Chimoeros are understandably reluctant to share their 
seasoning secrets, since their success depends on the dis- 
tinctive character of their product. Either in Timotes 
nothing but the cernada is added or Balbina managed 
to hide the fact that she added sugar and perhaps other 
ingredients to this cocha. : 
Many additives—all of plant origin—are mentioned 
in descriptions of chim6.” When they are listed, the in- 
ference is that they are added when the chimo is being 
cooked. On the other hand, Valero (pers. comm.) states 
emphatically that chimoeros in his part of Trujillo use 
cernada only and that, when various aromatic substances 
are added, it is done to satisfy the taste of the individual 
consumer. In any case, flavoring material is dried and 
pulverized before being added. ‘Tonka bean, for example, 
is sometimes toasted, then reduced to powder. Valero’s 
statement is substantiated by inference by Cardona (17), 
who quotes an informant from the same part of Vene- 
zuela as Valero on the making of chimo; she does not 
mention additives other than cernada. 
When the chim6 had cooked for about an hour, Juan 
tested it by allowing some to hang from his stirring pad- 
dle and fluttering his fingers gingerly against it. Later, 
he put some on a greased shovel to cool, then struck 
against it with a spoon. He explained that, if it sounds 
dull, it is not done; when done, it gives a clear sound 
(clarito). The expression ‘‘coger punto’ is used to indi- 
cate that something cooking is ‘‘ready’’ or ‘‘done’’— 
that is, at the proper stage. 
The chim6 took nearly two hours to ‘‘coger punto’’. 
Juan exclaimed ‘‘¥a/’’ (‘‘Now!’’) and lifted the pot 
off the coals. 
After it had ‘‘rested’’ a while, and Juan saw that it 
was not sticky (pegdn), he made several heaps (tortas) 
of it on a table, where it continued to cool. It was now 
[7 ] 
