Blanco ancho maize is a traditional South American maize variety that has long been cultivated in the jungle creeks of the Argentine province of Misiones by the indigenous Guarani people, who have been implementing the corn’s kernels in various traditional specialties such as soups, bread (chipa), and beer (chichi).
These indigenous people have also been exchanging the maize as a planting seed among themselves. Belonging to the Zea mays family, this late-flowering maize typically has 12 rows of white kernels which are elongated and floury, and they’re arranged on cylindrical-conical ears.
Although this commercially unavailable maize variety has spread to other surrounding areas, it can be found in its pure form only in its area of origin. The name of this maize, blanco ancho, means broad white, while its indigenous Indian name is avati morotí, which derives from the words avati, meaning corn, and morotí, which means white, referring to the white color of the kernels, or more specifically to the color of their endosperms.
Native maize varieties such as blanco ancho maize are currently at risk of becoming extinct due to the increasing cultivation of commercial corn and its derivatives.
