In Indonesia, people can cook a specific ingredient, such as cassava into other meals. For example, Sundanese or West Javanese cook cassava into Peuyeum or fermented cassava. This traditional meal is popular in Bandung. That’s why people also call this meal Peuyeum Bandung. Learn the details below before buying and tasting it.
The Making of Peuyeum Bandung
Sundanese people prepare good quality cassava to make a Peuyeum or also known as Tapay. Then, they peel and remove the skin and wash the cassava tubers. The cassava tubers are boiled for a few minutes to make the texture softer.
You have to wait for a few minutes until the soft cassava cools before making peuyeum or Tapay. The process begins by spreading yeast to the cold soft cassava. Cover the cassava with yeast with plastic or banana leaves overnight for a fermentation process. You can’t open the cover before two or three days.
So, how do you know if the fermented cassava turns into a peuyeum? You will smell a good scent once you open the bowl. The texture of the cassava is even softer than before. The taste of the cassava is often sweet and a bit sour.
In the fermentation process, the yeast on the surface of the cassava produces alcohol from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The starch also degrades into dextrin and glucose. The glucose converts into alcohol or acid. The taste and quality of the product depends on the quality of the cassava and yeast.
Why Do Sundanese People Call It Peuyeum?
Peuyeum means meuyeum or memeram in Sundanese. It means that you are ripening the cassava with yeast to turn the texture, aroma, and flavor. This product is so popular in several places in West Java, such as Citatah village and Cimenyan village. Citatah village has even made this meal since the 1980s.
As the largest producer of cassava, West Javanese also uses this product to make aci or tapioca flour. Sundanese people always serve this fermented cassava to welcome guests or in specific events. It even becomes the identity of Sundanese people. Nowadays, you don’t have to make this food by yourself. You can find several gift stores that offer Peuyeum around Bandung.
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Is Peuyeum Safe to Consume?
Despite the fermentation process that involves bacteria, Peuyeum is safe to consume. The chemical changes in the process even prolong the shelf life of cassava, especially in tropical countries, such as Indonesia. Besides directly consuming this product, people also cook this meal into several derivative products.
Fried Peuyeum
You will find peuyeum goreng or fried peuyeum when visiting Bandung. In this case, people layer the peuyeum with flour and fry them. This is a snack in Bandung. People often consume fried peuyeum in the morning, along with a cup of unsweetened tea.
Kolak
People also consume Peuyeum with coconut milk and sugar. They boil the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and pandan leaves. Then, they add peuyeum, banana slices, jackfruit slices, and other ingredients to the mixture. This snack is known as Kolak. Indonesian people often serve Kolak during the month of Ramadhan.
Fruit Mixed Ice
You will also find Peuyeum when buying fruit mixed ice. This menu is the combination of a variety of fruits, jellies, peuyeum, syrup, and ice shaving. The flavor of this menu is fresh and sweet. It is so refreshing when consuming fruit mixed ice with peuyeum in the hot weather.
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Colenak
Colenak is also a Sundanese traditional snack made from peuyeum. Colenak means dicocol enak or dips delightfully. The sellers will grill or bake the peuyeum first and add palm sugar and grated coconut to it.
Peuyeum Cake
People are trying to create something new to introduce their area or traditional foods. Nowadays, you can also consume peuyeum cake. Just like its name, it is using the base cake dough and peuyeum as the additional ingredient. Due to the compounds, the peuyeum is used for the substitution of sugar in this cake. The list of the meals above explains that Peuyeum is safe to consume. The taste is also delicious when mixing it with other ingredients.
Nowadays, finding these meals is easy. You can go to the restaurants or food stalls around Bandung only to enjoy the meals above. Indeed, the price of these meals is also affordable.
The Easy Way to Taste the Authentic Peuyeum
You may find people who sell peuyeum nowadays, but you would better taste the authentic flavor of this java food. The best way to taste the authentic flavor of Peuyeum or Tapay is by visiting Bandung. Imagine that you can’t only taste the original flavor but also see the making of this fermented cassava.
The experience is something you can’t get when looking for Peuyeum in other cities in Indonesia. So, take Bandung to your holiday destinations. Make the process of traveling to Bandung easier by booking your flight ticket and hotel at Airpaz.com. You can also download and install Airpaz App on Google Play Store and book the ticket only from your gadget.
