Seaweed is one of the most important fisheries products of Indonesia, either as a source of fish farmers’ income or for foreign exchange.
Seaweed ( Fig. 1(560)) can be used as an industrial raw material, or as fast food products like taffi. Seaweed taffi ( Fig. 2(484)) is a preserved food which can last longer than pudding and candy. Processing of seaweed taffi is ideal as a household or home industry.
Materials and Equipment
Materials
- Seaweed (50-55 days old), dried up to 20% moisture content
- Sugar
- Coconut milk
- Calamondin
- Salt
- Ginger
- Vanilla
- Chemical substances: CaCo for washing, and KCl for boiling.
Equipment
- Thermometer
- Crude scale
- Analytical scale
- Baking pan
- Spatula
- Dry cloth
- Blender
- Stove
- Wok pan
- Oven
Traditional Method
The traditional seaweed taffi processing by the Seribu Island (Indonesia) people is as follows:
- Soak dry seaweed for 2-3 days to reduce putrid smell.
- Wash seaweed by using clean water.
- Slice, then boil with a ratio of 1: 10 water an seaweed until dissolved and cooked.
- Filter.
- Heat the dough, add 8-10 parts of sugar to seaweed.
- Add ginger or Pandanus leaves extracts.
- Slice seaweed taffi aprox. 1 cm x 2 cm x 1.5 cm
- Dry for as long as 4-5 days. Seaweed taffi lasts up to 1 month.
Improved Technology Assessed by the BPTP Jakarta (Table 1)
- Wash the dry seaweed repeatedly.
- Soak for 10 minutes in the water containing 20 g quicklime.
- Wash using fresh water.
- Soak for 2 days, then dry and mill.
- Extract/boil at a temperature of 90°C for 5 hours with a ratio of 1: 5 water and seaweed.
- Filter to separate filtrate from wastes.
- Cook filtrate and add white sugar with a ratio of 4:1, then add salt and vanilla according to taste.
- Stir the dough until it becomes unsticky.
- Pour the dough into a baking pan.
- Cool down for as long as 24 hours.
- Slice at 3 cm x 2 cm x 1 cm.
- Sun dry for 1-2 days.
- Bake in an oven at a temperature of 40°C for 6 hours.
- Package the seaweed taffi in a plastic box and then label.
Index of Images
Figure 1 DRY Seaweed
Figure 2 Seaweed Taffi
Table 1 Economic Analysis
Cooperating agency for this topic:
Jakarta Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology
Jakarta, Indonesia, 2005-12-01
Source: agnet.org
