Growing Region
Purple corn is a variant of the species Zea mays L. that is endemic to the Peruvian Andes, where the corn's unusual colour developed as an adaptation to the local environment. Purple corn has been cultivated regionally for centuries, and locals continue to grow this plant on small, family-owned farms to this day, some at impressive heights of 3,000m above sea level. While purple corn may be consumed as a food in its own right, it is also often used as a traditional food dye in cooking and baking.
Gentle Processing
For production, the purple corn cobs are hand-picked, washed, gently dried (at temperatures below 45°C) and lastly milled to a fine powder. In the last step the finely sieved powder is packaged to protect against moisture, light and oxidation.
