit the mouthful into a bucket.

A woman making Masato. Photo Wikimedia Commons

This is done because enzymes in the brewer’s saliva help to break down the starch and turn it into sugar. This helps the yeast, which feeds on sugars and starches and, in turn, promotes fermentation. They chewed up and spat out yuca sits in the bucket for between four and ten days, depending on the desired level of fermentation. At the end of the process, the drink comes out as a cloudy white substance with a slightly sweet but sour taste.

When it is ready to drink, it is mixed with water and then strained, producing the end product, which is a white liquid that tastes a little like sour milk. The flavour, particularly the aroma, depends on the level of fermentation. Some less traditional communities throw in a load of sugar to help with fermentation. The resulting liquor isn’t that tasty on its own, leading Peruvians to add fruit and spices to the drink. Basically, it is the ancient equivalent of a cocktail.

Importance of Masato De Yuca

The Amazonians still use Masato as an important source of carbohydrates. According to studies, in the rainforest, most people don’t eat lunch. The drink supplements their diets throughout a day of hard labour, and it is often safer to drink than water that could be contaminated. Also, the alcohol content in Masato is between 2 and 6 per cent. Women are the major producers of Masato and alcoholic drinks in general and it is said that they use it as a source of power through the power of drink production and distribution.

For example, when a woman is angry with her husband, she might serve him low-quality Masato or serve him last or serve it to him with a bowl that’s decorated poorly. Families use Masato for social leverage. The beverage takes days to make, so when people invite others over to come and drink, it is seen as a tremendous effort.

Health benefits of Masato De Yuca

Studies suggest that the use of fermentation techniques has beneficial protective properties as the process may protect against microbial contamination with harmful pathogens, thus reducing the risk of diarrheal disease which is seen as a public health concern, particularly among children and indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon. It helps to reduce the burden of waterborne diseases, especially in areas where access to clean water is not yet guaranteed because of the high level of contamination in the communal water sources. The local communities are exposed to high risks if they drink water directly from contaminated natural sources, thereby making the consumption of Masato even more crucial while other public health solutions are being implemented.

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