Tentay Patis: A mother's legacy

MANILA, Philippines - For more than 60 years, Tentay Patis has been helping moms in the kitchen, showing that great food, like great love, is all about trust and the right recipes.

In 1949, a few years after World War II, enterprising homemaker Ruperta Javier, or Aling Tentay, as she was fondly called, learned the secret of patis-making by accident.

Tentay Patis was born as a sideline. Like most moms, Aling Tentay was just looking for ways to provide for her growing family. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that her homegrown backyard business would one day become an internationally distributed brand. The family’s main fishing business had a big catch for the day, and, conscious about wastage, Aling Tentay pickled the unsold fish. When it fermented later on, the industrious housewife had friends and family try the new discovery, gave it out as gifts, and then sold it (as a byproduct) to make extra money on the side.

From what was once a hobby, soon the whole of Navotas was hooked on the condiment now called Tentay Patis.

Half a century later, Aling Tentay’s creation continues to be a staple on every Filipino table, with a distinct flavor that perks up any dish, whether fish, beef, pork, seafood, vegetables, even salad.

Aside from enhancing the flavor of food in a healthy way, the high-quality standards of Tentay Patis are what make it the best. Safety is consistently assured, from purchasing the freshest fish to fermentation, quality control, bottling, warehouse storage and distribution.

Hygiene and sanitation are maintained in all areas of production, and packaging materials adhere to the safety requirements of both domestic and international markets. Standard quality and safety parameters established by Tentay Food Sauces, Inc. are always followed, along with the Food and Drug Administration, and the quality standards of export markets such as the US, Asia and the Middle East.

Tentay Patis is the only Philippine brand that passed the strict Japanese standard in sodium benzoate, with not more than .005 percent or a near-zero-preservative reading, easily qualifying it for US regulations on fermented foods.

Tentay Patis is available at all local leading supermarkets and is distributed in the Middle East, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, US, Hawaii, and Guam.

For recipes, visit www.tentaysauces.com.