Corn is not widely grown in the Yungas -- root crops like taro, manioc and racacha are the more typical starch crops. To help farmers increase their options for basic food crops, student Aldo Estévez worked with farmers in a community across the valley, San Juan de la Miel, to introduce two new corn varieties. One of these varieties, a hybrid called Tuxpeño opaco 2, adapted well to the climate, outperforming the most common local variety Cubano. These farmers now have a new variety of corn to add to their toolbox, and the college now has one more new graduate. Congratulations, Aldo.
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P.S. Years ago when I worked with families around Carmen Pampa to grow kitchen gardens. An old widow and her teenage son from San Cristóbal who participated invited me to dinner one night, and we had sopa de choclo, corn soup, with a corn variety like the one Aldo researched. Here is the recipe.
5 cobs corn (ripe sweet corn or field corn at milk stage)
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 T. oil (or butter)
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheese (salty fresh campo cheese is nice)
* Cut corn from the cob and grind with an old hand grinder; or blend kernels with some water in the blender.
* Saute onion in butter or oil until soft; add garlic and saute 2 minutes more.
* Add ground corn, 4-6 cups water (for a thicker or thinner soup), salt and pepper. Boil for a few minutes.
* Serve hot with cheese on top.
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