Kamatis Iloko

Banna, Ilocos Norte. March 23, 2017.

kamatis Iloko - /ka-ma-tis i-lo-ko/ Ilocano fruit vegetable [n.] pumpkin-shaped tomato of Ilocos regions.

Local common names:

• Bakka-bakka in Ilocano (Ilocos Sur)
• Kakamatisan in Ilocano (Ilocos Norte)
• Kamatis Tagalog or kinalabasa in Tagalog, but the fruit is slightly different as its bottom side has no warty formation.
• Binakat in Cebuano (particularly western Leyte), the fruit is slightly different as its bottom side has no warty formation.

    

Found these pumpkin-shaped tomatoes in the public market of Banna, Ilocos Norte. They look more like a flower to me. 

Notice the one behind looks like a red rose. You are looking at the bottom side of that tomato.

I am fascinated by their bright colors and they taste good in tinola and kinilaw. Ano tawag nyo dito?

In Visayas, they have a similarly shaped tomato they called binakat, much like a tiny kalabasa (squash) without the warty underside, which I could not find easily in the public market the past few years.

Considered by some as an heirloom cultivar of pumpkin-shaped tomato in the country, which we can no longer find in the local market as farmers now switched to rounded and smooth-skinned hybrid varieties of tomatoes that yield more fruits, have thicker flesh, longer shelf life, and are tolerant to pests and diseases.

Regrettably, local farmers are not saving the seeds of this heirloom tomato.  Thus, we can no longer see them grown on the farm these days. If you happen to find this tomato in the rural gardens, treasure it. Don't waste your chance to save this tomato from getting extinct. This is a kind of tomato with a malinamnam taste. Best for tinola, kinilaw, pakbet, and even in a salad.   

Locals from Ilocos Sur called this tomato a bakka bakka. In Ilocos Norte, it is called kakamatisan.

  

All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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