By: Naomi Carissa Intaqta dan Rina Maulidiyah, LPPOM Auditor
Bakpia, that’s a legendary name. This snack has various fillings. But actually, how is the halal aspects of this food?
School holidays are a time to gather with family, celebrate the end of fasting, and visit a city with various culinary and recreational places. Solo can be an alternative place for you.
It is a great region for a city of Javanese culture and soul, making it one of the top ten favourite destinations among Indonesian people during holidays. One of the Solo City souvenirs that tourists often seek after is Bakpia. This typical cake from Fujian, Republic of China, was brought and preserved by the Chinese people who lived in the Balong area, Jebres District, Solo City.
As it growth, Bakpia has not only become a typical Solo souvenir for local residents and tourists, but has also become a global culinary product. Bakpia craftsmen collaborate with suppliers and distributors in various regions in Indonesia and abroad. This makes Bakpia easier for the wider community to find. Bakpia is also an essential part of Solo’s culinary history and is one of the culinary symbols inherent in the city’s identity.
As reported by Onosolo.id, the word “Pia” comes from Chinese and means cake, and “bakpia” means cake with beef fillings (pork). But because of assimilating with the culture of Indonesia, whose majority is Muslim, bakpia fillings are changed to various types, such as mung beans and cheese.
The Uniqueness and Production Process of Bakpia
Bakpia is a cake consisting of a roll of baked skin with filling. The main characteristic of Bakpia is its thin and chewy skin dough. This bakpia skin is made from flour, granulated sugar, and cooking oil, giving a soft texture when bitten.
Another uniqueness of Bakpia is the way it is made. This cake is still produced traditionally using ancient techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation, making It so unique and have a high value.
This snack also has a beautiful and attractive appearance. Bakpia is usually shaped into a round shape with a distinctive pattern that decorates the surface of the skin. This pattern can be in the form of flowers, leaves, or other beautiful patterns. This attractive appearance makes Bakpia suitable as a gift for those closest one to you.
The Halal Aspects of Bakpia
In the production of Bakpia, some ingredients have a halal critical point that has to be scrutinized thoroughly. Those ingredients are such as:
- Wheat flour
Wheat flour uses wheat as raw material, which is clearly halal. However, fortification is carried out to increase the vitamin and mineral content in the process of making this flour. Commonly used fortifiers are iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and folic acid. This vitamin fortifier can be produced from a biotransformation process or chemical synthesis, in biotransformation using microorganisms that are propagated in a growth medium that requires a carbon source and a nitrogen source.
The growth medium can come from animals that are haram or even halal animals that do not go through slaughter in accordance with Syariah. Other fortifications such as L-sistein amino acids, can usually used for wheat gluten softener. L-sistein can come from human hair extract, animal fur extract, and microbial products. L-sistein that comes from human hair is clearly haram, based on MUI Fatwa No. 2/MUNAS VI/MUI/2000 that using part of the body is haram.
L-sistein that comes from animals also has to be explored further, fur sheep can be taken when they are still alive, but poultry might feel hurt so they have to go through slaughter first and has to in accord with Syariah. On the other hands, if microbial products are needed it have to be explored further and more complex, including microbial culture, medium ingredients, purification material, auxiliary materials and other ingredients.
- Sugar
Various types of sugar, such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, and others, function as sweeteners or even as preservative in food products. White sugar from sugar cane sap is produced through extraction, refining, evaporation, crystallization, centrifugation, and drying.
Sugar refining is a halal critical point. Activated carbon or ion exchange resin, which is commonly used as a filtration agent, can come from animal-derived materials. Activated carbon can come from plants, coal, chemicals, or animal bones.
In ion exchange resins, it is necessary to notice whether to use gelatine as a dispersant agent. Gelatine can come from animal bones. Apart from that, if the process of making sugar uses microbial products, it must be ensured that the media used is halal and not contaminated with najis.
- Cooking Oil
The critical point in cooking oil is the fortifying and clarifying agent in the purifying process. Fortification of vitamin A in cooking oil functions as an antioxidant to prevent it from oxidizing easily. Vitamin A usually got from the plant, but it also can be made in synthesis way from chemicals.
The use of activated carbon functions as a cooking oil purifier. Activated carbon can come from plants, coal, chemicals, or animal bones. If it comes from cow bones, it needs to be ensured that it is slaughtered according to Islamic Syariah.
- Bakpia Fillings
For there are 7 kind of fillings for bakpia, such as chocolate, cheese, durian, red beans, mung beans, chocolate and cheese, and also kinds of beef. For the chocolate, cheese, durian red beans, mung beans with the mixture of fresh ingredients, sugar and water
Especially for cheese filling, the manufacturing process involves various ingredients that can make this dairy product non-halal. Cheese is made through various process stages, starting from the process of adding starter bacteria, adding protein coagulating enzymes, curd formation, molding and pressing, adding salt, and storage (ripening).
Protein-digesting enzymes (proteases) are important for coagulating the cheese and separating it from the whey. There are various enzymes used in making cheese, such as: rennet, pepsin, renin (chemosin), renylase, and others. The rennet enzyme used can come from fermentation (microbial rennet) or from the calf’s stomach.
If it comes from microbial fermentation the medium for the microbe growth have to be ensured not contain anything haram. If it comes from the stomach of a calf, of course, the method of slaughter determines the halal. If other enzymes are used, the source is also a critical point for the halal. Furthermore, the starter used in making cheese is a microbe where the media used to grow it can come from halal or haram ingredients.
On other hands, if the bakpia fillings are beef, it have to ensured that it comes from a halal animal and slaughter in a Syariah way. This things that have to ensured, because historically from the start bakpia fillings are pork. And until now, there is still a producer who makes pork filling as their variant.
- Production facility
Because of that, the facility of the production is really important. Generally, one brand will be produced in one facility (cleansing area, cooking utensils, etc.). Furthermore, if a pork variant is produced in the same facility, it will contaminate other bakpia variants.
With all of the pieces of information above, muslim consumers hopefully will be careful in choosing a product that halal is still obscure. All of that is in the matter of maintaining the quality and integrity of the prayer, keeping the taqwa, and being committed to not plunge in a haram way. (***)
