Sorbetes

Last updated

Sorbetes
Cheese and chocolate sorbetes (Philippines).jpg
Chasing Sorbeteros.jpg
Top: Cheese (queso) and chocolate sorbetes
Bottom: Traditional sorbetero pushcart
Type Ice cream
Place of originPhilippines
Serving temperatureCold

Sorbetes is a traditional ice cream originating from the Philippines and uniquely characterized by the use of coconut milk and/or carabao milk. [1] [2] Often pejoratively called "dirty ice cream", [3] [4] it is distinct from the similarly named sorbet and sherbet. It is traditionally peddled in colorful wooden pushcarts by street vendors called "sorbeteros". It is served in various flavors (usually dyed in bright colors) in small wafer or sugar cones and more recently, as a pandesal bread ice cream sandwich.

Contents

History and formulation

Ice was first introduced as a luxury item to the Philippines in 1847, when an American company, Russell & Sturgis, imported 250 tons of organic ice into the then Spanish colony. They acquired the tax-free rights to import ice into the Philippines by Royal Order in 1848. The company built the first ice plant in the Philippines in Calla Barraca, Binondo. The company went bankrupt in 1881 and was acquired by the businessman Julio Witte. Ice cream was already known to Filipinos in the Spanish colonial period. Ice cream was served as a dessert at the banquet at the inauguration of Emilio Aguinaldo in 1898. [5]

The first large-scale ice plant, the Insular Ice Plant was built during the American colonial period in 1902. It was one of the first permanent structures built by the US government in the islands, and the first ice manufacturing plant in Southeast Asia. [5]

The first sorbetes was made during this period using a primitive ice cream maker called a garapiñera. It consisted of a metal cylinder filled with the ice cream ingredients, enclosed by a wooden bucket filled with ice. It had a cranking mechanism that churned the contents of the cylinder until it acquired the texture and consistency of sorbetes. This typically took hours, and salt was added to the ingredients to speed up the freezing. These were sold on the streets by peddlers known as sorbeteros. They were originally on foot with a carrying pole (similar to taho vendors). Sorbeteros eventually started selling their products on a distinctive cart, which were gaudily decorated like jeepneys. Sorbeteros also carry a distinctive bell, that they intermittently rang. Each cart typically has three flavors, each dyed a vibrant color. [6]

Originally, sorbetes used cow's milk like American ice cream. Manufacturers eventually switched to the more readily available coconut milk, carabao milk, and even cassava flour, to make the ice cream more affordable. These ingredients give the ice cream a distinctly different flavor and consistency to the western ice creams it was based on. Original flavors were varied, but include distinctly Filipino ones like mantecado (butter), ube (purple yam), queso helado (cheese), pinipig (toasted pounded rice), melon, mango, jackfruit, avocado, and buko (young coconut). Flavors continued to evolve and now include a wide variety of artisanal native flavors, including unusual ones like champorado, green mango with shrimp paste (bagoong), bibingka, and so on. [5] [7]

Over time, sorbetes manufacturers also started competing with commercially available ice creams by adopting their flavors, like chocolate, cookies and cream, and mocha. Commercial ice cream giants like Arce Dairy, Esmerald, Darchelle, Magnolia, Nestlé, and Selecta, likewise, started copying local flavors and also started selling their products in sorbetero carts. [5] [8] [7]

Sorbetes acquired the name "dirty ice cream" as a joke, due to the fact that it is sold on the streets. [5] [8]

Sorbetero

Modern tricycle-mounted sorbetero in front of the San Luis Gonzaga Parish Church, Pampanga. Sorbetero (San Luis, Pampanga).jpg
Modern tricycle-mounted sorbetero in front of the San Luis Gonzaga Parish Church, Pampanga.

Sorbetes are peddled by sorbeteros (ice cream vendors) [9] using colorfully [4] painted wooden carts which usually can accommodate three flavors, each in a large metal canister. Peddlers get their carts from makers scattered around the cities of the Philippines in the morning and walk the streets the whole day, calling consumers from their houses by ringing a small handheld bell. [10]

The wooden cart has two large wooden wheels at the front part to easily push the cart though latest carts are already attached to bicycles. The cart is stuffed with shaved ice sprinkled with salt to produce a lower temperature around the metal canisters and keep the sorbetes frozen longer. [11] The whole sorbetes cart is also available for private gatherings when negotiated with the sorbetero. It is usually cheaper than buying gallons of ice cream to be served to guests. Sorbeteros provide several serving options. It may be served in a wafer cone, a sugar cone or a bread bun, at varying prices. A serving can include one flavor or, for no extra charge, a mixture of available flavors.

