Contemporary Minangkabau food culture in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Diet has a strong relationship with food culture and changes in it are like ly to be involved in the pathogenesis of newly emergent degenerative diseas es. To obtain in-depth opinions about the food culture of Minangkabau peopl e, focus group discussions were conducted in a Minangkabau region, represen ted by four villages in West Sumatra, Indonesia, from January to March 1999 . The members of the discussion groups were principally women aged from 35 to 82 years old. Minangkabau culture is matriarchal and matrilineal which a ccounts for female gender dominants in the discussions. Rice, fish, coconut and chilli are the basic ingredients of the Minangkabau meals. Meat, espec ially beef and chicken, is mainly prepared for special occasions; pork is n ot halal and therefore not eaten by Muslim Minangkabau people; and for reas ons of taste preference and availability, lamb, goat and wild game are rare ly eaten. However, rendang, a popular meat dish, has been identified as one of the Minangkabau food culture characteristic dishes. Vegetables are cons umed daily. Fruit is mainly seasonal, although certain kinds of fruit, such as banana, papaya and citrus, can be found all year around. Coconut has an important role in Minangkabau food culture and is the main source of dieta ry fat. While almost all food items consumed by the Minangkabau can be cook ed with coconut milk, fried food with coconut oil is considered to be a dai ly basic food. Desiccated coconut is also used as a food ingredient on abou t a weekly basis and in snack foods almost every day. Although there have b een no changes in food preparation and there is a slight difference in tast e preference between the young and the old generations, there has been a dr amatic shift in food preferences, which is reflected in the changing percen tage of energy consumed over the past 15 years. The traditional combination of rice. fish and coconut in Minangkabau culture goes back hundreds of yea rs, long before the emergence of the degenerative diseases of the newer eco nomies, and is likely to offer food security and health protection to the M inangkabau for as long as the lifestyle remains traditional. Whether or not a recent increase in energy intake from fat and the quality of fat may con tribute to the shift of disease pattern is fundamentally important for the Minangkabau, it seems unlikely the traditional use of coconut and its produ cts was a health issue. Moreover, it was clear from the focus group discuss ions that the use of coconut encouraged the consumption of fish and vegetab les.