Filipinos and Their Sweet Tooth
Posted on November 5th, 2008 by Toni
Almost all Filipinos are born with a sweet tooth and most of us might never outgrow it. Filipinos are known to have a hearty appetite and just love to eat. In fact, a typical Filipino eats three meals a day and two snacks in between. This is the reason why Philippine desserts have always been a large part of Philippine cuisine. Most Filipinos feel something is lacking after eating a hearty meal. A meal simply isn’t complete without finishing it with a sweet dessert.
Different “Kakanin” or Rice Cakes
Don’t be surprise though to see many fast food joints sprouting like mushrooms across Philippines. The idea of Philippine desserts has evolved through the years but the taste of Filipino desserts still lingers and outweighs the readily available modern quick desserts out there. Here are quick facts about Filipino desserts and you might want to try your hand making one on your own.
Rice Cakes
Merienda means an afternoon snack adapted from the concept of afternoon tea. Food is deeply intertwined in Filipino culture evidently seen by abundant Filipino dessert recipes. Rice is such a well-loved staple of a typical Filipino diet. It’s so well-loved that an array of Philippine desserts is made from glutinous rice in the form of flour. Glutinous rice serves as the main ingredient of different kinds of puddings, cakes and festive foods cooked especially by mixing the rice with coconut milk, sugar and flavoring. To name a few Filipino desserts are rich rice cakes desserts (also called kakainin) such as kutsinta, sapin-sapin, biko, suman, palitaw, bibingka and pitsi-pitsi and steamed rice flour cakes called puto. Kutsinta is a type of brown rice cake. Sapin-sapin are three-layered tricolored sweets made of rice flour, purple yam and coconut milk with its gelatinous appearance. Puto is a famous example of sweet steamed rice cakes prepared in various colors sizes. Palitaw are rice patties covered with sesame seeds, coconut and sugar. Pitsi-pitsi are rice or cassava patties coated with cheese or coconut. Suman are rolled sticky rice steamed hot.
Filipino desserts may seem complicated at first glance but are actually one of the easiest recipes you can make. If you’re searching for healthy and sweet quick desserts, Filipino desserts may be just what you’re looking for.



