Humita (from Quechua ''humint'a'') is a

Native South American The Indigenous peoples of South America or South American Indigenous peoples, are the pre-Colombian peoples of South America and their descendants. These peoples contrast with South Americans of European ancestry and those of African descent. ...

dish from pre-Hispanic times, a traditional food from the Andes and it can be found in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Northwest Argentina. It consists of fresh choclo (Peruvian maize) pounded to a paste, wrapped in a fresh corn husk, and slowly steamed or boiled in a pot of water. In Bolivia it is known as ''huminta'' and in Brazil as '' pamonha''. Humitas are similar to Mexican uchepos, which are also made with fresh corn; but they are only superficially similar to tamales, which are made with nixtamalized corn ( masa).

In Argentina

In Northwest Argentina, humitas are prepared with fresh

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

, sautéed

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

, pumpkin, and some spices, depending on the region or taste. The dough is wrapped in corn

husk Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...

s and boiled or it is cooked in a big pan and served in bowls. It is also common to add some diced

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

to the dough, typically

queso fresco Queso blanco (), literally ''white cheese'' in Spanish, can refer to many different kinds of cheeses whose only common trait is their white color. The specific cheese referred to depends on the region. Production Queso blanco is considered on ...

. They can be found in restaurants and markets in Jujuy, Tucumán,

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

, and other provinces of the north of Argentina.

In Chile

As in Ecuador, humitas in Chile are prepared with fresh

, onion, basil, and butter or lard.Chef Adds New Zest At La Pena Center
Kim Severson, ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 06-08-1999, access date 05-12-2012 They are wrapped in corn

s and baked or boiled. They may contain ''ají verde'' (green chili pepper). The humitas are kept together cooking with thread or twine. They can be made savory, sweet, or sweet and sour, served with

added sugar Added sugars or free sugars are sugar carbohydrates (caloric sweeteners) added to food and beverages at some point before their consumption. These include added carbohydrates (monosaccharides and disaccharides), and more broadly, sugars natural ...

, chile pepper, salt, tomato, olive and paprika etc. In Chile, humitas are traceable back to the 19th century.

In Ecuador

Ecuadorian humitas are prepared with fresh ground corn with onions, eggs and spices that vary from region to region, and also by each family's tradition. The dough is wrapped in a corn husk, but is steamed rather than baked or boiled. Ecuadorian humitas may also contain cheese. This dish is so traditional in Ecuador that they have developed special pots just for cooking humitas. Ecuadorian humitas can be salty or sweet.

In Peru and Bolivia

In the central Andes region, humitas are prepared with fresh corn combined with

lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...

and salt and

for a savory dish or with fresh corn with lard, sugar,

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

and raisins for a sweet dish. Savory humitas may also be prepared with anise. These are typically very rare in other parts of South America. These humitas are prepared with corn wrapped in corn husks and can be cooked in boiling water, placed in a pachamanca oven, or steamed. They can be wrapped in several ways. One of the earliest references to huminta in Peru was written by the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in his ''Comentarios Reales del Inca'', which he published in Lisbon in 1609. In talking about huminta he describes his own memories of consumption about the time he lived in Peru between 1539 and 1560. From this it can be deduced that huminta was already prepared in Peru during this time.

References

External links