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Surakarta presents diversity 'jenang' at annual festival
The annual Surakarta Jenang Festival invited residents to feast on the legendary confection as part of the town's anniversary celebration.
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'Jenang gendul' (made from coconut milk, glutinous rice flour, palm sugar and pandan leaves) on banana leaves. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
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n Sunday, Feb. 17, thousands of people flocked to the annual Surakarta Jenang Festival in Sriwedari, Surakarta, Central Java. Visitors were welcome to choose any kind of jenang (porridge served with brown sugar or coconut milk) they desired, as it was given out for free.
The festival was part of the town’s 274th anniversary celebration, with around 27,400 portions of jenang being served by 274 food stands. The stands were representatives of traditional markets, schools, hotels and government bodies, among others.
Sharing her thoughts, visitor Sri Rejeki said that jenang might be small in portion but fulfilling nonetheless. “It contains carbohydrates, protein and sugar, so you get full quickly,” she said.
“My mother never failed to give me jenang for my breakfast when I was small, day after day. Now it’s harder to find jenang sellers, and children nowadays prefer bread and milk [for breakfast],” she added.
The nostalgic feeling prompted Sri to try out different kinds of jenang at the festival. One of them was jenang katul, considered one of the legendary types of jenang in town, and made from bekatul (bran), which in Indonesia is more commonly used as animal feed.
“My grandmother once told me that jenang katul inspired Prince Sambernyawa [who later received the title of Mangkunegara I] to plot the war against the Dutch,” Sri said. “This is savory and sweet. I can’t believe this was made out of bekatul.”
Hasta Gunawan, Surakarta Tourism Agency head, said the annual festival featured 17 kinds of jenang. Along with jenang katul, visitors could find other rarities including jenang procot (made from rice flour, brown sugar and banana) and jenang rangrang (rice flour, coconut milk and jackfruit).
Read also: Enjoying legendary 'Jenang' in Surakarta
“As in previous years, we aim to popularize jenang. It’s compulsory for tourist sites in Surakarta to include this traditional food in their menu,” Hasta said.
The festival first began in 2012. This year’s was marked with a parade of 17 kinds of jenang carried by Surakarta residents from Sriwedari Stadium to Sriwedari Plaza, around 300 meters in distance. Surakarta Mayor FX Hadi “Rudy” Rudyatmo, Surakarta Deputy Mayor Achmad Purnomo, members of Surakarta People’s Representative Council, artists and public figures joined the parade.
At Sriwedari Plaza, the various jenang were placed in a gazebo while the mayor opened the festival. Visitors were then invited to feast.
“In Javanese tradition, jenang is always there from birth till death. It is what makes well-being rituals complete,” Rudy said.
He added that the festival also aimed to reintroduce the food’s philosophy: diversity.
“We feature the diversity jenang, made from various kinds of jenang and it tastes good. It has different colors, different flavors, yet it is a single dish. It is a symbol of diversity in Surakarta,” he said. (wng)
