Fermentation and extraction of Po:ro Apong At first paddy husk and dried paddy straw is partially burned and the ash is collected in a container.
Cooked rice is spread on Kopak Anne (banana leaf) and after cooling mixed with the ash of paddy husk and straw to produce a mixture of black mass (Figure 2). E’pob (starter cakes) are pounded into fine powder and added to the rice-ash mixture. Generally one E’pob is added to 1kg of rice grains. The E’pob-rice mixture is now put in a Kili’ng (earthen pot). The earthen pot used for fermenting rice is first fumigated by placing on a Pe’rap until the pot turns blackish. The mouth of kili’ng is closed with dried straw and leaves of Rukji (C. extensa). In warm weather it takes 6-8 days but during cold weather 12-15 days is required for proper fermentation. Po:ro Apong is traditionally extracted in a cone-shaped bamboo basket called Ta:suk. The latter is hung from a post and its wall is covered with banana leaves; a pack of Amrong (paddy straw) is placed at the base of the Ta:suk which serves as a sieve or filter. Now Po:ro Arug (fermented rice) is taken out from the kili’ng (earthen pot) and put inside the Ta:suk, and water is poured from above. Water passes through the fermented rice grains and extracts the soluble components including alcohol. The pack of straw at the base of the Ta:suk allows passage of liquid only while retaining the fermented rice grains in the basket. The filtrate, now called Apong, is collected in a container (Figure 3).
Water is added 3-4 times for proper extraction of Apong, further addition of water is not encouraged as it is said to decrease the strength (i.e., intoxicating effect) and sweetness of the beverage. The remaining substrate after extraction is called Po:ro tonrug which is manually removed from the Ta:suk and used as pig feed or as fish bait. Again it is pertinent to mention that the whole process of extraction is exclusive job of women. Ready to consume Po:ro Apong is generally straw colored; sometimes it may be reddish-black depending upon the skill of the woman concerned. Mising folk believe that having two or three glasses (about 500ml) of Po:ro Apong a day can prevent formation of stone in kidney but needs further investigation to substantiate this local claim.
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