TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
The Great Nastar Debacle
A deliciously made nastar is guaranteed to steal the spotlight and spark some debate at social gatherings. But, why?
Change Size
(Courtesy of The Jakarta Post)
A
time for nastar is a time for indulgence. With its sweet and tangy jam and a slightly crumbly buttery crust, nastar strikes the perfect balance of a light dessert and a lavish snack.
The luxurious taste of nastar, an Indonesian pineapple tart that originates from the Dutch during its occupation across the archipelago centuries ago, does become a goal that local consumers and bakers sought after. For someone who is hosting Ramadhan celebrations, a jar of decadent nastar is a show of generosity and prestige – almost like presenting an exotic tea or a single-origin Ethiopian coffee.
And for these bakers, producing nastar that is rich in texture and taste is an accomplishment all on its own. Finding the recipe that encapsulates the baker’s idealism and the consumers’ preferences can take months; and perfecting it may be a lifelong affair.
Looking at the basics of kue kering, nastar actually shares a similar dough recipe to other cookies in the kue kering family, such as kastengel or putri salju. Though nastar is said to be the substitute for pineapple tarts back in the day, its look and feel don’t actually fit that of the common fruit tart. Some say they are pretty much the Indonesian version of butter cookies, or shortbread.
Yet out of all other kue kering, nastar is possibly the only one that has evolved into a sophisticated variant, demanding bakers to have advanced knowledge and techniques for balance. So much so, nastar’s popularity is equally proportional to the scrutiny it receives by consumers and bakers alike whenever they come across versions whose quality doesn’t measure up to the general expectation.
Read also: How to navigate unwanted questions and survive family gatherings
A good nastar is an act of balance between a flaky but soft crust, as well as a firm but slightly soft jam filling. If the crust is too flaky, it will leave a lot of messy crumbs and therefore be difficult to enjoy. If the jam filling is too wet, it may end up ruining the entire experience. All of this will be put under scrutiny by nastar lovers long before we get into the issue of flavors.
