Philippine Fruits for all Seasons & all Tastes

Philippine Fruits

Philippine Fruits for all Seasons & all Tastes

•       You can find Philippine fruits almost anywhere – in supermarkets, restaurants, even from the street vendors – but the best lot can be found in fruit markets/wet markets. There you can find a large collection of indigenous Philippine  fruits as well as imported ones coming from nearby countries. Once you get there, make sure to keep in mind when and how you plan to consume it. Some fruits like the jackfruit are sold both young and ripe, since unripe jackfruit is also used as a cooking ingredient in some Filipino dishes. Also, if you’re travelling with it or plan on eating it two to three days after purchase, make sure to get the ones that are almost ripe, but not quite yet.

In a tropical country like the Philippines, one could find it hard to resist the charms of the glistening sun; the alluring wind along the beach; and of course, the luscious and succulent fruits that are available almost everywhere. Most tourists who visit here indulge themselves with all the fruits they can muster, taking advantage the abundance of fresh, organically grown fruits without the heavy price tag.  Below are descriptions of some popular fruits found here, their uses as well as tips on how to distinguish the ripeness of the fruit.

 

 

Mangoes

Mango – literally the sweetest fruit in the world… and probably the most famous and sought

Sweet Yellow Mangoes

after fruit here in the Philippines. For some reason, locals as well as foreigners can’t seem to get enough of this. This is available all year round but the best ones come out during the season of summer. Unlike mangoes found elsewhere, the local variety is elongated in shape and has a smooth-textured skin. Ripe mangoes are bright-yellow in color and can be consumed as-is or chilled, while young ones are green – which is also enjoyed together with your favourite “bagoong”(local shrimp paste) or just a bit of salt. Personally, I find the best mangoes are the ones coming from “Guimaras”, a remote island just beside Iloilo province. The quality is attributed to the natural, soft limestone found in the soil on the island. When purchasing ripe mangoes, make sure to inspect the surface for deformations since these are delicate to handle.  Mangoes are rich in sugar and is a good source of vitamin A, C, and D.

Papaya

Refreshing Papaya

Papaya - considered as one of the nutritious fruits in the Philippines, it has a reddish-yellow flesh which is both juicy and refreshing. The outer skin is green in color and turns yellowish as it ripens. Most papayas found here are organically grown by small-scale farmers so it is abundant anywhere in the Philippines. Besides enjoying it ripe, there are other uses for it. Young papaya meat is actually an ingredient in a local dish like the “Tinolang Manok”( a chicken broth dish with ginger, papaya and chilli leaves). It also contains the enzyme “papain”, which is used for the production of meat tenderizers, pharmaceuticals and beauty products. It is very rich in vitamins A & C.

Jack Fruit

Jackfruit – this would probably be the BIGGEST fruit one would come across with. Its size

A Very Addictive Flavour

 varies but some grow as much as 3 feet long and 20 inches in diameter –wider than the trees they grow on!  The skin is very rough in texture, covered with small shallow spikes. One would never think that inside this colossal piece of “so called” fruit, lies one of the most tantalizing delights I have ever encountered. When ripe, the skin becomes soft and in some cases, cracks open; emitting an appealing odour similar to that of an over-ripe banana. Coincidentally, the flavour is similar to that of a plantain and a banana. Young jackfruit is also viewed as a culinary ingredient, producing local, mouth-watering dishes like the “Ginataang Langka” or the “Kadios, Baboy, Langka”- better known as ”KBL”. Also, the seeds can be eaten when boiled. If you want to purchase ripe jackfruit, the best indication for its maturity would be the smell of the fruit; for the sole reason that the young jackfruit does not emit that certain odour we discussed earlier.

Durian

Durian – a fruit that widely grows in the southern part of the Philippines, this would be the “Ultimate Exotic tropical fruit” for me. Before I elaborate any further, bear in mind that this fruit is not for the weak of heart (or should I say stomach?). It has an acquired taste and not everybody can appreciate the sweet, pungent aroma that this fruit emits.

