Category: AGRICULTURE

How to make chocolate

From Cacao to Chocolate: Sweets in a Swift

Converting cacao seeds into chocolate is a multifaceted and protracted process.

By Hans Audric Estialbo

 

Unknown to many-especially those who merely frequent chocolate with silver wrappings, crisp cashews on brown bags and Valentine’s Day- chocolate, before it becomes that, entails time, energy, and artistry. Turning cacao seeds into this delectable dessert which we have loved for years now is much of a quest than having it just melts in one’s mouth.

Converting cacao seeds into chocolate is a multifaceted and protracted process. A single chocolate bar can take anywhere from two to four days or more to make. The absorbing process that takes one from muggy rain forests to lustrous factories maybe as easy as doing the ABCs but mastering it by heart is tricky. Farmers grow cacao, harvest, ferment, and dry it by hand. Traders and import/export houses sell the seeds on the coffee, sugar and cocoa exchange/ market to companies that process the seeds into various chocolate products. Continue reading “How to make chocolate”

Coconut Sugar good for diabetes

Coco Sugar Good for Diabetics

 

Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Administrator Oscar G. Garin bared in a press conference that the result of tests conducted on the glycemic index of sugar obtained from the sap of the coconut revealed glycemic index of 35. Continue reading “Coconut Sugar good for diabetes”

Seaweed Processing

Seaweed Processing

Carageenan is the name  given to the family of food grade materials obtained from red seaweeds. Carageenans are sulfate polysaccharides and are chemically similar. They differ in number and position of ester sulfate groups.

The carageenan family has three broad types product:

Kappa — strong gelling

Iota- weak geling

Lambda- non-gelling

Although there are other types, only kappa, iota and lambda are of commercial significance. They possess the properties applicable in food, pharmaceuticals, etc. However each has different processing and extraction methods from each other.

A. Kappa-Carrageenan

Although there are other types, only kappa, iota and lambda are of commercial significance. They possess the properties applicable in food, pharmaceuticals, etc. However each has different processing and extraction methods from each other. Continue reading “Seaweed Processing”

The tilapia extra challenge!

The tilapia extra challenge!

 

Basilio “Jiji” Rodriguez, Jr., president of the three-year- old Philippine Tilapia, Inc. (PTI) says that just like any other maturing agricultural enterprise, the whole tilapia industry is at crossroads. “If we don’t get our act together, the industry can continue to be the way it is but it will not grow or it may go the chicken industry route which seems to be going nowhere.”

Since its inception, PTI, together with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), has aimed to launch a tilapia master plan or a road map for the continuous development of the industry. By 2010, the industry is targeting an annual production of 250,000 MT (as compared to 2004’s 145,000 MT) and annual exports of 50,000 MT. Experts and observers say those are ambitious but realizable targets and could only be achieved if the challenges facing the tilapia industry are properly addressed.

After enjoying years of heady growth, there is a current glut of tilapia in the market. And with only Manila absorbing a majority of the supply of tilapia coming from Central and Southern Luzon, tilapia farmers have started to complain about the unstable prices of their produce, the escalating cost of feeds and other farm inputs and the limited availability of credit.

“Tilapia has now dethroned galunggong in the market,” says James Aso, marketing manager of HOC P0 feeds, a Filipino-owned company with Taiwanese stockholders. “This happens because of the enormous supply of tilapia and there’s basically just the Manila market to cater to, so prices remain low.”

In the year 2000, records show the Philippines ranked number four in terms of tilapia production. China tops the list producing six or more times the total tilapia Philippine production. This was followed by Egypt and Mexico. “We have to bear in mind that tilapia has been an increasingly popular product,” explains Rodriguez, “many countries have expanded their production very aggressively so I wouldn’t really know if we’re still number four. But we’re probably still on the top list.” Continue reading “The tilapia extra challenge!”