Camotes food trip

CEBU, Philippines - Centuries ago, when the Spaniards first arrived in Camotes Island (northeast off mainland Cebu), they encountered some native settlers farming from whom they asked about the name of the place.

The island’s early settlers thought that the Spaniards were asking them what they were putting into their native baskets called “bakat”. They replied: Kamote (referring to the abundant and nutritious sweet potato (kamoteng bagon) and cassava (kamoteng kahoy also known as tapioca) cultivated by farmers there to date). So it came to pass that the place is called “Camotes Island”. Now, it has four towns — Poro, Tudela, San Francisco (also known as Pacijan), and Pilar (also known as Ponson).

Last April 9, through the “Suroy-Suroy Sugbo: Enchanting Camotes” program of the Cebu Provincial Government, it was learned that quite a number of households there make a living by innovating food products from the root crop the island was named after, such as:

• Camote cookies. These are made of camote flour, margarine, sugar and cocoa powder. The dough is kneaded into balls, later on flattened by a fork for aesthetic purposes and brushed with vegetable oil before baked in a toaster.

• Camote chips. These are camote slices deep fried to golden yellow and crispiness, dusted with sugar before packing.

• Camote maruya. Instead of bananas, camote pieces are peeled and halved lengthwise and sliced a-quarter-of-an-inch thick. Needed are a cup of flour, two medium-size sweet potatoes, two cups cooking oil, one and a half teaspoon baking soda, ½ tsp. salt, an egg, 1/3 cup milk and flour for dredging, as well as sugar. The ingredients are to be stir-fried together before adding in the milk and eggs which are to be beaten until smooth. Camote slices are then rolled, dipped in batter and fried in hot oil until golden brown. Dust with brown sugar after.

• Camote suman or iraid. To prepare, one needs ½ cup coconut milk, 1 kg grated sweet potato; 1/3 cup young coconut, grated; a cup powdered malagkit (glutinous rice), ¾ cup sugar, and banana leaves. Grated sweet potato is to be cooked with coconut milk and sugar. Then, remove from fire. Afterwhich, add young coconut and powdered glutinous rice. Then, mix well before wrapping in banana leaves. The iraid is to be steamed from 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked.

• Camotestiks with Malunggay. Prepared by Jestrera’s Bakeshop which promotes Camotes Island through camote-based baked pastries, this particular food product is made of camote, malunggay, all-purpose flour, honey, iodized salt, powdered milk, baking powder, yeast, oil, and butter. Jestrera’s Bakeshop in the municipality of Poro is the very first recipient of the Countryside Enterprise Business Upliftment (CEBU) Training Award given last 2009 by the Province of Cebu and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The other camote-based pastries up for tasting during the island food trip were the camote pudding, camote crinkles, camote cupcakes, camote macaroons, camotetap, and camote polvoron.