Ingredients
The sap
- 4 litresfresh coconut toddy
- karewe, collected the same day
- or 4 litres fresh palm sap
Equipment
- a wide heavy pan
- a fine sieve or cloth
- clean jars with lids
Poured over
- boiled breadfruit
- pandanus
- rice porridge
- coconut flesh
- pancakes and bread
Directions
- Boil it the same day it is collected. Or keep it cold until you can. Pour the fresh toddy through a fine sieve.
- Line it with cloth for a cleaner result. Pour the strained toddy into a wide pan.
- Use the widest pan that you have. A narrow deep pan takes twice as long. Bring it all up to a steady boil. Skim it off with a large spoon.
- Keep skimming through the first half hour. Reducing it takes several hours. Let it boil steadily and uncovered. Give it two to three full hours.
- Stir it regularly once it thickens. Judging when it is done is the whole skill. Drop a little onto a cold plate. It should thicken but still be pourable.
- Keep children well away from the pan. Let it cool for about ten minutes. Pour it into clean dry glass jars.
- Seal them once it is fully cool. Concentrated syrup keeps for months. Pour it over pandanus or rice porridge. It keeps six months sealed and cool.
Technique
- This is the same process as Marshallese jekmai, listed separately in the atlas under each country; kamaimai is the Kiribati name and karewe the Kiribati word for the fresh sap, with the method and use the same.
- Karewe is tapped from the coconut flowering stalk rather than being the water inside the nut, and it begins fermenting into an alcoholic drink within hours, so it must be boiled the same day or the sugar is gone and the syrup will be thin and sour.
- Toddy cutting is a skilled daily job in Kiribati, done at dawn and dusk and central to island life, but it means climbing tall palms twice a day and falls cause serious injuries; the atlas records the practice rather than teaching it.
Substitutions
- Any fresh palm sap can be reduced the same way.
- Bought coconut syrup is sold across the Pacific and needs no boiling.
Variations
- Fresh karewe is drunk sweet, and left to ferment it becomes an alcoholic toddy.
- Jekmai in the Marshall Islands is the same syrup under another name.
- It is poured over breadfruit, pandanus, porridge and coconut alike.
History
Boiling toddy down to syrup preserves the sugars for months, giving atoll households a sweetener when no fruit is in season.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kamaimai?
Kamaimai is a sauce & condiment from Kiribati: toddy boiled into dark caramel syrup, drizzled over breadfruit or porridge. Boiling toddy down to syrup preserves the sugars for months, giving atoll households a sweetener when no fruit is in season.
How long does Kamaimai take to make?
Kamaimai takes 20 minutes of preparation and 3 hours of cooking. The recipe makes about 500 ml syrup. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Kamaimai?
Yes, within limits. Any fresh palm sap can be reduced the same way. Bought coconut syrup is sold across the Pacific and needs no boiling.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kamaimai?
Stir it regularly once it thickens. Judging when it is done is the whole skill. Drop a little onto a cold plate. It should thicken but still be pourable.
