baak

baak – /bá-ak/ Ilocano and Pangasinense condiment/acid) [n.] aged sukang Iloko (Ilocano sugarcane vinegar), fermented for at least one year.

The process of making baak in the Ilocos region would include the brewing process of extracted juice of sugarcane before it is stored in the burnay (Ilocano big earthern jar). A locally prepared yeast is added to allow the fermentation. 

In Pangasinan, baak is however not necessarily brewed. The sugarcane extract is fermented right away naturally in the burnay.

Baak vinegar sold on the roadside in Binalonan, Pangasinan

When baak is less than one year, it is yellow-orange in color with fruity sourness. When aged over one year or more, it becomes dark in color and is very very sour.

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

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Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling. 

Edgie Polistico 

cotton candy

cotton candy –  /ko-ton ken-di/ dw Eng cotton + candy) [n.] spun sugar

Threadlike fibers of melted sugar spun into a fluffy mass (as if like cotton fibers) twined around a bamboo stick, most often colored pink, sometimes in yellow or orange. On rare occasions, it is made of blue, violet, and green.

 

 

Pink is the most commonly used coloring in making cotton candy. Perhaps it has something to do with why young kids, particularly girls, are attracted to it like the ones being sold at the Rizal Park in Inopacan, Leyte.

Cotton candy is produced by a specially designed mechanical spinner. Using a small funnel, the rotating canister in the middle is filled with white sugar that is previously mixed well with a few drops of artificial food coloring. 

Underneath the canister is a hidden pressurized (hand-pumped) petroleum gas burner. The canister is rotated by a pedal or a crank installed underneath the rolling cart. The canister keeps on rotating until the sugar is heated and started to spurn out cotton-like threads. The cotton candy is then collected by swirling around a thin bamboo stick such as a bamboo barbecue stick (sans the pointed end to avoid accidents for children).

A cotton candy maker peddles the stuff along the busy 21st Street in West Rembo, Makati City.

In the provinces, cotton candies can be seen in small towns during special occasions at places where people would gather around, usually in public places. This one is in Inopacan, Leyte on its annual town fiesta. Originally, cotton candy is popular to kids and often seen in the peryahan (a transient village for watching circus and other amusenent fair)

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

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Let us know your opinion on the subject. Feel free to comment in the comment section, below. We need to know what you think.

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For more about Filipino food, see  this Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary. It is OPEN and FREE.

Continue to follow my blogs. You can also follow and learn more by joining us in our Facebook group. Have more bits and pieces about our kind of food, ingredients, and ways of cooking, dining, and knowing food culture across the 7,641 islands of the Philippines.

Encouragement and enthusiasm are not enough. I also need moral support, prayers, and anything else that can uplift my spirit and keep my good reasons. Keep them coming. All I know is that I am happy with what I am sharing and giving away. If you are pleased and happy with what I am doing, just smile and please share the happiness. Keep sharing and include to share the PHILIPPINE FOOD ILLUSTRATED. I feel energized when my blog becomes one of the reasons why you are happy and smiling.

Edgie Polistico