Not Everyones Favorite

Durian is a big and heavy fruit weighting up to 10 pounds and a foot in diameter. The brown-colored skin is very hard and is covered with hard, long spikes! This fruit dubbed as the “king of all fruits”, grows on a tree 25-50 metres tall… and did I mention it’s entirely covered with hard, long spikes?!  One could only ponder with the thought of taking an afternoon nap under one of these trees. Setting aside those matters, it is actually a very popular fruit in most South East Asian countries. For me, the taste is creamy & velvety -similar to that of melted vanilla ice-cream, but it varies on whose perception you base it on; some would describe the taste synonymous to rotten bananas. Unfortunately, the same could be said for the odor. As I was walking past a fruit stand earlier, I can’t help but appreciate the smell of a durian, just ripe and awaiting to be sliced open; while my wife was so eager to leave because she cannot tolerate the pungent smell any longer. The best advice for the enthusiastic traveller; the only way to find out whether this fruit is for you is to have a taste of it. When purchasing ripe durian, look for small cracks around the surface of the skin. This is a good sign since this fruit cracks open when over ripe.

Cooking 

is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training.

Preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to humans, and some scientists believe the advent of cooking played an important role in human evolution^.Most anthropologists believe that cooking fires first developed around 250,000 years ago. The development of agriculture, commerce and transportation between civilizations in different regions offered cooks many new ingredients. New inventions and technologies, such as pottery for holding and boiling water, expanded cooking techniques. Some modern cooks apply advanced scientific techniques to food preparation^.

^{HISTORY OF COOKING}

There is no clear evidence as to when cooking was invented. Primatologist Richard Wrangham suggested that cooking was invented as far back as 1.8 million to 2.3 million years ago. Other researchers believe that cooking was invented as late as 40,000 or 10,000 years ago. Evidence of fire is inconclusive, as wildfires started by lightning-strikes are still common in East Africa and other wild areas, and it is difficult to determine when fire was first used for cooking, as opposed to just being used for warmth or for keeping predators away. Most anthropologists believe that cooking fires began only about 250,000 years ago, when hearths started appearing.

Historical oven cooking depicted in a painting by Jean-François Millet 

 INGREDIENTS IN COOKING

Most ingredients in cooking are derived from living organisms. Vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as well as herbs and spices come from plants, while meat, eggs, and dairy products come from animals. Mushrooms and the yeast used in baking are kinds of fungi. Cooks also use water and minerals such as salt. Cooks can also use wine or spirits.

Naturally occurring ingredients contain various amounts of molecules called proteins, carbohydrates and fats. They also contain water and minerals. Cooking involves a manipulation of the chemical properties of these molecules.

Main article: Protein

Edible animal material, egg whites, including muscle, offal, milk, eggs and contains substantial amounts of protein. Almost all vegetable matter (in particular legumes and seeds) also includes proteins, although generally in smaller amounts. These may also be a source of essential amino acids.When proteins are heated they become denatured and change texture. In many cases, this causes the structure of the material to become softer or more friable - meat becomes cooked. In some cases, proteins can form more rigid structures, such as the coagulation ofalbumen in egg whites. The formation of a relatively rigid but flexible matrix from egg white provides an important component of much cake cookery, and also underpins many desserts based on meringue.

Various raw meats.

Red kidney beans contain protein.

Main article: Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates include the common sugar, sucrose (table sugar), a disaccharide, and such simple sugars as glucose (from the digestion of table sugar) and fructose (from fruit), and starches from sources such as cereal flour, rice, arrowroot, and potato. The interaction of heat and carbohydrate is complex.

Long-chain sugars such as starch tend to break down into simpler sugars when cooked, while simple sugars can form syrups. If sugars are heated so that all water of crystallisation is driven off, then caramelization starts, with the sugar undergoing thermal decomposition with the formation of carbon, and other breakdown products producing caramel. Similarly, the heating of sugars and proteins elicits the Maillard reaction, a basic flavor-enhancing technique.

 

An emulsion of starch with fat or water can, when gently heated, provide thickening to the dish being cooked. In European cooking, a mixture of butter and flour called a roux is used to thicken liquids to make stews or sauces. In Asian cooking, a similar effect is obtained from a mixture of rice or corn starch and water. These techniques rely on the properties of starches to create simpler mucilaginous saccharides during cooking, which causes the familiar thickening of sauces. This thickening will break down, however, under additional heat.

Grain products are often baked, and are

rich sources of complex and simple carbohydrates.

