The Filipino 'Tree of Life'

Monday, 6 June 2011

Untitled Document


	Young coconut juice

	Bibingka

	Coconut Palace

When Bart Simpson is stranded on a deserted island in season nine of the Simpsons, he naively asks whiz-kid Martin Prince to make a radio and Nintendo out of coconuts. Impossible? Maybe. But whilst the versatility of the coconut may not extend to electronics, this remarkable fruit is able to provide for just about anything else - particularly in the Philippines.

If any country could market its coconut production as a tourist attraction, it would be this South East Asian nation. As the largest coconut producing country in the world, responsible for around 20 million tonnes of the tropical fruit annually (about a third of the world’s total production), the coconut holds a special place in the hearts of Pinoys (Filipinos). In fact, in this archipelago nation the coconut is commonly referred to as the ‘Tree of Life’, so vital is it to the majority of the population.

Ubiquitously used in cooking, the coconut appears in many forms throughout mealtimes in the Philippines. Whilst its milk, known as gata, and grated coconut flakes feature in savoury dishes like laing (a spicy taro leaf-based dish), it is during dessert that this versatile produce really shines.

Bibingka (a type of rice cake) , ube halaya (a purple yam sweet) and buko pie (a young coconut pie) are just a few of the appetising afters that feature coconut, while the white-fleshed fruit is also turned into ‘Coco Jam’ and most importantly, macapuno (young coconut slices).

Even the leaves of coconuts are used for cooking, with puso (a sweet rice dish) wrapped and stored within the leaves.

Young coconut juice (or coconut water) is a delicious and healthy drink which can be bought all over the Philippines. Also used to produce coconut vinegar and fermented to produce alcohol, coconut water is usually served still within the massive whole fruit (almost the size – and weight – of a bowling ball). Alternatively, sap from unopened coconut flowers is made into coconut vodka, known locally as lambanog.

A testament to the diversity of the coconut is in its non-culinary usages.

Whilst coconut oil, soap and shampoo are widely produced throughout the country, the coconut’s husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. Additionally, dried half coconut shells with husks (bunot) can be used to buff floors and are even used as a music instrument in a folk dance called maglalatik.

The coconut even has religious significance in the Philippines. In the northern part of the country, in an offering to the deceased and one's ancestors, the Ilocano people fill two halved coconut shells with diket (cooked sweet rice), placing halved boiled eggs on top. Accompanying this is a prayer to the dead.

Certainly the biggest homage to the coconut in the Philippines (and the world) is Manila’s Coconut Palace. Commissioned by Imelda Marcos for the visit of Pope John Paul in 1981, and made out of several types of Philippine hardwood, coconut shells, and a special coconut lumber, the palace recently became the official residence and office of the Vice President of the Philippines.

Forget Bounties and Cherry Ripes, in the Philippines you can get so much more.