Philippine Food

Today I’ve chosen to present a paperback publication in rather marginal condition titled “Preservation of Philippine Foods: A Manual of Principles and Procedures,” that was compiled and edited by Sonia Y. de Leon, Ph.D. Published by Phoenix Press, Quezon City, Philippines, the preface is dated July, 1966, and states in part, “Food preservation could alleviate the ever growing problem of hunger and malnutrition in the Philippines. …The object of this manual is to encourage housewives and students to preserve foods at home.” Included in the Appendix is a “Lecture Outline,” indicating that Ms. Leon, possibly used this book as part of the curriculum at the University of the Philippines where she was an Assistant Professor in the College of Home Economics. (Another interesting Appendix is a "Dictionary of Preserving Terms.")

The book sets out sections related to freezing, salting, drying, smoking, curing, fermenting, and canning of meats, fruits and vegetables apparently raised or grown in the Philippines. For those interested in the science of cooking Dr. Leon includes sections on sugar concentrates with a table of pectin content of some Philippine fruits, the pectin-sugar-acid ratio in jelly formation, the pH values of important food groups useful for canning, food spoilage agents, and chemical additives in preserving food. But, what intrigues me most about this 198 page paperback is the large array of local (Philippine) recipes. A sampling: Tapang Baboy (salting of pork), Chicharon (pork cracklings), Dried Sinkamas (some sort of vegetable), Tapang Baka (jerked beef), Burong Isda (fermented rice with fish), Longanisa (native pork sausage), Burong Mustasa (pickled mustard leaves), Papaya Achara (pickled papaya). Anyone who cooks, or who appreciates food preparation would enjoy perusing this wonderful book.

Online, Dr. Leon appears to be a Board Member for the Philippine Association of Food Technologists, and President of the Foundation for the Advancement of Food Science and Technology. http://www.paft-phil.com/ Obviously, she is still active. However, I could not find a reference to this book online anywhere.