Cloudy fermented apple juice pressed in southern Chile after the harvest and drunk young, before it has finished working. Chiloé and the Araucanía make it, and it is poured at the September fondas.
Making alcohol at home is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment relies on the wild yeasts on the fruit and in the barrel.
What goes into it
- apples, often old cider varieties
- nothing else
How it is made
Apples are crushed and pressed, and the juice is left in a barrel or a demijohn where the yeasts already on the apple skins ferment it. It is drunk within weeks, still sweet and lightly sparkling, rather than being allowed to finish dry.
How long it takes: one to four weeks
How it is eaten
From a jug at a fonda or a country kitchen, in the weeks after the apple harvest.
History
Made in Chiloé and the Araucanía after the apple harvest and drunk at the September fondas.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chicha de manzana?
Chicha de manzana is a wine & spirit from Chile: cloudy fermented apple juice pressed in the south, drunk young. Made in Chiloé and the Araucanía after the apple harvest and drunk at the September fondas.
How is Chicha de manzana made?
Apples are crushed and pressed, and the juice is left in a barrel or a demijohn where the yeasts already on the apple skins ferment it. It is drunk within weeks, still sweet and lightly sparkling, rather than being allowed to finish dry. It takes one to four weeks.
Can I make Chicha de manzana at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Making alcohol at home is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment relies on the wild yeasts on the fruit and in the barrel.
What goes into Chicha de manzana?
Apples, often old cider varieties, nothing else.
How is Chicha de manzana eaten?
From a jug at a fonda or a country kitchen, in the weeks after the apple harvest.
