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Filipinos love sugar. And why not, we do grow a lot of sugar cane here after all. You will notice a heavy hand of sweetness even in the savoury dishes as it is not uncommon to add Sprite or some other sugary soft drink to a main dish during the cooking process.
I could go on and on about Filipino food (and I did, in a previous post, so check it out here if you’re a foodie). But for now, I’ll keep the list to the easily transportable packaged goodies that make great “pasalubongs”.
Dried Mangoes
You can also find dried banana, dried jackfruit, dried papaya, etc but mango is really what the Philippines is all about. Sweet and chewy, biting into these will take you right back to the times you had them fresh in the Philippines.
Polvoron
Made from powdered milk, toasted flour and sugar, held together by melted butter and then packed into little moulds and released into paper wrappers. These little treats crumble when you bite into them. Not ideal for the lactose intolerant. You can find these in classic or with added pinipig (rice crispies) and a multitude of other flavours.
Otap
A golden baked biscuit made from puff pastry with a spirally oval shape and sprinkled with granulated sugar. Crunchy, light, sweet and brittle, it originated in Cebu but now available everywhere.
Tablea Chocolate
Chocolate was introduced to the Philippines by way of the galleon trades from Mexico to Manila. With tablea, cacao beans are roasted and ground are formed into balls or tablets. Later on you put these into a pot with milk and sugar, dissolving and cooking them into a rich hot chocolate.
Rosquillos
Another cookie native to Cebu, this one is made from flour, eggs, butter and sugar. It has a distinctive shape: circular with scalloped edges and a hole in its centre. My grandmother used to spread a little butter on her rosquillos and dip it in her coffee.
Piaya
Unleavened flatbread with a muscovado sugar and glucose syrup filling. Not surprisingly, it originates from Negros Occidental, the sugar capital of the Philippines.
Hopia
Hopia, another favourite afternoon snack is essentially mooncake, which was introduced to us by the Chinese. It is flaky pastry traditionally filled with sweet mung bean but also comes with other fillings such as ube, camote and even pork.
Pastillas de Leche
Candies made from milk and sugar, cooked and then rolled, sometimes coated in sugar and individually wrapped. My favourite are the ones made from carabao’s milk; though be warned these do not have a long shelf life and should be eaten right away (not a problem for me).
Ube products
This purple root vegetable makes itself known in a range of edibles, from ice cream to chips and different kinds of cakes. It doesn’t have a strong flavour but that bright, punchy colour adds a festive touch to whatever it is in. Ube flavoured candies or pastillas or how about some ube jam?
Coffee
There are several regions of the Philippines successfully growing coffee. Robusta and Excelsa varieties are also grown here, but Arabica and Barako would be my picks to bring home.
Jam
Mango and pineapple are my favourites to give as little gifts; also calamansi marmalade. Tropical sweetness in a jar.
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