Ampo, Snack Made By Soil. Do You Believe It?

Do you like something weird or unique? This is the best place for you. You will find the weird food here. Actually I like cooking and I like visiting other hub about cooking recipes. I like them all. That's other benefit by joining HP, we can share the recipes or cuisines from our region, like traditional recipes. We can learn much more about cooking tips or cuisine from all over the world. Food is a good topic to talk. I think we all love eating, trying other food in restaurant while hangout with our friends or family. In the leisure time, I like watching Rachel Rays cooking show from my television. Although it didn't live broadcast, but I really enjoy that show. I learn much about recipes and tips from Rachel Rays, she's great chef. But I can found many good chefs inside HP. And I give big appreciation for you all who post cooking recipes in this site. Two thumbs up for you...... :-)

Back to topic. What kind of ingredients that we usually use for cooking? We all certainly familiar with meat, fish, cheese, butter, flour, sugar, salt, ketchup, soy sauce, onion, garlic and many more. I can't mention these one by one, because we all know about many kinds of ingredients. But, have you ever think to make a snack from the soil? For me personally this is outside of my mind, really I am not joke. But don't be surprised with this snack. This snack really made by soil. Do you know soil? I think we all know the soil. The places where we stand in this earth are come from the soil, right! This snack called AMPO.

I am life in Indonesia, a beautiful country in Southeast Asia. I can found various cuisines in my country. There are 17.480 islands in Indonesia. We can estimate how many cuisine types around Indonesia. But Ampo is the most weirds cuisine in Indonesia based on the ingredients. We can find this snack in Tuban, East Java. The exactly place in dusun Traulan, Bektiharjo village, Semanding District, Tuban. Where the people in this city eat this snacks. Actually not all people in Tuban eat this snack, but some people. We all know that we life in modern era, so many foods surrounding us even in Tuban we can easily find fastfood. The recent news said that not only Tuban people who ate this snack but also Brebes people. Brebes is the city in Middle Java.

I think this snack can be entered Ripley's Believe It or Not! show with Dean Cain as the host. With the category the most weird food. This was just my opinion. But to entering Ripley's Believe It or Not! was too difficult, because many requirements that must be met .

Ampo believed can cure some disease and it became a medicine for some people. They also believe that ampo can reduce the pain. Wow...amazing. In Brebes this snacks which made from clay have been attracted people especially pregnant women. Clay wasn't only could made into bricks, tile or pottery, but clay can be processed into a snack. The basic ingredient is pure from clay without any other ingredients. The making process of ampo very simple, like:

• The first step is select the clean soil like clay and not rocky
  
• The clay was shaped into rectangular and then compacted using a large timber.
• It dried under the sun until it dry.
  
• The next step, the dry clay was sliced thinly using a stick. The stick made from a bamboo blade sharpened on one side. Soil moisture must be maintained. So it was shaped like a scroll. And then cooked immediately using a large furnace.
  
• The cooking process takes approximately four hours, until the color changed to black.
  
• The crunchy ampo is ready to serve.

Simple tips from Ampo makers: to produces delicious ampo, savory, and not bitter they usually use smoke. Therefore, during ampo cooking, ampo makers stay keep the fire is not lit, but continued to smoke.

Although the base ingredient of this snack was made by soil or clay, but ampo has not effected on health. It said the people who consume ampo for a long time ago and it still continued until now. But there's no research about ampo had been done by the government. Because ampo is a traditional food. And it processed from generation to the next. But the people who like ampo still eat rice and other normal food. They eat this snack occasionally. They said that the taste of ampo so crunchy and little bit of spicy.

Ampo lovers said that it can be cure a disease, such as itching and fever. If ampo used as a medicine it was not eaten as a snack, but soaked in water and the water was drunk as a medicine. But there's no research and medical report about this. Maybe only trust and suggestions that can cure them.

Mr.Sobirin as an ampo makers said that the price of ampo so affordable, only $0.05 per pack . In a day he could sold around 500 packs. His ampo usually ordered by seller in the market. Mrs Rasima as an ampo's makers and a sellers too said that she got $2.2 by selling ampo in a day. Tuban and Brebes is the only place in the world which we can find the people who eat soil. Indeed there are strange people in the world who love to eat sand, and other weird objects. But no one who ate baked soil. A Tuban's resident said that he had eaten ampo since he was a little and to cool the stomach.

I don't want to expose poverty in my country. But I just want to share about weird food from my country. I hope this hub useful as a knowledge for us. And it was also good to add the wide variety of world cuisine. If there's a category for weird food in the contest, I hope this hub become a nomination...hahahaha, just kidding. Simple tips from me:

"DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME"

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  We are still remember "Fear Factor", The television reality show. We can see many challenge there. Maybe we could saw many challenge about ate food. Not usual food. How about the frightening food of the world. Maybe while we are traveling around the world. We visit the place that serve unique food. I'll explain about the most frightening food. I just talk about the most frightening food from Asia.

• Gadget in Cake , Fresh Idea for Cake Decorating

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