Tablea is the Philippine’s version of raw chocolate used to make the traditional drink called ‘Sikwate’, or ‘tsokolate’ translating to ‘hot chocolate’. The process for making these cocoa balls is to roast, slightly ground till it’s soft enough to mold into round tablets, then fermented. An ingredient made without additives but will still last for…
The Guava (bayabas) comes from the shrub family ‘Myrtaceae’, cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. This incredibly yummy, low in calories, and loaded with fiber nutrients fruit is oval in shape, has a light yellow or light green skin, with pink to dark red colored flesh. These were traditionally used as a remedy for certain…
Eden Cheese, commonly shortened to ‘Eden’ is a Filipino commercialized cheese brand owned by Mondelēz International, popular throughout the country. This creamy and rich distinctly creamy yellow colored product has been in production since 1981. The brand has created different cheese products from its original block of Eden cheddar, being Eden slices, Eden Melt Sarap,…
The Dragon fruit plant or ‘strawberry pear’ or ‘pitahaya’, is an exotic looking fruit that has a bright pink outer exterior that look like large flame shaped scales with yellow-green tips. A tropical fruit with deep fuchsia, yellow, or bright white flesh freckled with small seeds. The taste is described as a combination of a…
The Santol fruit or in English ‘Cotton fruit’ (scientific name Sandoricum Koetjape) is a tropical fruit native to Malesia, also known as Maritime Southeast Asia. Abundantly found in local markets or groceries stores during its peak season from July to September. This apple sized round fruit is yellowish brown in color, with a pulp that…
Saba (banana) like any other banana is an elongated yellow fruit under the genus ‘Musa’ or ‘Musaceae Family’, and is one of the most important and most consumed fruit crops around the world. This tropical high fiber berry has a lot of potential health benefits, from maintaining heart health, blood pressure, gut, or mood. Eaten…
The Sineguelas fruit in English ‘Spanish Plum’ is an exotic native fruit from Latin America known for its antioxidant properties. But also found in the Philippines, as a seasonal summer fruit, having a purple with spots of green colored skin, has subtly sweet taste, favorably eaten for its benefits such as antioxidants, ascorbic acid and…
Spam (food) is seen as a timeless instant canned cured meat that you can open, slice, fry and just pair with bread, rice, or your choice of sides. This trademarked product is typically made of pork, salt, potato starch, sugar, water, some preservatives, with a choice of new flavoring offered like bacon, ham, jalapeño and…
Agar agar or just ‘Agar’ is a plant-based gelatinous substance that comes from certain cell walls from specific red algae. A very common ingredient in the culinary world used as a vegan gelatin substitute where it gets its other name ‘the vegetarian gelatin’. But why and when would you need to use this as a…
The Bitter Gourd plant, also called “Bitter Melon”, got its name from its bitter taste that gets stronger as it matures. A distinctive looking fruit with wrinkled, oblong-shaped, yellow green to dark green skin. This vine fruit-vegetable that has origins from Asia and India, known for the health benefits such as Vitamin A and C,…
