Cheers for Choclo!

I was very excited to find the large grain Andean corn called choclo in the frozen section of a Latin food market in my neighborhood. When we first lived in Peru, we missed the sweet North American corn, and could not understand the appeal of the giant, chewy corn known as choclo. Choclo has a nutty taste and heftier texture that is different and delicious, once you stop expecting it to taste like the super sweet corn we prefer in the US. In fact, our ordinary yellow corn is not particularly favored in South America, except as chicken feed!

South Americans add this special large kernel corn to many dishes, such as the excellent meat and corn pie know as pastel de choclo. One of the best ways to enjoy choclo is simply adding it to plain South American-style white rice.