Oncom

Imagine a special food from Indonesia called Oncom! It's like a yummy cake made from things that are left over after making other foods, like soy pulp from tofu or peanut bits after making peanut butter. Tiny little helpers, called molds, munch on these leftovers and turn them into something delicious and new. There are two kinds: red and black, and they are super important in Indonesian cooking!

Oncom is a traditional food that has been made for a long time in Indonesia, especially by the Sundanese people. It's a clever way to use up food scraps that would otherwise be thrown away. This means less food is wasted, and it helps people get more food from the same ingredients. It's like magic, turning leftovers into a tasty meal that people love to eat!

Oncom has some cool superpowers! One type, called red oncom, is made with a special mold called Neurospora. This is super unique because it's one of the only traditional foods made from this kind of mold. Scientists have even found that red oncom might help keep your body healthy by lowering something called cholesterol. It's like a healthy treat that's also super tasty!

Making oncom is like a science experiment! First, you take leftover bits from making other foods, like soy pulp or peanut press cake. Then, you add special tiny living things called molds.

These molds are like tiny chefs that eat the leftovers and change them. For black oncom, one mold called Rhizopus oligosporus is used. For red oncom, a different mold called Neurospora intermedia is the star!

They grow and transform the food into oncom.