PCARRD Showcases “Flavors of Science”

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Research and Development (PCARRD) at the H2O Hotel, Manila Ocean Park, Luneta, Manila on May 12, 2011 featured the “flavors of science”  by showcasing the Davao’s coco sugar and syrup, and frozen durian, Bicol’s edible pili oil from kernel and pulp, Guimaras mango sauce and catsup, and Benguet’s processed strawberry,jam, syrup and preserves.

            PCARRD through its TechnoMart program helps new agribusiness landscape to help connect the gap between the source of agro-based business to the appropriate market where science and technology (S&T) products are commercialized, and coordinated with the entrepreneurs to gather feedbacks for more improvement of the products.

            At the H2O Hotel food preparations were demonstrated by two women who are behind the flavors of science advocacy: Rebecca Tubongbanua of the Western Visayas Resource Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC) for processed mango products; and Ms. Minda Yee of the Bicol Consortium for Agriculture and Resources Research and Development (BCARRD) for pili oil.

            Tubongbanua prepared for tasting spaghetti in mango sauce and Yee  vegetable salad in pili nut oil dressing served with pili tart and frozen durian. After the explanation of how the mango sauce, the pili oi,l the coco sap sugar, the strawberry preserves and frozen durian were made, the food tasting took place, then comments,  suggestions and questions followed in the open forum.

            The spaghetti in mango sauce is satisfactory, though eating it for the first time sweetened by the mango sauce will need a little familiarity with the sauce, but the veggie salad in pili oil (pulp oil) is good,  so with the coffee sweetened by the coco  sap sugar. Coco sugar is very good for diabetics.

            Of course the tasting results varied from one person to another, yet the overall reaction is impressive. Suggestions, observations and recommendations were freely expressed and taken cared of for further improvement of the product’s marketability.

            The coco sugar is derived from coconut sap or toddy, locally known as “tuba”. The sap contains 12-18% sugar in its natural form with important vitamins and amino acid. It is also rich in nutrients and high in potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, calcium and Vitamin C.

            The production of coco sugar is a simple farm-level technology in a natural process of heat evaporation to convert liquid sap to solid form of sugar granules. It requires no complicated and high cost machineries or equipment of  a huge capital.

            Each coconut tree in good stand can yield an average of 2 liters of sap daily or at least four coconut tress to produce one kilo of sugar per day. When freshly gathered coconut tree sap is oyster white and is inherently sweet.

            The Philippine coconut sap sugar is gaining popularity here and abroad for its health benefits especially for diabetics and hypoglycemic because of its low glycemic index (GI) of 35, which is much lower than 54 GI, the level which nutritionists consider as safe for people who have to watch over their blood glucose level. Estrella Z. Gallardo (PSciJourn MegaManila)