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Reis hat eine sehr tiefgehende kulturelle Bedeutung.
Nirgendwo auf der Welt wird pro Kopf so viel Reis gegessen wie in Madagaskar – überall
im Land wo immer es möglich ist findet man Reisfelder.
Madagassen essen am liebsten, wenn sie es sich leisten können, zu
jeder Mahlzeit Reis. Eine wässrige Reissuppe zum Frühstück,
Festgekochten Reis zum Mittagessen und abends noch mal eine Reissuppe mit
Blattgemüse and Abend.
Zahana baut eine Schule in Faidanana
Auch in der Hauptstadt Antananarive sind Reisfelder oft mitten in der Stadt in jeder Talsohle zu finden.
Reis Anpflanzen und
Verarbeiten
Die meisten Reisfelder werden im Wasser angelegt. Entweder von Quellwasser oder Regenwasser gespeist.
Preparing rice so it can be eaten
To separate the edible rice kernel from the shaft it needs to be pounded either by hand or treated in a mechanized rice mill. Rice pounded by hand is considered much tastier and flavorful in Madagascar and sold at a higher price in the markets. In these pictures from Fiadanana, all rice for personal consumption is pounded in a stone mortar by hand. This is the task of women and children. One person can pound up to two hours a day to get the rice ready for the family meal. Most villages in Madagascar still use manual pounding exclusively for the rice they grow and eat.
Drying rice on a mat in the sun prior to pounding it.
Girls pounding rice in stone mortars (in Fiadanana)
Girls pounding rice in stone mortars and close-up of stone mortar (in Fiadanana)
To separate the rice from the shaft it is either thrown in the air or poured from one vessel into another. This millennium old method separates the shaft from the edible kernel with the help of the wind. The lighter inedible shaft is blown away, while the much heavier rice kernel lands safely back in the intended container.
For people living in towns or cities who are not subsistence farmers and do not grow their own rice, trucks are used to supply them with the rice they need.
Different varieties of rice are grown in Madagascar and sold in the markets. Traditional varieties are much preferred by Malagasies and imported varieties of rice are considered much inferior in quality and flavor. Unfortunately Madagascar is not able anymore to produce all the rice they consume in their own country and has become a rice importing instead of a rice-exporting nation.
Rice is sold “by the cup” in the market, like the metal tin cup behind the price sign. The condensed milk can serves as a standardized measurement for many things sold in bulk in Madagascar.
Close-up of two Malagasy rice varieties sold in the market.
Charcoal or wood is used as the traditional cooking fuel in over 90% of the kitchens in Madagascar, including in the cities. For more information about cook stoves see our chapter “Improved cook stove technology as an environmental measure to preserve biodiversity and counteract deforestation”.
Left: Cooking rice over an open fire in the village of Fiadanana. Right: Cooking rice in a kitchen in Antananarivo, the capital city (right).
Most rice in Madagascar is eaten in a very watery consistency. Large amounts of rice are eaten in soup bowls together with a soup made of water and sweet potato leaves or cassava (manioc) leaves. This leafy soup is a staple normally eaten together with rice and most likely the only vegetable eaten with a meal. On special occasions small pieces of meat might be served as well.