Potential of local wisdom to add value to local and traditional food crops of praknamdaeng community, Amphawa, Samutsongkhram

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to investigate the types of local foods of Praknamdaeng Community and the potential of local wisdom of the community’s traditional foods in the aspect of raw material resources, production process, commercial production, wisdom transfer as well as to collect the knowledge of food ingredients and cooking methods in Praknamdaeng Community, Amphawa, Samutsongkhram. This research was conducted by in-depth interviews with 12 local food experts who have lived in six villages of Praknamdaeng Community. Two people per village were purposively selected. The research tools were interview forms, a tape recorder and a camera. The data were analyzed by mean, percentage and rating scales. The study revealed that 132 types of local foods were found and classified into three groups, namely main dish (75%), dessert (15.15%) as well as preserved and processed foods (9.85%). As for the potential in raw material resources, two types of traditional foods were at a high level (100%) and in the aspect of the potential in production process, all kinds of the foods were also at a high level, preserved and processed foods (84.62%) and dessert (80%) and main dish was at a moderate level (54.55%) Furthermore, the potential in preserved and processed food’s commercial production was at a high level (53.85%) whereas the potential in dessert’s commercial production was at a moderate level (45%) and the potential in main dish was at a low level (59.60%). From the result of wisdom transfer, all types of the foods were at a moderate level including dessert (100%), preserved and processed foods (100%) and main dish (67.67%). As a result of the collection of the knowledge of food ingredients and cooking methods, the commonly used meat to cook main dishes were found in the local areas and consisted of cuttle fish, tilapia, long-whiskered catfish, mullet, sea catfish, sea bass, rock cod, mackerel, bream, white bait, nile tilapia, shakehead fish, giant tiger prawn, banana shrimp, jinga shrimp, sea crab and salt mardi crab. Moreover, the vegetable ingredients were phak plang (Bacella alba Linn.), cha-kram (seablite), luk sam sip (Asparagus race mosus willd), phak bia (rose moss), nam pung do (Azima sarmentosa Benth) and phak kom hin (Trianthema portulacastrum). Most dessert ingredients were coconut milk, palm sugar and granulated sugar whereas the ingredients of preserved and processed foods were fishes, shrimps and salt which were used to preserve foods; for example, drying, salting, etc. In addition, the findings showed that the main dishes’ cooking methods of six villages were curries with local vegetables including hot and sour soup with phak kom hin (Trianthema portulacastrum), hot and sour soup with cha-kram (seablite), hot and sour soup with phak plang (Bacella alba Linn.), hot and sour soup with tua tob tab (Derris trifoliate Lour.), hot and sour soup with yod prong thalee (queen sago leaf), hot and sour soup with sano (Sesbania javanica Mig.) flower, kaeng liang (spicy herb soup) with phak kom hin (Trianthema portulacastrum), kaeng oom (dill soup) with nam pung do leaf and red curry with Nipa palm’s fruit. Nowadays, the ready-made curry paste which is available in the market is normally used. If any vegetables used were bitter, salty or astringent, they would be boiled before cooking. Most of the desserts were boiled ones such as khanom tom (Thai coconut munchkins), khuay buat chi (banana in sweet coconut milk), buat fak thong (pumpkin in sweet coconut milk), green beans in light syrup, soft sweet sticky rice pudding with young coconut meat, and tapioca pearl pudding with young coconut meat. Due to lots of fishes all year-round, most of the favorite preserved and processed foods in the community were sun-dried fish and deep-fried marinated fish.