Mand Community Makes Mar Together

by Dr. Lois Englberger

Working together and sharing are cornerstones of the traditional food system of Pohnpei. On 24 August, 2005, the Mand Community Working Group led by Kiped Albert joined together to prepare a number of Pingelapese delicacies using the raw preserved breadfruit, mar. This was held at the home of Francisco and Ramona Rosario in Mand.

The preparation of the Mand recipes, as well as the preparation of a traditional earth oven, was filmed and photographed by the professional photographers Peter and Lisa Kuhnlein. Their visit to Pohnpei from 22-30 August, 2005, was to conduct a visual documentation of the traditional food system of Pohnpei as part of the project led by the Island Food Community of Pohnpei in conjunction with local agencies and the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment.

There are some distinct differences in the Pingelapese and Pohnpei methods of preparing mar recipes, including the thorough washing of the raw breadfruit mixture for making Pingelapese mar without the sour taste. See the Health Notes article on Pohnpei preserved breadfruit mahr (notice there is also a spelling difference between Pohnpei and Pingelapese preserved breadfruit!) in the KP issue March 3-16, 2005.

Several recipes of mar mixtures were prepared: washing out the sour substances and adding banana and coconut cream (see recipe below); or preparing with grated coconut (either Mar Kamwer or Mar Mahn). Mar Kamwer is made with about 4 cups of rinsed raw mar and 2 cups grated coconut, and is then baked. Mar Mahn is made with about 4 cups of unrinsed raw mar (to give the sour taste) and 2 cups grated coconut.

The most commonly prepared Pingelapese mar product is made with a proportion of about 4 cups of rinsed raw mar and 3 cups of coconut cream, and these days processed sugar is added. However, for health benefits it is advised to avoid this and to use either coconut juice or the water from mature coconut for sweetness.

The mar products were prepared and baked in different shapes, a ball shape (Mar Kamwer), a short loaf shape (Mar Pilehk), and a long loaf shape (Mar Pikipik).

What delicacies, let's eat more mar!

Mar Pikipik dol Wis

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of preserved breadfruit mixture (mar)
  
• 4 cups pounded ripe banana, preferably a sweet one as Taiwang, Utin Pihsi, or Kaimana
  
• 3 cups coconut cream

Note: No sugar is needed because of the natural sweetness of the ripe banana. For health reasons, it is best to avoid adding processed sugar.

Method:

1. Put the mar in a clean cloth, thoroughly rinsing, washing, and squeezing. At the end, squeeze out all of the water.
   
2. Knead the washed mar mixture on a strong hard surface, such as a sakau rock, until it has a sticky dry texture.
   
3. Add the banana and coconut cream, thoroughly combining.
   
4. Shape into a loaf, about 5 inches wide and 12 inches long, place on banana leaves and wrap up tightly.
   
5. Bake in oven or uhmw for about 1 hour until done and serve.