(Un)common Sense by James Veloso
(Un)Common Sense

Impossible to ‘standardize’ Pinoy food

Jul 23, 2021, 12:06 AM
James Veloso

James Veloso

Writer/Columnist

I finally did it: I got myself vaccinated against Covid-19.

As I had said in my previous column a few months ago, needles scare me to death – that’s one of the reasons I don’t even want to be confined to a hospital.

Fortunately, the nurse who administered my shot was very understanding.

She let me calm down for a few minutes before doing it.

“Your anxiety is written all over your face,” she informed me – even though I had my mask on.

She even asked me if I had a companion who can assist me, but I said I’d rather face it alone.

Everyone said it’s no more painful than getting bitten by an insect, and honestly, they were right.

It was over in less than a minute – no more than a pinprick, then the nurse showed me the empty syringe.

As I am writing this article, the vaccinated arm is still throbbing painfully, and I had to recover from slight lassitude and fever. And my second shot is still a month or so away.

But truth be told, I’m glad I got over my fear of needles – and I hope that, by sharing this story, I may be able to encourage others to have themselves protected against the virus.

-o0o-

When I heard that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is planning to “standardize” Filipino dishes such as adobo, sinigang and sisig, I burst out laughing.

Seriously? What do they mean by “standardization” of food?

The beauty of our cuisine – any cuisine, in fact – is the sheer diversity of our food by region, by ethnicity, or even by family or personal tastes.

Just go to any online article on a specific dish such as adobo or pancit and you’ll discover at least ten or more different varieties of each dish.

Even restaurants and individuals have different notions on how a particular dish should taste like.

“It’s given that there are standard ingredients in every dish. The twist is based on the culture of the place or region or individual preference,” Chef Rafael Jardeleza Jr. of Rafael’s La Cocina Del Sur said in an online article in OpinYon.net.

“Another factor is the availability of ingredients. Possibly what DTI wanted to achieve is to provide a generic traditional basic ingredient when you prepare a certain Filipino dish,” he added.

Soon after the backlash from netizens and culinary experts, DTI officials hastily clarified that the “standardization” is meant for the international market and does not mean to stifle creativity in our cuisine.

That’s another load of manure, in my opinion.

The problem with this standardization is that it’s aimed at commercializing our food at the expense of small industries and restaurants who pride in their “secret” dishes.

Instead of creating standards for our dishes, why don’t we celebrate the diversity in our food?

Take a look at what Biñan City did in its recent “Puto Latik” festival: instead of setting standards for its famed Biñan puto, they let chefs and locals run amok with their creativity with exotic mixes such as puto with dinuguan.


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