Traditionally cultivated in Argentina’s northwestern provinces of Salta and Jujuy by the indigenous Aymara and Quechua people, culli maize is a native variety of maize that has remained an essential source of nutrition for these communities that have been using it to prepare various traditional specialties such as chicha morada (a refreshing beverage) and api (a type of dessert).
The ears of corn typically have around 10 to 12 rows of floury kernels with a high content of anthocyanine in the pericarp which is what gives them their distinctive dark color that ranges from deep purple to black. The specific growing requirements of this maize variety, along with a lack of demand for it on the market due to other more profitable commercial varieties, have contributed to it being cultivated exclusively in its area of origin.
Culli maize is currently not sold on the market, and it is typically exchanged as a sort of good among its growers.
