Breadfruit sealed in leaf-lined pits for months, its sour paste baked into cakes. It is a Melanesian famine reserve dug before cyclone season, and a pit may be opened years later when the gardens fail.
It is an anaerobic pit ferment held for months or years under earth and stone, and the seal is what makes it work; a bucket version has neither the acidity nor the exclusion of air.
What goes into it
- breadfruit
- leaves to line the pit
- stones and earth to seal it
How it is made
A pit is dug and lined thickly with leaves. Peeled breadfruit is packed in, covered with more leaves, weighted with stones and sealed under earth. Cut off from air, lactic bacteria acidify the mass over months into a dense sour paste that keeps for years, and it is dug out and baked when it is needed.
How long it takes: months at minimum; pits are kept for years
How it is eaten
Kneaded with coconut cream and baked into dense sour cakes.
History
A Melanesian famine reserve dug before cyclone season, the pit opened years later when gardens fail.
Frequently asked questions
What is Fermented Breadfruit?
Fermented Breadfruit is a fermented & pickled from Solomon Islands: breadfruit sealed in leaf-lined pits for months; sour paste baked into cakes. A Melanesian famine reserve dug before cyclone season, the pit opened years later when gardens fail.
How is Fermented Breadfruit made?
A pit is dug and lined thickly with leaves. Peeled breadfruit is packed in, covered with more leaves, weighted with stones and sealed under earth. Cut off from air, lactic bacteria acidify the mass over months into a dense sour paste that keeps for years, and it is dug out and baked when it is needed. It takes months at minimum; pits are kept for years.
Can I make Fermented Breadfruit at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is an anaerobic pit ferment held for months or years under earth and stone, and the seal is what makes it work; a bucket version has neither the acidity nor the exclusion of air.
What goes into Fermented Breadfruit?
Breadfruit, leaves to line the pit, stones and earth to seal it.
How is Fermented Breadfruit eaten?
Kneaded with coconut cream and baked into dense sour cakes.
