Chicheme!

Last week, I got to campus on Monday and to my surprise there was a gift bag waiting for me outside my door! In the gift bag there were two bags of chicheme.

A little back story:

Back in January, I had coffee with a colleague in my department who was planning to go to Panama over Spring Break. It was her first time and she was traveling with her family. She needed guidance on places to visit, and the unwritten rules of traveling to Panama. You may not know this about me, but I absolutely love giving suggestions and guidance about travel to Panama. I promise, I will only share my absolute favorite places!

Later in the semester, while my colleague was enjoying her spring break in Panama, she had the courtesy to text me and ask if there was anything she could bring back for me. Of course, without a doubt, my mind thought of food! One of my absolute favorite treats from Panama is a drink called “Chicheme.”

Chicheme is a milk-corn drink that we drink year-round in Panama. But, it is specially good in a hot summer day. One of my high school classmates, who is a foody and a pretty amazing person, wrote the best blog post about Chicheme and includes a recipe: https://www.cocinerita.com/chicheme/

I can’t imagine a better drink to enjoy that is both refreshing and filling at the same time like Chicheme is. When my mom makes Chicheme she makes more than plenty but it never lasts more than one day in the fridge. This recipe is very easy and versatile; every time I prepare it I make changes to it. If you find evaporated milk too heavy, you can always try with almond or coconut milk. I’m sure it should work wonderfully with any type of milk.

The corn that we use to make chicheme is small and is easy to pack for travel!

Connecting back to the beginning of this blog post:

So, after seeing these bags of chicheme, I proceeded to send my colleague a text message back and thanked her for bringing me the bags of chicheme!

Then, this past weekend I embarked on a chicheme-making journey. We made two versions of chicheme at home: vegan and non-vegan. Both of them tasted delicious!

I used a fairly similar recipe to the one described by JC in her blog post:

• Chicheme corn
• Water
• Cinnamon sticks
• Evaporated milk or Coconut evaporated milk
• Vanilla extract
• Sugar
• Ground nutmeg

I hope that someday you get to enjoy the deliciousness that is Chicheme! If you ever go to Panama, put it in your list of traditional Panamanian food to try while you are visiting.