''Pom'' is a

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

se oven dish made using Arrowleaf elephant ear root, locally called "''pomtajer''".

History

Within the Surinamese community, in both

and The

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, ''pom'' is the most popular and best known festive dish. Within the Surinamese community ''pom'' is frequently referred to as a dish of Creole or

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

origin. It was introduced by the Portuguese-Jewish plantation owners as the Portuguese potato ("''pomme de terre''") oven dish. Because the potato did not grow in Suriname and had to be imported it was soon replaced with the root of the tayer plant. ''Pom'' combines three central ingredients: chicken, citrus juice and ''pomtajer'' (''

Xanthosoma sagittifolium ''Xanthosoma sagittifolium'', the arrowleaf elephant ear, arrowleaf elephant's ear, malanga or American taro, is a species of tropical flowering plant in the genus ''Xanthosoma'', which produces an edible, starchy corm. Cultivars with purple stem ...

''). Only the latter is indigenous, and although all plant parts are edible, only the underground part of the main stem is used as an ingredient in preparing ''pom''. The main stem or corm is most frequently designated as ''pomtajer'' or ''pongtaya'' (lit. the tajer/taya for ''pom''). The first published description of ''pom'' comes from the ''Encyclopedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië'' (1914–1917) which describes the dish as follows: ‘the big tajer, of which the stalk grows above the earth, is grated and treated with the juice of bitter oranges, afterwards with chicken or fish, made into a pie, which dish is known as ''pom''.’ The basic preparation method is sautéed chicken pieces between two layers of raw, grated ''pomtajer'', mixed with citrus juice and a sauce made from oil or margarine, onions, tomatoes, salt, pepper and nutmeg, baked in an oven until the ''pom'' becomes golden brown. In

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

alone there are over 120 establishments serving Surinamese food. Other

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

cities such as Rotterdam and The Hague have a growing number of caterers, eateries and

take-aways A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

. Most establishments serve ''pom'', and often also “''broodje pom''” (''pom'' on a

bread roll Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made foo ...

), a derivation of the national dish. In particular, “''broodje pom''” is rapidly gaining popularity and starting to appear on the Dutch menu. It can sometimes even be ordered in Dutch take-aways and for home-delivery. In recent years, more and more recipes for ''pom'' have appeared in Dutch cookbooks, newspapers and on websites. In 2007, an exhibition about ''pom'' was held at Imagine Identity and Culture, an Amsterdam-based centre for the representation of migration and cultures as seen from their own perspective.''Pom op het Menu''
. Exposition. The Netherlands, Amsterdam: Imagine IC, Mei-Augustus.

Notes

References

*Vaneker, Karin. 2009. The Pomtajer. Vegetables: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery 2008. Susan Friedland ed. UK, Totnes, Devon: Prospect Books: 216–224. *Stam, Dineke. 2008. The case of POM: Transnational Intangible Cultural Heritage. Paper presented at The 4th Annual Ename International Colloquium Between Objects and Ideas: Re-thinking the Role of Intangible Heritage. Belgium, Ghent, March 26–28. *Vaneker, Karin. 2008. Pomtajer: Exploring the potential of an under-utilised species in domestic cuisine and gastronomy. Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species, Electronic document

*Vaneker, Karin. 2007. Cooking Pom. Tom Jaine, ed., Petits Propos Culinaires. Great Britain, Totnes, Devon: Prospect Books, 30–48. *Vaneker, Karin. 2007. ''Pom op het Menu''. The Netherlands, Utrecht: Gopher BV. *Stam, Dineke. 2007. ''Welke kleur heeft pom? Toe-eigening van erfgoed. Levend Erfgoed 4'' (2007) nr. 2. *Vaneker, Karin. 2006. ''Broodje Pom. Traditie ederlands Centrum voor VolkscultuurWinter 4'': 23–28. *Vaneker, Karin. 2006. ''Hoe joods is Pom?'', Bouillon!, fall 56–60. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pom (Dish) Surinamese cuisine Baked foods Sephardi Jewish cuisine National dishes