Hampo Black Jatiwangi

Indonesia – ID003A
Composition: Clay
Colour: Black
Shape: Shaped

Slightly sticky, woody taste, a bit stocky, smell of an old dusty room.

This sample, known as hampo or ampo, was purchased at market by masharu and Tommi Pringadi in Jatiwangi, Indonesia in September 2016. The seller said that hampo is eaten as a snack, as a medicine, as well as it can be used to get pregnant faster, and for spiritual purposes. She added that because she eats hampo herself, she has six kids, as eating clay increases fertility.

Online sources confirm that hampo is a snack made from soil coming from Central Java and East Java, Indonesia. It is indeed usually consumed as a light meal or snack and is especially loved by pregnant women. There is also evidence that supports the usefulness of the flora found in soil ingredients of hampo. Some have even suggested that it is useful, if not vital, in the establishment of healthy bacteria within the digestive tract, addressing the problems presented by Crohn’s disease and leaky gut syndrome.

Hampo is made from gravel-free dark earth that is formed into thin spiral strips, then baked and smoked in a large clay pot for a half-hour before serving. A wooden stick is used to beat the soil into a solid hard substance, where these spirals of dirt are removed with a dagger made of bamboo. Methods and production are passed on generationally and the taste differs based on the quality of the soil.

Sources:
● ‘Ampo (snack)’, Wikipedia (English), accessed on 14/06/2022 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampo_(snack)
● Second image from ‘Get to know Ampo as a Unique Indonesian Snack Food’, by Asean, Indonesian (English), accessed on 14/06/2022 indonesiar.com
● ‘Ampo, the snack made from dirt’, Neatorama, by John Farrier, (English), accessed on 14/06/2022 www.neatorama.com

Photo by Tommi Pringadi

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Reviews

  1. This is a real clay. A little bit woody. Tastes like dark earth. Smells like wood, a little stocky. This smell, when you open old dusty room, like your grandparent’s room

  2. Taste impressions from Designkwartier Den Haag curated by Satellietgroep, 2017:

    smoked spareribs > (wood) taste
    Bijna als drop!
    Smoked wood!
    Blackened fried stuff
    forbidden fruit : )
    gross aftertaste
    Burned Sand.
    nice-smoked.
    DARK FOREST
    BBQ

  3. Taste impressions from Designkwartier Den Haag curated by Satellietgroep, 2017:

    Bouwachtig
    Dark and Rich
    Crunchy vegan bbq
    Verrassend heftig
    Rook
    Earth
    grot, vochtige kelder
    gerookt, zandje

  4. Taste impressions from Designkwartier Den Haag curated by Satellietgroep, 2017:

    Oude koperen 21 mm pijp
    difficult to describe but it is not nice : )
    Doe maar niet
    cigarettes-smoke – Where are the spareribs?

  5. Taste impressions from Designkwartier Den Haag curated by Satellietgroep, 2017:

    dirt
    clay
    cacaonibs + masticha extract < only grows on chios island
    (greek tea resin)
    Smaakt naar aarde zoethout
    addictive sweet/bitter/coffee
    houterig
    smokey, earthy

  6. Taste impressions from Designkwartier Den Haag curated by Satellietgroep, 2017:

    made me think of playing with clay as a kid and tasting it
    beginning nice,
    second taste: no, not for me
    burned smoke

  7. Taste impressions from Designkwartier Den Haag curated by Satellietgroep, 2017:

    steensmaak
    aarde! en idd^ heftig om mee te beginnen na een pannenkoek
    best een sterke smaak maar helemaal niet vies.
    zanderig
    jutte, de zak van sinterklaas zoet x vochtig, tweedehands broek

  8. Taste impressions from Designkwartier Den Haag curated by Satellietgroep, 2017:

    gross aftertaste like a campfire from rpevious days overgrown with funghi
    after a while the funghi association becomes less and the campfire more
    tastes like wet clay/earth

  9. Taste impressions from Designkwartier Den Haag curated by Satellietgroep, 2017:

    taste of camping but wild one + ash
    smell: Rubber, latex

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