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Cereals and bread from Philippines

Puto Calasiaoputo Calasiao

Rice is soaked, ground wet and left to ferment in old earthen jars with a little sugar, then steamed in small cups into bite-size white cakes. Local accounts say only rice, water and sugar go in, and one credits the seasoned jars for the fermentation. No study has measured the process.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Puto Calasiao itself.

Short entryCereals and bread3 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo published recipe or amounts. Two accounts list only rice, water and sugar, and one of them says no leavening agent is needed; a later web account adds yeast.
RiceAccounts differ between long-grain and semi-glutinous rice[wikivoyage]
Water[meryenda2022]
Sugarjust enough to taste[wikivoyage][meryenda2022]
Starterspontaneous in one account, which says no leavening agent is needed because of clay jars (banga) seasoned for at least a year; another account lists yeast

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 days

Start
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What changes: Soaked rice is ground wet into a batter

Step 1 of 3
Soak rice and grind it wet into galapong
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Yeasts

For puto in general, the rice is soaked overnight and ground wet, formerly with stone grinders. Output: wet rice batter (galapong).

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Rice is soaked, ground wet and left to ferment in old earthen jars with a little sugar, then steamed in small cups into bite-size white cakes. Local accounts say only rice, water and sugar go in, and one credits the seasoned jars for the fermentation. No study has measured the process. Made in 3 steps over 3 days. The longest step, ferment in old earthen jars, takes at least 3 days (Wikivoyage).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 daysReported[wikivoyage][ourpangasinan2023]Ferment in old earthen jars

What makes this one different

Puto Calasiao is made bite-size and fermented in old clay jars, with no added yeast in one local account (another lists yeast). The household puto described in the main study of puto is soured, neutralised with lye and raised a second time.

Related ferments

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Calasiao puto has been sold on the town's sidewalks for more than 50 years. A national One Town, One Product grant had paid for 28 uniform puto stands by 2007, and the town holds a Puto Festival every December.

  1. [wikivoyage] Wikivoyage, Calasiao, Pangasinan (rice, earthen jars, three days or more, villages)wiki
  2. [meryenda2022] Meryenda newsletter, 25 Nov 2022, Friday Food for Ferment (rice, water and sugar only; banga seasoned at least a year)web
  3. [ourpangasinan2023] Sandoval M. 2023, Puto Calasiao, the delightful rice cake from Pangasinan, Our Pangasinan (overnight fermentation; lists yeast)web
  4. [ckbk] Oxford Companion to Food via ckbk, Rice cakes of the Philippines (galapong soaked overnight and ground wet)web
  5. [punch2007] Sunday Punch, 4 Feb 2007, Calasiao, 'the puto town' forges ahead (28 stands, One Town, One Product)web
  6. [manilatimes2023] The Manila Times, 15 Dec 2023, Makers of Calasiao puto seek to export products (more than 50 years of sidewalk sales; Puto Festival)web