The Sorbetero has also been depicted in film and in song such as the 1979 film Mamang Sorbetero, and the song "Mamang Sorbetero", performed by Celeste Legaspi. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filipino cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of the Philippines

Filipino cuisine is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Filipino cuisine are from the food traditions of various ethnolinguistic groups and tribes of the archipelago, including the Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, Visayan, Chavacano, and Maranao ethnolinguistic groups. The dishes associated with these groups evolved over the centuries from a largely indigenous base shared with maritime Southeast Asia with varied influences from Chinese, Spanish, and American cuisines, in line with the major waves of influence that had enriched the cultures of the archipelago, and adapted using indigenous ingredients to meet local preferences.

<i>Halo-halo</i> Filipino dessert

Halo-halo, also spelled haluhalo, Tagalog for "mixed", is a popular cold dessert in the Philippines made up of crushed ice, evaporated milk or coconut milk, and various ingredients including side dishes such as ube jam, sweetened kidney beans or garbanzo beans, coconut strips, sago, gulaman (agar), pinipig, boiled taro or soft yams in cubes, flan, slices or portions of fruit preserves and other root crop preserves. The dessert is topped with a scoop of ube ice cream. It is usually prepared in a tall clear glass and served with a long spoon. Halo-halo is considered to be the unofficial national dessert of the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaved ice</span> Ice-based dessert

Shaved ice is a large family of ice-based desserts made of fine shavings of ice and sweet condiments or syrups. Usually, the syrup is added after the ice has been frozen and shaved—typically at the point of sale; however, flavoring can also be added before freezing. The dessert is consumed worldwide in various forms and ways. Shaved ice can also be mixed with large quantities of liquid to produce shaved ice drinks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maja blanca</span> Filipino pudding of coconut milk and cornstarch

Maja blanca is a Filipino dessert with a gelatin-like consistency made primarily from coconut milk. Also known as coconut pudding, it is usually served during fiestas and during the holidays, especially Christmas.

Ube halaya or halayang ube is a Philippine dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam. Ube halaya is the main base in ube/purple yam flavored-pastries and ube ice cream. It can also be incorporated in other desserts such as halo-halo. It is also commonly anglicized as ube jam, or called by its original native name, nilupak na ube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mango float</span> Filipino dessert

Mango float or crema de mangga is a Filipino icebox cake dessert made with layers of ladyfingers (broas) or graham crackers, whipped cream, condensed milk, and ripe carabao mangoes. It is chilled for a few hours before serving, though it can also be frozen to give it an ice cream-like consistency. It is a modern variant of the traditional Filipino crema de fruta cake. It is also known by various other names like mango refrigerator cake, mango graham float, mango royale, and mango icebox cake, among others. Crema de mangga is another version that additionally uses custard and gulaman (agar) or gelatin, as in the original crema de fruta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samalamig</span> Filipino sweet-chilled beverages

Samalamig, also known as palamig, is a collective term for various Filipino sweet chilled beverages that usually include jelly-like ingredients. They come in various flavors, and are commonly sold by street vendors as refreshments. Typical ingredients of the drinks include gulaman (agar), sago pearls, kaong, tapioca pearls, nata de coco, and coconut. They are usually anglicized as pearl coolers or pearl and jelly coolers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ube cake</span> Traditional Filipino chiffon or sponge cake made with ube

Ube cake is a traditional Filipino chiffon cake or sponge cake made with ube halaya. It is distinctively vividly purple in color, like most dishes made with ube in the Philippines.

Ice buko, also known as buko ice candy or coconut popsicle, is a Filipino frozen dessert made from condensed milk, young coconut (buko) strips, and coconut water. It is basically a frozen version of the buko salad. They can be sold on popsicle sticks or in plastic bags as ice candy. They commonly include other ingredients like peanuts, pinipig, macapuno, pandan leaf extracts, various fruits, or sweetened mung beans. They are popular desserts during the summer and are commonly sold by sari-sari stores and sorbeteros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buko salad</span> Filipino fruit salad dessert

Buko salad, usually anglicized as young coconut salad, is a Filipino fruit salad dessert made from strips of fresh young coconut (buko) with sweetened milk or cream and various other ingredients. It is one of the most popular and ubiquitous Filipino desserts served during celebrations and fiestas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iskrambol</span> Filipino frozen dessert

