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Vinegar
(Suka) - Vinegar is produced by fermenting the sap of the coco
palm flower in a jug container. This process is called natural fermentation.
After 2-3 weeks, the fermentation is filtered to remove unwanted sediments.
Next, it is pasteurized to remove microorganism. Finally it is bottled
and packed.
Coco
Jam (Matamis na Bao) - The process of making coco jam is quite
simple, it is a mixture of coco
cream (gata) and native brown sugar. The
mixture is continuously stirred in a frying pan until it turns sticky
to produce coco jam. This is one spread Filipino children love to
fingerlick.
The coco jam is also good for sandwich snacks.
Macapuno
- To produce the macapuno, the soft kernel of a young coconut is first
grated into strips. It is then mixed with white sugar and a small amount
of water. The concoction is allowed to simmer in a pan until it turns
into syrup and tasted for quality. When sufficiently cooled, it is then
bottled into a delicious, and syrupy sweet-tasting macapuno.
Bukayo
- An after-dinner sugarfix Filipino children love. It is made by simmering
coco meat strips in water and then mixed with white or brown sugar (which
explains the white or brown color) resulting into a sweet tasting diabetes-triggering
delight.
Tuba
/ Lambanog - The tuba or lambanog is a potent, locally made
brew produced from the sap of the coconut palm flower. When pricked at
the base, the dripping sauce is siphoned off into a container and allowed
to drip overnight.
The accumulated sap is then gathered the following morning. The resulting
liquid is then boiled in an aluminum pot and the resulting steam becomes
the lethal lambanog.
The
Pith (Ubod)
When a coconut tree is cut, the base of the upper growth is harvested.
At its core lies the
pith or ubod (the heart of the coconut tree). The ubod is about the size
of a child's head with an elongated part (actually, a leaf about to grow),
which is relatively soft and whitish in color. The ubod is sliced into
short strips and stewed in a pan with salt and seasoning. When soft and
edible, you can roll it up in regular amounts using rice flour and eggroll
wrapper to produce the native lumpiang ubod.
The
Trunk
The coconut trunk is a good source for a type of building material called
coco lumber. Coco lumber is obtained by sawing off the bark of the trunk
using a power saw. Usually, the manner of sawing off the bark should produce
a rectangular timber output. This is then sawed into various sizes much
like lumber in any hardware.
The
Roots
Filipinos will not just dispense with the roots either. When the roots
of a recently cut tree appear to have decomposed, Pinoys would dig them
up and utilize then as firewood. Thus, the uncanny ability of the Pinoy
to maximize the native coconut tree, clearly demonstrates his unique resourcefulness
and incomparable ingenuity about things, which are available and abundant.
Compared with our Asian neighbors similarly endowed with this plant, the
Filipino can certainly hold his own or even surpass, the many ways our
neighbors could go about, utilizing this ubiquitous tropical plant, which
is God-given resource.
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