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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

PASALUBONG FROM BOHOL: CALAMAY

When we talk about BOHOL, we think of Chocolate Hills, Peanut Kisses, Tarsier and of course, the CALAMAY!!!

What is a CALAMAY?
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
Kalamay, also spelled Calamay, is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milkbrown sugar, and groundglutinous rice. They can also be flavored with margarinepeanut butter, or vanillaKalamay can be eaten alone but is usually used as a sweetener for a number ofFilipino desserts and beverages.[1] It is similar to the Chinese Nian gao (also known as tikoy in the Philippines) but is sweeter and more viscous.

Kalamay is made by extracting coconut milk from grated coconuts twice. Glutinous rice is added to the first batch of coconut milk and the mixture is ground into a paste. Brown sugar is added to the second batch of coconut milk and boiled for several hours to make latík. The mixture of ground glutinous rice and coconut milk is then poured into the latík and stirred until the consistency becomes very thick. It can be served hot or at room temperature especially when eaten with other dishes. Viscous Kalamay are often served cooled to make it less runny and easier to eat.

Of course, the Calamay is traditionally packed in an empty coconut shell, with a red band in the midportion of the coconut shell.

BUT, modern preparations have now given a new look to the Calamay.




Here are more trivia about the Calamay and its variations in other parts of the Philippines!
Types of Kalamay (from Wikipedia)

There are many variations and types of kalamay. Kalamay can be divided roughly into two types: the syrupy kind used in conjunction with other dishes, and the gummy chewy kind which is more expensive and usually eaten on its own.[2]
Varieties include the following:
  • Bohol Kalamay - Kalamay from the island of Bohol can vary from extremely sweet to mildly sweet. It is distinctive for being sold inside halved smooth coconut shells (the mesocarp of coconuts, locally known as bagol or paya). These containers are then sealed shut with a characteristic red crepe paper (papel de japon).[2] This type of packaging is known as Kalamay-hati (literally 'Half Kalamay').[3]
  • Baguio Kalamay - a type of Kalamay from Baguio City, Philippines. It is also known as Sundot Kulangot (literally 'Picked Snot') because of its consistency. It is sweetened with molasses which adds to its color. It is uniquely packed into halved pitogo (Sago Palm of the genus Cycas) shells and sealed with red crepe paper in a similar manner to the Bohol Kalamay. It is the smallest known traditional packaging of Kalamay. They are sold in bundles, several of these kalamay balls are nestled inside split bamboo and tied with a string.[3]
  • Iloilo Kalamay - Kalamay from the province of Iloilo and the island of Negros. It is thicker in consistency than other types of Kalamay. The city of San Enriquecelebrates a Kalamay festival.[4]
  • Candon Kalamay - Kalamay from Candon City, Ilocos Sur.[3] It is sold wrapped in banana leaves or in coconut shells, though modern packaging uses polystyrenecontainers wrapped in cellophane. Candon City also celebrates a Kalamay Festival.
  • Nilubyan or Iniruban- a kind of Kalamay made from pounded green rice. It originates from Camiling, Tarlac in the Northern Philippines.[3]
  • Mindoro Kalamay - a version of Kalamay from the island of Mindoro. It usually contains grated coconut and is flavored with peanut butter or vanilla.[3]  

Kalamay, in many Visayan languages (particularly Hiligaynon), is synonymous with 'Sugar'.[4] Its production has been known since during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines.

Kalamay is a popular pasalubong (the Filipino tradition of a homecoming gift). They are often eaten alone, directly from the packaging.[2] Kalamay is also used in a variety of traditional Filipino dishes as a sweetener.[1] This includes Suman and Bukayo. It can be added to beverages as well, like coffee, milk, or hot chocolate.


Come let us grab a CALAMAY!

FERRERO ROCHER CHOCOLATES!

Remember the Ferrero Rocher Christmas Tree in Hong Kong in http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/?
I really love Ferrero Rocher chocolates... and my friend, Nora knows this! She never fails to bring home Ferrero Rocher chocolates for us!!!

But this time, she brought a unique box for me! With newer flavors which I would want to share with you...


These are the flavors:



When opened...

When halved...

Yum, Yum, Yum!!!

Just want to share some facts about Ferrero Rocher.
From Wikipedia:

Ferrero Rocher is a spherical chocolate sweet made by Italian chocolatier Ferrero SpA. Introduced in 1982, the chocolates consist of a whole roasted hazelnut encased in a thin wafer shell filled with hazelnut cream and covered in milk chocolate and chopped hazelnuts.[1] The sweets each contain 73 calories, and are individually packaged inside a gold-coloured wrapper. Rochero comes from French and means "rock".[2]

Ferrero Rocher varieties:
A range of Ferrero chocolates benefit from the advertising of the Rocher type. These different chocolates are sold separately, and also as boxed collections of mixed types.
  • Ferrero Rocher – a whole hazelnut, coated in milk chocolate, surrounded by a hazelnut filling, and encased in a nut croquante.
  • Ferrero Rondnoir – a 'pearl' of dark chocolate, surrounded by a dark chocolate cream (with an almond center since the new recipe was released), encased in a croquante and encrusted with dark chocolate Sprinkles.
  • Ferrero Raffaello – a half almond, surrounded by meringue and milk cream, encased in coconut wafer coated with coconut flakes.
  • Ferrero Garden (Coconut) – a half almond, surrounded by coconut cream, encased in wafer coated with coconut flakes, and topped with white chocolate icing cap.
  • Ferrero Garden (Lemon) – as above, but with lemon cream centre and flavouring, and lemon icing cap.
  • Ferrero Garden (Forest Fruits) – as above, but with strawberry & raspberry cream centre and flavouring, and strawberry icing cap.
  • Ferrero Garden (Pistachio)[3] – as above, but with pistachio cream centre and flavouring, and pistachio icing cap.
  • Ferrero Garden (Almond) – as above, but with almond cream centre and flavouring, and almond icing cap.
  • Ferrero Garden (Hazelnut) – as above, but with nutella-type centre, and a white chocolate icing cap.
  • Ferrero Giotto – a chocolate cream centre, within a wafer sphere coated with hazelnut pieces.
The Rocher always bears a golden coloured wrapper, the Rondnoir a dark brown wrapper, and the Garden a silver wrapper with an illustration of the flavour under the name tag—for example, a strawberry, or a coconut. An exception is the Pistachio-flavoured one, which comes in a metallic Pistachio green wrapper.

Interesting, right?!?