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Processing podosiri by hand
- Research
- Moengo (SR)
- January 2019
- In collaboration with Suzanne Bernhardt
- Thanks to Abessa Amoeferi
Podosiri berries have a tough outer skin and very large seeds. To prepare them for consumption, they are first soaked to soften the skin. The large seeds are then strained out and the berries pressed to produce a dense purple liquid.
In many villages in Marowijne, posodiri is still processed by hand. In Moengo there is a small factory (see production process).
Suzanne Bernhardt and I visited Abessa Amoeferi to learn how to prepare podosiri by hand.
The berries have to be soaked in warm water, because podosiri is so hard and dry
After being picked, the podosiri berries don't have a lot of taste or juice yet. They have a very hard structure, almost wood-like
The berries are mashed so that the pulp becomes separated from the seeds
In Moengo we joined Abessa, who showed us how to prepare the podosiri so that it becomes edible
After the podosiri berries have been washed and soaked in warm water, they are sifted several times
A sieve with podosiri
Podosiri is sifted multiple times to remove all bigger fibres
The podosiri is packaged in small plastic bags to be sold
A bag of fresh podosiri has a shelf life of about three days