Iskrambol, also known as ice scramble, is a Filipino frozen dessert made from shaved ice with banana extract and evaporated milk with sugar It is then topped with a variety of ingredients including powdered milk, marshmallows, strawberry syrup, chocolate syrup, pinipig, tapioca pearls, and sprinkles, among others. The regular banana extract flavored dessert is characteristically dyed pink while other flavors may be dyed accordingly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ube ice cream</span> Filipino ice cream made with purple yam

Ube ice cream is a Filipino ice cream flavor prepared using ube as the main ingredient. This ice cream is often used in making the dessert halo-halo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ube cheesecake</span> Filipino cheesecake colored purple with yams

Ube cheesecake, also known as purple yam cheesecake, is a Filipino cheesecake made with a base of crushed graham crackers and an upper layer of cream cheese and ube halaya. It can be prepared baked or simply refrigerated. Like other ube desserts in the Philippines, it is characteristically purple in color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queso ice cream</span> Filipino ice cream made with cheese

Queso ice cream, also called keso ice cream or cheese ice cream, is a Filipino ice cream flavor prepared using cheddar cheese. It is one of the most common ice cream flavors of the traditional sorbetes ice cream, and is commonly served on with scoops of ube, vanilla, and chocolate ice cream in one cone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knickerbocker (Zamboanga)</span> Filipino dessert

Knickerbocker is an ice cream sundae dessert from Zamboanga City, Philippines made up of various fresh fruit chunks, flavored gulaman (agar) cubes, and nata de coco in condensed milk topped with strawberry ice cream. The fruits used include mangoes, bananas, dragonfruit, papaya, honeydew melon, apples, grapes, cherries, pineapple and watermelon, among others. Sometimes vanilla or chocolate ice cream may also be used. Nuts are also sometimes added. It has sometimes been regarded as a variant of halo-halo but differs in that the knickerbocker doesn't contain shaved ice. It is most similar to the American and British sundae dessert knickerbocker glory, from which it was derived from, but also differs in the ingredients. The dish was first popularized by the Hacienda de Palmeras restaurant before spreading throughout the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sili ice cream</span> Filipino ice cream made with labuyo chilis

Sili ice cream is a Filipino ice cream flavor prepared using labuyo chili, coconut milk, puréed strawberries and sugar. It was invented by the 1st Colonial Grill restaurant in Albay in 2004 and has since become a highly popular flavor. It is associated with and inspired by the regional cuisine of Bicol, which characteristically serves spicy dishes in coconut milk.

References

  1. ↑ "Filipino Dirty Ice Cream is Central London's Hottest Treat". Embassy of the Philippines, London. Republic of the Philippines. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Home-Based Food Business Idea: Recipe for Sorbetes". Business News Philippines. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Gen Z calls out Tiktoker for captioning dirty ice cream, well, dirty ice cream". Manila Bulletin. May 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Fausto, Angela Marie; Ocampo, Carla; Robles, Krisella; Custodio, Benette (2018). "An Ergonomic Analysis of the Traditional Sorbetes Cart". Advances in Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing. Vol. 602. Springer International Publishing. pp. 114–123. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-60825-9_14. ISBN   978-3-319-60824-2 . Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bacsa, Camille (May 15, 2018). "The Food Story: Pinoy Sorbetes". BiteSized.ph. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ Diana Galang. "Sorbetes And The Philippine Dessert Repertoire". Manila Bulletin via mb.com.ph.
  7. 1 2 Mishell M. Malabaguio. "How To Make Sorbetes (Home-made Ice Cream)". www.entrepreneur.com.ph. Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  8. 1 2 "Sorbetes". TasteAtlas. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  9. ↑ Polistico, Edgie (November 15, 2017). Philippine Food, Cooking, & Dining Dictionary. Anvil Publishing, Inc. ISBN   978-621-420-087-0 . Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  10. ↑ Sotelo, Yolanda (June 30, 2012). "Not-so-'dirty' ice cream brings in clean profit" . Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Why do they use salt to melt ice on the road in the winter?". HowStuffWorks.com. February 2, 2021.
  12. ↑ Gabinete, Jojo (February 10, 2021). "Trailer ng Tililing, sagana sa malulutong na mura, maseselang lengguwahe". PEP.ph. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.