Pandanus paste is a dried fruit preserve made from the fruit of

Pandanus tectorius ''Pandanus tectorius'' is a species of ''Pandanus'' (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English inclu ...

, most commonly found in the low-lying atoll islands of

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

. In the harsh climate of the atoll islands, Pandanus fruit serve as an important staple food and numerous methods were created to preserve them. The preserved paste was known as ''edongo'' in

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

, ''jããnkun'' or ''mokwan'' in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

, ''sehnikun in kipar'' in the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...

and ''te tuae'' in

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

Preparation

Ripe Pandanus fruits are harvested and cooked for a long period of time in an

earth oven An earth oven, ground oven or cooking pit is one of the simplest and most ancient cooking structures. At its most basic, an earth oven is a pit in the ground used to trap heat and bake, smoke, or steam food. Earth ovens have been used in many pl ...

. The cooked fruit is then crushed and scrapped to extract the pulp and thinly layered on leaves to dry out in the sun for several days, turning over occasionally to ensure an even drying process. Once dried, the paste is cut, rolled and tightly wrapped in pandanus leaves, which are then tied. The paste has a flavour resembling dried

dates Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating * Play date, a ...

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

s and is often mixed with coconut cream to create various foodstuffs. Dried Pandanus paste is rich in

Vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably bet ...

, containing more beta-carotene than raw or cooked Pandanus fruits. Pandanus paste can further be dried out in an earth oven and pounded to create a flour, which is mixed with water to create a drink. The flour is known as ''ekareba'' in Nauru and ''te kabubu'' in Kiribati.

Reference

Micronesian cuisine Gilbertese cuisine Nauruan cuisine Marshallese cuisine {{cuisine-stub