ABSTRACT
In the traditional dietary culture of Southeast Asia, strong influences of foreign cultures out of the area have been found from ancient times as described in Chapters 1 and 3. This was to a large extent due to the trade which developed between Southeast Asia with India and China as well as to a mass of immigrants coming over the sea from both areas. Traditional foods such as palm sugar, spices and others are mainly of Indian origin, while the fermentation methods and their application are assumed to have been introduced from China. The propagation and cultivation of palm trees as seen in South India, where trading relations were established with places all over Southeast Asia, are not found in Mainland China and, in addition, North India is presumed to be the secondary home of sugarcane. Consequently, wines made from sugary materials such as palm and sugarcane, black sugar and some other traditional foods are considered to be of Indian origin. The existence of Javanese words of Indian origin such as sura (liquor), gula (sugar) and others indicates such circumstances. However, fermented foods made from rice and soybean appeared later in Javanese historical records and are assumed to have their origin in China.
