Ottavina gialla, gialla
Eight-corned yellow, yellow Small Yellow maize has slender spikes 11 to 14 cm long, covered with 8 rows of yellow grains. They have almost the same length, width and thin thickness, and sometimes can be slightly dented; The endosperm is floury in the center and harder in the periphery, the aleurone is yellow, while the pericarp is colorless. The variety features a shorter growing season if compared with the other maize grown in the area.It is cultivated in the provinces of Jujuy and Salta, in northwestern Argentina, over 3400 m above sea level. It is produced by pre-hispanic origin farmers who use it, by characteristics of grain, as flour for the preparation of traditional foods such as calapi, sanco, tulpo, caldo majao, pire and anchi of semolina. Small Yellow corn is also used for the preparation of chicha, a traditional drink with a long manufacturing process. The variety is grown in the whole region and used for the preparation of traditional meals, but these uses are gradually being lost as especially new generations tend to replace them with products available in stores. Small Yellow is not marketed mature, but when its ears are still green, as corn ‘choclos’, for consumption by tourists visiting the region. This use has determined its crossing with other varieties and the loss of their purity.
Back to the archive >
