Filipino sweet delicacy
Kalamay
(also spelled
Calamay
, literally "sugar") is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the
Philippines
. It is made of
coconut milk
,
brown sugar
, and ground
glutinous rice
. It can also be flavored with
margarine
,
peanut butter
, or
vanilla
.
Kalamay
can be eaten alone; but is usually used as a sweetener for a number of
Filipino
desserts
and beverages. It is related to the
Chamorro
dessert called
Kalamai
.
Preparation
[
edit
]
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
latik
. The mixture of ground glutinous rice and coconut milk is then poured into the
latik
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.
Consumption
[
edit
]
Kalamay
is a popular
pasalubong
(the
Filipino
tradition of a homecoming gift). They are often eaten alone, directly from the packaging.
[1]
Kalamay
is also used in a variety of traditional Filipino dishes as a sweetener,
[2]
including the
suman
and the
bukayo
. It can also be added to beverages like coffee, milk, or hot chocolate.
Biko
and
sinukmani
are similar dishes which use whole
glutinous rice
grains. The preparation is the same except that the glutinous rice is first cooked whole and not ground into a paste, and then is smothered with the
latik
. In some regions (particularly in the
Northern Philippines
), this dish is referred to as the
kalamay
, with the viscous kind differentiated as the
kalamay-hati
.
The
latik
from
kalamay
by itself can be used with other desserts, particularly with dishes made from
cassava
(which is then referred to as 'cassava
kalamay'
). Kalamay is also commonly confused with
matamis sa bao
, a similar viscous dish. However, the latter does not use rice.
Types
[
edit
]
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 (higher
latik
ratio), and the gummy chewy kind which is more expensive and usually eaten on its own.
[1]
- Antipolo
kalamay
(also called
kalamay perya
) ? the
Tagalog
version of
kalamay
. It is a specialty of
Antipolo
. It is traditionally served as a flat disk on banana leaves, topped with
latik
curds. It has a denser chewier texture.
[3]
- 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
).
[1]
This type of packaging is known as
kalamay-hati
(literally 'Half kalamay').
[4]
A type of Bohol Kalamay is called "Calamay sa Jagna" which is a famous delicacy from the town of Jagna. It has a distinct taste. The "Calamay sa Jagna" was taught intentionally by a parish priest of Jagna named Rev.Fr. Mariano Gutierrez of the Order of the Augustinian Recollects particularly in Barangay Can-upao.
[5]
[6]
- Baguio
Kalamay
? a type of
kalamay
from
Baguio
, Philippines. It is also known as
Sundot Kulangot
(literally 'Picked Booger') 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.
[4]
- Iloilo
kalamay
?
kalamay
(also known as
kalamay-hati
) from the province of
Iloilo
and the island of
Negros
. It is thicker in consistency than other types of
kalamay
. The town of
San Enrique
celebrates a
Kalamay
Festival.
[7]
- Candon
kalamay
?
kalamay
from
Candon
, Ilocos Sur.
[4]
It is sold wrapped in banana leaves or in coconut shells, though modern packaging uses
polystyrene
containers wrapped in
cellophane
. Candon 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.
[4]
- Mindoro
kalamay
? a version of
kalamay
from the island of
Mindoro
. It usually contains grated coconut and is flavored with peanut butter or vanilla.
[4]
- Indang
kalamay
(also called
calamay buna
) ? is a sweet delicacy of sticky rice, brown sugar and coconut milk that is well known in
Indang
Cavite. This variety of calamay from
Indang
is made from glutinous pulverized rice called
malagkit
mixed with coconut milk and
panutsa
(native
jaggery
).
[8]
Similar to other traditional
kakanin
rice cakes, kalamay also has variants based on secondary ingredients, they include:
[9]
- Kalamay gabi
? kalamay made with
taro
(
gabi
). It is typically milky white in color.
[10]
- Kalamay na pinpipig
(also known as
kalamay na duman
or
kalamay pandan
) ? kalamay flavored with
pandan leaf
extracts and topped with toasted and pounded immature rice grains (
pinipig
or
duman
). It is bright green in color.
[11]
[12]
- Kalamay ube
? kalamay made with ube (
purple yam
). It is lavender or purple in color. It superficially resembles
ube halaya
, but has a smoother texture.
[13]
[14]
Origin
[
edit
]
Kalamay
, in many
Visayan languages
(particularly
Hiligaynon
), is synonymous with 'sugar' (extracted from
sugarcane
).
[15]
The word is usually
elided
to
kamay
in modern
Cebuano
dialects. In the
Waray
language,
kalamay
refers to a hardened cake of
molasses
used as sweeteners for many cooked desserts. Its production has been known since the
Spanish
colonization of the Philippines.
Similar desserts
[
edit
]
A cousin of kalamay is
dodol
, found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and in some parts of the Philippines. It uses similar basic ingredients and preparation.
Dodol
, however, is a solid candy, unlike the liquid
kalamay
.
Kalamay
is visually similar to the Chinese
nian gao
(also known as
tikoy
in the Philippines), but they are not related.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Calamay from Bohol"
. marketmanila.com. June 22, 2010
. Retrieved
January 7,
2011
.
- ^
Vicente Labro (November 18, 2006).
"
'Kalamay'-making survives high-tech sugar mills"
. newsinfo.inquirer.net. Archived from
the original
on February 22, 2013
. Retrieved
January 7,
2011
.
- ^
"
"Kalamay Antipolo" style ."
Tagalog Kitchen
. November 3, 2013
. Retrieved
May 18,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Edgie B. Polistico (December 18, 2010).
"Pinoy Food and Cooking Dictionary ? C"
.
EDGIE POLISTICO’S encyclopedic PINOY dictionary
. philfoodcooking.blogspot.com
. Retrieved
January 7,
2011
.
- ^
"Jagna celebrates 190 year-old calamay tradition, April 28-30"
.
The Bohol Chronicle
. May 3, 2015.
- ^
"Welcome to Jagna"
.
- ^
"Municipality of San Enrique and the
Kalamay
Festival"
. iloilohangout.tigaswebs.com. 2008. Archived from
the original
on July 17, 2011
. Retrieved
January 7,
2011
.
- ^
"Calamay Buna, a Sweet Delicacy from Indang, Cavite"
. wowcavite.com. 2011
. Retrieved
March 31,
2015
.
- ^
"Kalamay"
.
Ang Sarap
. August 23, 2012
. Retrieved
May 18,
2019
.
- ^
"Kalamay Gabi"
.
Kawaling Pinoy
. February 10, 2019
. Retrieved
May 18,
2019
.
- ^
"Kalamay na Duman aka Kalamay na Pinipig (Green Sticky Rice Cake)"
.
Masarap.ph
. Retrieved
May 18,
2019
.
- ^
Belen, Jun (June 20, 2012).
"How to Make Kalamay na Pinipig (Pinipig Rice Cake)"
.
Junblog
. Retrieved
May 18,
2019
.
- ^
"Ube Kalamay Recipe"
.
Panlasang Pinoy
. Retrieved
May 18,
2019
.
- ^
"Ube Kalamay"
.
Kawaling Pinoy
. March 6, 2018
. Retrieved
May 18,
2019
.
- ^
Jenny B. Orillos (June 21, 2010).
"Sweet and Sticky Pinoy Treats: Our Top 10 Kakanin"
. spot.ph. Archived from
the original
on July 20, 2010
. Retrieved
January 7,
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Kalamay
at Wikimedia Commons