Ingredients
Maize
- 300 gdried white maize, soaked overnight
- 2 litreswater
Spiced syrup
- 200 gpanela, chopped
- 4cloves
- 2cinnamon sticks
- 6orange leaves, or a strip of orange peel
- the skin of 1 pineapple
- 500 mlwater
Fruit
- 3lulo, pulped
- 300 gpineapple flesh, in small chunks
- juice of 1 lime
To serve
- crushed ice
Directions
- Soak the maize overnight in plenty of cold water, then drain it.
- Simmer it in the 2 litres of fresh water for about 2 hours, until the kernels are soft and beginning to split open.
- Keep every drop of that cooking water. It is cloudy with starch and it is the body of the whole drink, and drained away you are left with fruit punch that happens to have corn in it.
- Meanwhile simmer the pineapple skin with the panela, cloves, cinnamon and orange leaves in 500 ml of water for 20 minutes, then strain it.
- Using the skin rather than throwing it out is standard practice, and it carries far more perfume than the flesh does.
- Combine the cooked maize and its starchy liquid with the strained spiced syrup.
- Stir in the lulo pulp, the pineapple chunks and the lime juice.
- Chill for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight. Champús needs that time for the spice and fruit to move into the corn liquid, and drunk fresh it tastes like separate ingredients sharing a glass.
- Serve very cold over crushed ice, with a spoon as well as a straw, because the corn and the pineapple have to be eaten as much as drunk.
Technique
- Keep the corn water, use the pineapple skin, make it the day before. Those three things are what separate a good champús from a thin one.
- It is a colonial-era drink of Valle del Cauca and Cauca, still sold from carts on the streets of Cali.
- Lulo, also called naranjilla, is sharply sour and floral. Frozen pulp is widely sold and works perfectly.
Substitutions
- Tinned hominy, drained, which skips the two-hour boil but costs you the starchy liquid.
- Passion fruit in place of lulo, using rather less.
Variations
- The Peruvian version, spiced differently and often made with quince.
- With extra panela for a sweeter drink.
- Lulada, the related Cali drink made from lulo alone.
History
A colonial-era drink of Valle del Cauca and Cauca, sold from carts in Cali; a differently spiced version exists in Peru.
Frequently asked questions
What is Champús?
Champús is a drink from Colombia: cold maize drink with lulo, pineapple, panela, clove and cinnamon. A colonial-era drink of Valle del Cauca and Cauca, sold from carts in Cali; a differently spiced version exists in Peru.
How long does Champús take to make?
Champús takes 20 min plus overnight soaking and chilling of preparation and 2 hr 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 glasses. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Champús?
Yes, within limits. Tinned hominy, drained, which skips the two-hour boil but costs you the starchy liquid. Passion fruit in place of lulo, using rather less.
What is the most important thing to get right in Champús?
Keep every drop of that cooking water. It is cloudy with starch and it is the body of the whole drink, and drained away you are left with fruit punch that happens to have corn in it.
