The bread on your table

A recent bakery fair made us think of how bread came into our life, originally as a staple for breakfast, becoming a sandwich and then metamor-phosing into a selection of flavored loaves and rolls. Bread was probably introduced to us by some conquering (apologies to those who resent this word) forces. A book on Spanish cuisine suggests that our pan de sal is the interpretation of the Iberian Pan Cateto, made from what they call the "mother dough" containing yeast starters and sprinkled with a little salt (sal). Our ensaymada came not from Spain but Mexico. Definitely the loaf bread is American, for why else would it be called Pan Americano? The baguette obviously is from France and the foccacia from Italy. We reckon bread consumption by Filipinos is on the rise, and therefore it was timely that the Fil-Chinese community mounted the Bakery Fair 2003 at the World Trade Center a fortnight ago.

Everything one would need to make breads and pastries were highlighted in the fair–flour, butter, milk, molds, fruit fillings, sugar, jelly, equipment and even state-of-the-art plastic containers. Our first stop was the Gardenia booth, whose classic white loaf was quickly joined by fiber wheat bread. Today they have more variants, like Fun Buns (ideal for baon of young children) at P11 per, which come with three types of filling, ube, kaya (coco jam) and strawberry. Put in the freezer, it’s like eating an ice cream sandwich. They have successfully combined the flavors of ube and cheese in a loaf they call Double Delights.

We then got attracted to the New Zealand booth, manufacturers of popular dairy products New Zealand milk, Anchor butter and cheese, Anlene drink for women, Anmum and Ucare. On the first day of the fair they had a demonstration by a chef who confessed he learned his cooking ABCs at the Manila Peninsula. It was funny and embarrassing (for the lady who asked the question) when he said Jello should be left alone, not made into a cheesecake, because if someone wants a cheesecake, she better bake a real one. Touché. New from this company is something kids will be very excited about–New Zealand’s little bottles of fruit milk drinks. Mothers, too, because children who profess to hating milk can be encouraged to take this instead, with its fruity flavor (apple or banana). Industrial users are assisted in their needs by the company’s Food Service division.

We found the usual fair participants–booths selling regional foodstuff like Lucban longaniza at P80 a dozen, special Lucban pancit for P50 a pack. Pastry products were displayed by institutional suppliers like Windmill Instant Active Dry Yeast, and liquid butter which is supposed to be 99.9% pure butter to use for ice cream, biscuits, cakes, breads and confectioneries.

The group promoting the Ferna brand of food ingredients also did some cooking demonstrations. They are selling two types of butter substitutes– Ferna Buttina which is recommended for pan de sal and Ferna Masina to use for ensaymada. Needless to say the hopia institution was there–Eng Bee Tin Chinese Deli with their very popular line.

Now where, you might ask, should you store these cake slices, sandwiches and baon food? Prestige Plastics have brought to the Philippines from Australia and New Zealand a selection of lovely and durable food storers, the latest being Sigmum Pet, whose retail and food service range won the 2000 Australian Packaging Award. They come in many shapes and sizes, one of the more interesting is that for half-cut sandwiches. We particularly like the new collection of shallow bowls and trays done in brown tracing a wood design and the Korean/Japanese lacquer trays in dramatic black and gold plus the white plates with blue prints.

Can you imagine an eclectic restaurant under all those billboards right after the Guadalupe bridge (on the right if you are coming from the North)? Well, there is one called Cafe Lupe, which serves delicious regional buffets at regular intervals. Try it and be enthralled by the lovely interiors (specially at night) and the good food.

* * *

Lydia D. Castillo’s e-mail address: [email protected]