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Roots and tubers from Federated States of Micronesia

Mahr (Pohnpeian fermented breadfruit)mahr

Mahr is ripe breadfruit that is peeled, cored and packed into an earth pit lined with banana and Canna indica leaves, then covered with more leaves and rocks to ferment. It can be eaten after two weeks to three months and keeps much longer if the leaf lining is changed. It is mixed with coconut and baked into loaves, and the first loaves go to the paramount chief.

Fully documentedRoots and tubers2.5 months – 5 months

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold and village practice with no fixed amounts; Atchley and Cox recorded seven different ways of making it on Pohnpei.
Ripe breadfruitPeeled with cowrie-shell scrapers and cored; cut into strips or quarters, or left whole[atchley1985]
Fresh or dried banana leaves and Canna indica leavesLine the pit in layers and cover the fruit[atchley1985]
CoconutPieces or grated coconut are mixed in before baking[atchley1985]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.5 months – 5 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Ripe breadfruit is scraped with cowrie shells, cored and cut into strips

Step 1 of 4
Peel, core and cut the breadfruit
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus
Leuconostoc
Pediococcus
Yeasts

Output: breadfruit cut into strips like shoestring fries (Awok) or quarters (Kitti).

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Mahr is ripe breadfruit that is peeled, cored and packed into an earth pit lined with banana and Canna indica leaves, then covered with more leaves and rocks to ferment. It can be eaten after two weeks to three months and keeps much longer if the leaf lining is changed. It is mixed with coconut and baked into loaves, and the first loaves go to the paramount chief. Made in 4 steps over 2.5 months – 5 months. The longest step, pack into a leaf-lined pit and cover with leaves and rocks, takes 14 days – 3 months (Atchley J 1985). In pit-fermented breadfruit generally (mā, a family the guide says includes Pohnpeian mahr), naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc and Pediococcus, with small amounts of wild yeasts; no study has identified the microbes of mahr itself does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step14 days – 3 monthsReported[atchley1985]Pack into a leaf-lined pit and cover with leaves and rocks

What makes this one different

Mahr goes straight into a leaf-lined earth pit with a Canna indica lining, unlike Marshallese bwiro, which is soaked in the sea and stored in boxes. The first loaves are owed to the chief.

Related ferments

Variants

  • MahrsedFermented in saltwater lagoons by coastal Pohnpeians; it tastes different from inland mahr.
  • Marenlong ("mar from the air")Green leaves are tied around ripe fruit still on the tree so it ferments there; once made only for the Nanmwarki.
  • Metalanimw mahrWhole cored fruit is thrown into the pit, and mahr making is a man's job.

Safety

The leaf lining is changed whenever the pit is opened, and a drainage ditch keeps water out of the pit.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Atchley and Cox recorded seven methods in 1983–1984 and noted that mahr was more widespread before the Japanese occupation. In ancient Pohnpei, owning fermentation pits was a sign of prestige. Stone-lined pits about 3.3 m square inside Nan Madol may have been communal storage pits. NTBG says mahr is still made every season in Micronesia.

Temperature, salt and pH
The sources we found give no temperature, salt or pH figure for any of its steps.
  1. [atchley1985] Atchley J., Cox P.A. 1985, Breadfruit fermentation in Micronesia, Economic Botany 39(3):326–335 (Ponape section; read from a scanned copy)paper
  2. [ctahr-fn68] Lincoln N.K., Uowolo J., Lapiyalur H., Rieber L., Autufuga D., Akaka H., Silva J. 2026, Making Mā, Fermented Breadfruit, University of Hawaiʻi CTAHR Extension publication FN-68gov
  3. [ntbg] National Tropical Botanical Garden, Breadfruit Institute, Ethnobotanyweb
  4. [ntbg-herb] NTBG herbarium record PTBG1000037545 (kahlipw pit, leaf lining)web