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Mazamorra
Alternative names	Peto, kaguyjy
Type	Non-alcoholic beverage
Course	Drink, dessert
Region or state	Iberian Peninsula and Hispanic America
	Media: Mazamorra;

Mazamorra or masamorra^[1] (from Andalusian Arabic: بسمة, romanized: pičmáṭ, from Ancient Greek: παξαμάδιον, romanized: paxamádion, lit. 'little cookie', influenced by Spanish masa, 'dough')^[2] is the name for numerous traditional dishes from the Iberian Peninsula and Hispanic America.

Regional variations

Argentina

In Argentina, mazamorra is a traditional dish. It is a dessert with native roots made with white maize, water, sugar, and vanilla. A variant, the most consumed in the country, is mazamorra with milk. In this recipe, milk is added to the previous ingredients.

Mazamorra is usually made with the same boiled maize used to make locro.

As with locro, it is common to eat mazamorra on national holidays, like 25 May and Independence Day.

Colombia

Initially, mazamorra was the stew which fed galeotes (the rowers, almost always forced, in the ships called galeras) and sailors. The dish consisted of any available vegetables, most often peppers, lentils, and chickpeas, cooked together. In central Colombia, there is still a type of vegetable stew with this name.

Today, however, mazamorra is more commonly a corn-based beverage, with different presentations in various parts of the country. For many Colombian speakers, it is simply very well-cooked peeled corn, also known as peto in the Colombian Caribbean region. Its texture and appearance vary depending on the region, but usually, mazamorra has a white or yellow appearance according to the maize that is used; its texture is generally soft and mushy.

In Antioquia, it often accompanies panela and is a very popular side dish to meals such as bandeja paisa. The drink typically includes maize kernels, crushed with mortar and pestle, then soaked in water with soda lye (although the traditional reagent used is fern ash, which contains high amounts of potassium carbonate), and finally cooked until soft.

Mazamorra is very common during lunch and dinnertime at any time of year. Mazamorra is a typical Colombian food that is served as an accompaniment or as a main dish, whether familiar or casual. It is usually sold as street food. ^[3] Usually, the consumer adds the milk and the panela to the mazamorra base.

In Cundinamarca and Boyacá, where the corn is cooked with onions, coriander, garlic, faba beans, potatoes and mashuas, often with pieces of ribs or beef. This dish is known as mazamorra chiquita (small mazamorra).^[4]

Dominican Republic and Cuba

In the Dominican Republic and Cuba this dish is known as majarete. Corn is cut off the husk, blended with milk, butter, water, sugar, and cornstarch. It is then boiled until thick with cinnamon sticks.

In Cuba, raisins, vanilla, and lemon zest can be added. Once cooled the pudding is garnished with nutmeg and cinnamon. Both countries claim to have originated the dish. Due to migration between the two countries the origin is lost.

In the Dominican Republic, when the corn is left whole, it is known as chaca and cooked rice can be added.

Paraguay

Also known as kaguyjy in Guaraní, mazamorra in Paraguay is made with the native locro variety of maize. It is one of the most traditional desserts of the country. According with the ingredients added to the cooked corn, the dish is called kaguyjy eírare (honey mazamorra), kaaguyjy kambýre (milk mazamorra) or kaguyjy asukáre (sugar mazamorra). Kaguyjy reached great popularity in Paraguay due to the food scarcity during the Paraguayan War (between 1864 and 1870) as a nutritious substitute for a regular meal.^[5]

Peru

Purple mazamorra in Peru is made with a local variety of maize, purple corn, rich in anthocyanin which gives the mazamorra a deep purple color. The maize is cooked with pineapple, cinnamon and sweet potato flour. This dish is made specially in October for the celebrations of the Lord of Miracles day 333. This purple corn is also used to make chicha morada, a sweet beverage. Other types of Peruvian mazamorras include maize starch mazamorra (mazamorra de maicena), and dark brown sugar mazamorra (mazamorra de cochino).

Uruguay

Mazamorra has been consumed since colonial times, made from crushed maize. Mazamorra con leche is a traditional dessert, made of crumbled maize, sugar and milk, and was commonly sold as street food in ancient Montevideo but nowadays is more like an old fashioned comfort food.^[6]

It is also a type of cazuela, using maize for mazamorra and other ingredients such as butter beans, carrots, pork meat or other kinds of meat in tiny slices; it is typically a winter meal.

Costa Rica

Costa Rican mazamorra is basically a corn porridge, which is made cooking the maize in milk, clove, vanilla, and adding corn starch.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican mazamorra is fresh corn custard. Corn kernels are cut off the cob and boiled with milk and cob until the corn softens. Once soft, the cob is discarded and the corn is put into a blender with the milk. Once made into a paste, the corn is passed through a chinois back into the pot for a second time. The liquid is then cooked with corn starch, butter, coconut cream, evaporated milk, ginger, spices, zest, and sugar. It is then topped with powdered nutmeg and cinnamon.^[7] Banana or ripe breadfruit can be blended and added for texture and flavor.

Spain

Cordobense mazamorra is a traditional dish made of almonds, bread, garlic, oil and vinegar.

Not related to maize

Panama: A local dessert made with the nance fruit (also known as pesada 'heavy'.
Spain:
- A cold soup similar to salmorejo. It is made with bread, almonds, garlic, olive oil and vinegar.
- In La Guardia in Toledo Province it is a combination of fried vegetables.
Peru: Mazamorra de calabaza is a popular dessert in the Huánuco region, made with pumpkin.
Dominican Republic: Mazamorra means 'mashed squash'.

References

^ ASALE (2024-01-12). "masamorra | Diccionario de americanismos". «Diccionario de americanismos» (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-24.
^ Real Academia Española, (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española (22nd ed.). [1] (In Spanish)
^ "Mazamorra y panela machacada | FÁBRICADECOSAS". Fabricadecosas.com. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
^ "Mazamorra chiquita". Redcolombiana.com. 1999-02-22. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
^ "Karú rekó – Antropología culinaria paraguaya", by Margarita Miró Ibars
^ Montevideo Antiguo
^ "Recipe(tried)_ Mundo Nuevo, Mazamorra, Majarete(Corn Pudding) - Dear Camille -". Recipelink.com. The Kitchen Link. Retrieved December 17, 2016.