Adlay: A healthy, all-Filipino breakfast cereal

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos love rice. Although breakfast cereal has long been introduced in the country as a healthy alternative to the usual longganisa-sinangag-itlog breakfast combo, many still prefer to eat rice.

Essentially, breakfast cereal is a packaged food product made from processed grains. A ready-to-eat meal, it is eaten hot or cold, and is usually mixed with milk or water and  sometimes added with yogurt or fruits.

The target market for breakfast cereal products are the health-conscious consumers. Hence, commercially-available breakfast cereals are either packaged as oat-based or high-fiber cereal,  and are often fortified with vitamins.

With support from the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), a new product was recently developed by the Northern Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (NOMIARC), Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office (DA-RFU) 10 to address both the convenience of preparing a breakfast meal and ensure its health benefits while still getting the “heavy on the stomach” feel of rice.

Introducing adlay breakfast cereal (ABC)

“Nowadays people are always in a hurry, so we developed a product that can answer their needs, minimizing their time to prepare their usual breakfast meal,” said Antonieta S. Tumapon, adlay project leader and researcher from DA-NOMIARC.

ABC is easy to prepare, Tumapon assured,  “just add hot water, 220 ml of water for every 45-gram pack of adlay breakfast cereal.”

ABC was developed in 2013, three years after BAR was tasked by the DA, through Secretary Proceso J. Alcala,  to look into the potential of adlay as a staple crop.

From then on, a series of adaptability trials have been conducted nationwide, including in Region 10, to assess the performance of the different varieties of adlay.

Alongside these trials are the production of seeds and development of various products from the adlay.

“ABC was first introduced into the public in August 2013 during  the 9th Agriculture and Fisheries Technology Forum and Product Exhibition” organized by BAR at SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City where it bagged the first prize for the “Best New Product Award”, Tumapon revealed.

Other awardees that year were jackfruit vacuum-fried (Region 8) and rimas ice cream (Region 5), winning second and third prizes, respectively.

Adlay resembles and tastes like rice

Adlay belongs to the family Poaceae or the grasses, the same family to which wheat, corn, and rice belong. It produces good yield in areas where rice and corn hardly grow, like the highlands. Just like rice, farmers grow adlay as their staple crop for its good eating quality. It bears tear-shape grains which when matured are harvested, pounded, threshed, and winnowed, cooked and served steamed just like rice.

“Adlay looks and tastes like rice, only the grains are a bit larger, mas matagal magutom kapag kumakain kami ng adlay (it takes time to feel hungry when we eat adlay),” said one of the locals from Malaybalay, Bukidnon who have been invited to try the cooked adlay grains. A common remark is that, “compared to rice, adlay takes a bit more time to cook due to the size of the grains.”

As a food source, adlay is as versatile as rice. It can be cooked and processed as a  main ingredient for Filipino kakanin products including maja blanca and sinukmani, even champorado, polvoron, and turones de adlay to name a few.

It can also be an ingredient in soups and broths. The grains can be ground into flour and used to make breads, pastas, and porridge.

Nutritive value of ABC

“What makes adlay breakfast cereal different from the commercially-available breakfast cereal we have is that it’s made naturally using adlay grain as main ingredient which is 80 percent of the whole product,” shared Tumapon.

According to experts, by eating just 100 grams per serving of adlai, one is less likely to feel hungry after awhile compared to eating rice or corn. This is because adlay has the highest food energy content (356 kcal) compared to corn, white rice or brown rice.

It is also superior to its staple counterparts when it comes to carbohydrate content (73.9 g), protein (12.8 g), and fat (1.0 g).

Adlay is also packed with other minerals including calcium (25 mg), phosphorus (43.5 mg), iron (5 mg), niacin (4.3 mg), thiamine (0.28 mg), and riboflavin (0.19 mg).

“In terms of its nutritive value, adlay breakfast cereal has low glycemic index.  Its grits, which is the main ingredient in  ABC, are made into flakes and have better characteristics as compared to corn flakes, which is sold-commercially in the market,”  Tumapon added.

Directions and future plans

“Aside from its health benefit, ABC is relatively cheaper. A 45-gram pack of adlay breakfast cereal costs only P12,”  Tumapon said.

Although the product has the potential, Tumapon admitted that it’s not available in the market yet. “At the moment we can only make this available to the public through field days, trainings, project reviews and other activities wherein adlay is being promoted,” she said.

However, the product is available the NOMIARC’s Technology Commercialization Center (TCC) in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

When asked how the public is taking the product, Tumapon said that it’s being taken well considering its sensory attributes, taste and nutrient content, and uniqueness of adlay as a staple food crop.

“We are still facilitating and waiting for its nutrition facts from the DOST. From there, we can proceed to its mass production and develop a good strategy for packaging and labeling to better promote it to the public,” she said.

The group of Tumapon is intensifying its promotional strategy through the conduct of various activities that would make ABC known more to the public.

In fact, she revealed, they  plan to bring ABC to malls like Gaisano, a shopping mall chain in the Philippines, owned by a prominent Cebu-based  family.

“Our plan is to eventually bring adlay breakfast cereals to the mainstream market including grocery stores and supermarkets,” she concluded.

Aside from the adlay breakfast cereal, NOMIARC has developed other adlay-based products including wine, coffee, polvoron, and even beauty soap. Currently, they are developing their latest product line, which is the adlay crunchy bar.