 

Main article: Fat

Types of fat include vegetable oils and animal products such asbutter and lard. Fats can reach temperatures higher than the boiling point of water, and are often used to conduct high heat to other ingredients, such as in frying or sautéing.

Tempura Deep fried shrimp is usually cooked

in vegetable oil and is often served with Soy Sauce.

Main article: Water

Cooking often involves water, which is frequently present in other liquids, both added in order to immerse the substances being cooked (typically water, stock or wine), and released from the foods themselves. Liquids are so important to cooking that the name of the cooking method used is often based on how the liquid is combined with the food, as in steaming, simmering, boiling, braising, and blanching. Heating liquid in an open container results in rapidly increased evaporation, which concentrates the remaining flavor and ingredients - this is a critical component of both stewing and sauce making.

Water is often used to cook foods such as noodles.

Vitamins and minerals

Main articles: Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins are materials required for normal metabolism but which the body cannot manufacture itself and which must therefore come from soil. Vitamins come from a number of sources including fresh fruit and vegetables (Vitamin C), carrots, liver (Vitamin A), cereal bran, bread, liver e ( B vitamins), fish liver oil (Vitamin D) and fresh green vegetables (Vitamin K). Many minerals are also essential in small quantities including iron, calcium, magnesium and sulphur; and in very small quantities copper, zinc and selenium. The micronutrients, minerals, and vitamins in fruit and vegetables may be destroyed or eluted by cooking. Vitamin C is especially prone to oxidation during cooking and may be completely destroyed by protracted cooking^.

methods of cooking

There are very many methods of cooking, most of which have been known since antiquity. These include baking, roasting, frying, grilling, barbecuing, smoking, boiling, steaming and braising. A more recent innovation is microwaving. Various methods use differing levels of heat and moisture and vary in cooking time. The method chosen greatly affects the end result. Some foods are more appropriate to some methods than others. Some major hot cooking techniques include:

 

Roasting

 

Roasting - Barbecuing- Grilling -Rotisserie- Searing

Baking

Baking - Baking Blind - Broiling- Flashbaking

Boiling

Boiling- Blanching - Braising - Coddling - Double steaming - Infusion- Poaching - Pressure cooking - Simmering- Steaming -Steeping - Stewing- Vacuum flask cooking

Frying

Frying - Deep frying- Hot salt frying - Hot sand frying - Pan frying- Pressure frying - Sautéing - Stir frying

Smoking

Smoking

Common foods and dishes

Rice is a staple food in Philippine cuisine

As with most Asian countries, the staple food in the Philippines is rice. It is most often steamed and served during meals. Leftover rice is often fried with garlic to make sinangag, which is usually served at breakfast together with a fried egg and cured meat or sausages. Rice is often enjoyed with the sauce or broth from the main dishes. In some regions, rice is mixed with salt, condensed milk, cocoa, or coffee. Rice flour is used in making sweets, cakes and other pastries. While rice is the main staple food, bread is also a common staple.

A variety of fruits and vegetables are often used in cooking. Bananas (the saba variety in particular), Calamondin (kalamansi), guava(bayabas), mangoes, papaya, and pineapples lend a distinctly tropical flair in many dishes, but mainstay green leafy vegetables like water spinach (kangkong), Chinese cabbage (petsay), Napa cabbage (petsay wombok), cabbage (repolyo) and other vegetables like eggplants (talong) and yard-long beans (sitaw) are just as commonly used. Coconuts are ubiquitous. Coconut meat is often used in desserts, coconut milk (kakang gata) in sauces, and coconut oil for frying. Abundant harvests of root crops like potatoes, carrots, taro (gabi), cassava (kamoteng kahoy), purple yam (ube), and sweet potato (kamote) make them readily available. The combination of tomatoes (kamatis), garlic (bawang), and onions (sibuyas) is found in many dishes.


 Breakfast

A traditional Filipino breakfast: 

 pandesal (small bread rolls),

 kesong puti (white cheese),

 champorado (chocolate rice porridge),

 
sinangag (garlic fried rice),

and meat—such as tapa, longganisa, tocino, karne norte (corned beef), or fish such as

daing na bangus (salted and dried milkfish)—or itlog na pula (salted duck eggs). 

Coffee is also commonly served particularly kapengbarako, a variety of coffee produced in the mountains of Batangas noted for having a strong flavor.