Confection Confusion
Cravings are a vice that often times trump people. Human civilization evolved to grab every
opportunity to consume and store energy. When we crave the sweets, it is an urge that must be fulfilled
lest we become moody and grumpy the whole day. In the Philippines various regional desserts can be
discovered through the keen eye. The local cuisine of each region reflects the cultural representations of
the location and a reflection of their identities. However, the confectionary world of the Philippines is
now plagued with multiple foreign cuisines that circumvent our attention from the Filipino classics. We
are colonizers of our beckoning.
With the rich history of the 7,614 islands that build our nation, the Philippines possess a great
amount of cultural diversity. A melting pot of Spanish, American, and Southeast Asian influence that we
navigate as our own. These cultural medley seeps down to every crevice of our personality and is evident
in our cuisine. Most desserts in our country have foreign roots that we adapt and influence with our
inane Filipino-ness that make it unique and ours.
Philippine desserts have various forms made out of vast ingredients commonly stemming from
rice, root crops, coconut, and other abundant local products. Due to regional differences of our country,
each province has unique interpretations to acclaimed Filipino desserts. Usually, Filipino desserts are
comprised of the “kakanins” such as suman, bibingka, puto, sapin-sapin, kutsinta, and Puto Bumbong.
These rice-based desserts are a huge part of the cultural background of Filipinos with rice as a primary
produce in farms. Furthermore, the kakanins such as Puto Bumbong and Bibingka are used as a symbol
of the Christmas season. Being a staple dessert after attending the Misa de Gallo on the month of
December.
Other than the kakanins, other famous desserts are the leche flan, halo-halo, sorbetes, taho, and
Ube Halaya. These confectionary snacks are making rounds in the international scene becoming a
hallmark of Filipino food and a door opener for the Filipino cuisine. Various spins and takes are occurring
to our humble confections all over the world that creates a fusion of food and culture, a reflection of the
history of our roots and culture.
The truth is Filipino food especially desserts is a clearcut path to the future of our nation.
Filipinos cannot be considered as Asian in a cultural sense compared to our neighboring countries. We
are newly formed identity that is built by the geographical and colonial influence of our past. Our religion
and culture are worlds apart from our Southeast Asian counterparts. So, as we try to navigate in figuring
out our identity, we must not forget the mud at our feet. Meaning, we need to integrate our norms of
today to the identity of the Filipino nation tomorrow through the most basic form that is food.
In these rapid times of globalization, the nation with the strongest cultural identity will survive
the homogenizing of cultures. We must shout and embed our song of sweets and honey among the
many screams of other nations. Desserts are a big part of our culture originating from our crops,
symbolizing our practices, and a reason to sit at the dining table and create memories with family. It
represents the ingenuity of Filipinos in the international scene and should not be replaced by sundaes
and milkshakes. Thus, I call for us to stand side by side and cement our culture by looking back in our
mud-soaked feet and embrace the roots of our culture, through our art, our literature, our food, and by
permeating our place with our very own confections.