Desgranando (shelling) chicos

Today we brought down about half of our chicos hanging from the rafters in the porch.  We untied the strings holding them together and put the loose cobs in the cajete above.  We then use one cob against the other to remove the kernels.  When the cob is naked of kernels, we put it aside to make into biochar later.  When all of the kernels are off the cob, we will then aigriarlo, or use the wind to separate the tamo (corn cob dust) from the actual chicos.  We were told last year from a seasoned cocinera (master cook) that we had the cleanest and best tasting chicos she ever ate!  So these chicos will first feed the students of the elementary school, and then we might have some to sell at $20 per pound.  If you think that is too much money for chicos, remember that we grew our own corn from our own seed with organic methods.  Also remember that the proceeds from the sales support AIRE’s youth-in-agriculture programs and can be considered a tax-deductible donation.