When Food Is Shaped by Belief, Ritual, and Environment In many parts of the world, rats are associated with disease, urban waste, and fear. In Tomohon, a highland city in North Sulawesi, the meaning is different. Here, rats appear in markets not as symbols of neglect, but as part of a long-standing food tradition rooted […]
Rats from Tomohon: North Sulawesi Read More »
When Eating Means Not Wasting In many food cultures, preference is guided by flavor, texture, or presentation. In parts of North Sumatra—particularly among Karo Batak communities—food has historically been shaped by a different principle: nothing should be wasted. Trites emerges from this worldview. Often misunderstood from the outside, trites is not designed to impress or
Trites from North Sumatra: When Food Reflects Total Use, Not Taste Read More »
When Food Is Shaped by Environment, Movement, and Custom In many parts of the world, food is separated from conflict, travel, or endurance. It is something eaten at home, prepared in advance, and consumed at rest. In parts of Papua, however, food has long been inseparable from movement, environment, and survival—even during times of inter-tribal
Papuan Warriors and Ulat Sagu: Food Carried Through Conflict Read More »
When Young Coconut Shell Becomes Food In many parts of the world, a coconut shell is something to be discarded—hard, fibrous, and inedible. In western Bali, however, the story is different. In the regency of Jembrana, communities have long prepared lawar klungah, a traditional dish made from klungah—the soft inner shell of a young coconut.
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What is often labeled as “extreme food” by outsiders is, in many cases, deeply rooted in history, environment, and survival. In Indonesia, one of the most well-known examples is fried grasshoppers, a traditional food still consumed in southern Yogyakarta, particularly in rural areas such as Gunungkidul. For decades, this region was widely known as one