Korean War: When 900 Filipinos defeated a 40,000 strong Chinese Communist army
➢ This feat of valor amazed the late General Douglas MacArthur that he once said, "Give me 10,000 Filipinos and I will conquer the world."
➢ The Korean War of 1950 was one of the most destructive wars of the modern era. It killed approximately 3,000,000 people. Dubbed as the "Forgotten War" due to the infamous stalemate, there were a few notable moments of wartime heroism as recorded in its history. One such memorable engagement was the heroic stand and eventual victory of 900 Filipino soldiers against the fearsome 40,000 Chinese Communist army in the "Battle of Yultong".
➢ National fruit of the Philippines. A juicy stone fruit which tastes sharply sour when raw, but delectably sweet when ripe. Significantly high in Vitamin C and Folate.
➢ Varieties: Indian mango, Apple Mango, Carabao Mango
➢ These tiny berries are sweet to the taste and has an inedible skin. Popular to children, Aratiles normally grows in residential backyards.
➢ Known as king of all tropical fruits, spiked fruit Durian is sweet, savory and creamy. It emits an unusually strong offensive odor. Purported to be an aphrodisiac, it has become a staple in candies, milkshakes and ice creams. It is rich in Vitamins B1, B6 and C.
➢ Sour and eaten raw with rock salt. Good as a sweet pickle relish. Can be cured and made as ingredient for Sinigang or Paksiw.
➢ As its english name suggests, Pakwan is watery, sweet, crunchy and fibrous. It has a distinctive red color. Pakwan is rich in vitamin C.
➢ Lanzones may look like smooth small potatoes but its edible fruit is sweet, sour and sometimes bitter. The bitter taste is attributed to the sap it contains. Its skin is thick and inedible.
➢ Pinya can be consumed raw, in can, cooked or juiced. It is very rich in Vitamin C and Manganese. Though very nutritious, Pinya is contraindicated for pregnant mothers.
➢ Chesa is a sweet orange-yellow fruit with a texture comparable to a boiled egg-yolk. Chesa is very rich in Vitamin B3 and C.
➢ Crunchy pinkish fruit the size of a tomato. When fully ripe, this bell-shaped fruit has a shiny red texture. Also known as Tambis, it is watery and bland to the tongue.
➢ Popular in Milk Shakes, Salads, Tortas, Guacamole and Ice Creams, Avocado has a high monounsaturated fat content. It is rich in Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid), B6, B9 (Folate), K and Potassium.
➢ The cousin of Lychee and Longan, red-hair Rambutan has a smooth flesh that envelopes a large inedible seed. It is mildly sweet in taste. It is rich in Vitamin B3 (Niacin) and Manganese.
➢ Atis is sweet and creamy like custard. It is rich in Vitamin C and Manganese. It is remarkable for its pulpy segments containing black inedible seeds.
➢ Langka has a distinctive fruity and sweet aroma. The flesh flavor tastes like the combination of mango, banana, apple and pineapple. Its sweetness is amazingly balanced. It is usually included in jams, halo-halo, ginataan and turon. Langka is rich in Vitamin C, B6 and Magnesium.
➢ Santols's flesh near the seeds may be sweet or extremely sour. It also contains inedible brown seeds. It is used in jams and as an ingredient to Sinigang.
➢ Popular in cold juice and salads, Melon is a refreshingly sweet and fleshy fruit.
➢ Kaimito is a purple skinned dessert fruit. It is delicious to taste, but the skin and rind contain latex which is not edible. Its flesh cross section resembles a star-shaped flower.
➢ Brought to the Philippines by the Spanish through Mexico, the flesh is pale yellow in color. The fruit tastes sweet and malty. Its aroma resembles the smell of fine wine. It is rich in Vitamin C and Iron.
➢ The largest known Citrus fruit variety, Suha is famous in drink mixes. It is also eaten raw with rock salt. Pomelo is very rich in Vitamin C. It is usually yellow or greenish in color, and pinkish when ripened.
➢ Known as a complete food, it can be eaten ripe, or as a plantain when used in cooking. Usually elongated and curved, it is rich in Vitamin B6, Manganese and Potassium.
Variety: Saba, (Morado) Gloria, Lacatan, Latundan, Senorita, Cavendish, Bungulan
➢ A sub-variety of Citrus, Dalandan is mildly sweet and sharply sour just like Calamansi when raw. Dalanghita is rich in Vitamin C.
➢ Known as the Tree of Life, Buko is considered to be a very healthy and delectable drupe. Coconut meat and juice remain popular throughout the streets of the Philippines. It is usually made as an ingredient in ice cream, milk shakes, salads, vinegar, wines and rice cakes. Buko is rich in Iron, Manganese, Zinc, Folate (B9), Protein and Saturated Fats. Philippines is considered as one of the biggest producer of coconut in the world.
➢ The skin is usually rough and green, with the flesh varying in colors green, yellow and pink. The pulp may be sweet and sour. It is used in Sinigang and in fruit jams. It is incredibly rich in Vitamin C (275%), Fiber and also in Potassium.
➢ Popular in Juices, Guyabano tastes sweet and sour. Many described its taste as a combination of strawberry, pineapple and citrus. Soursop is rich in Vitamin C, Magnesium and Potassium. It was brought to the Philippines by the Spanish from Mexico.
➢ Presa is popular for its aroma, bright red color, small seedlings, juicy texture and sweetness. Strawberry is famous in milk shakes, ice cream, juices, cakes, preserves and perfumes. Presa is rich in Vitamin C and Manganese. Obviously not a native Filipino fruit, Presa grows in regions with high altitude and cold weather.
➢ Kalamansi is Citro Fortunella hybrid. Used as a staple ingredient in steaks, as a partner in tonics, and popular in sour juice marmalade. It is famous in its raw state, than when ripened. Sour to taste, Kalamansi is high in Vitamin C.
➢ Raw Siniguelas are eaten together with rock salt. Red and ripe Jocote meanwhile is very sweet to the taste.
➢ Ripe Papaya is yellowish outside with an orange flesh. Raw Papaya, meanwhile, is dark green with a greenish white flesh and a charcteristic sticky sap. Raw Papayas are usually cooked (Tinola) while ripened papayas are delectably sweet and milky. It is rich in Vitamin C, Folate (B9) and Lycopene. The raw fruit is contraindicated for pregnant mothers.
➢ Though not considered a fruit but a vine, Singkamas is a favorite street staple for Filipinos. It is best consumed with Bagoong, and as part of Lumpiang Hubad. Jicama is high in Vitamin C and Dietary Fiber.
➢ Duhat is oblong, ovoid, starts in green color, then turns shining crimson black as it ripens. The taste is a mix of sweet, sour and astringent flavours. It is famous for the purple stain it leaves in the toungue and hands. Duhat is rich in Vitamin C, Iron and Magnesium.
➢ Crisp texture with a waxy yellow outer skin. Star-shaped cross section with a variation of sour to mildly sweet taste.
➢ Another sub-variety of Citrus, Dalandan is great for making Orange Marmalade. It is sour and bitter to the taste.
➢ The popularly sweet Mansanas is not native to the Philippines, but its common to find Apples in the Philippine cuisine. Apple skin is usually dark red and crunchy, while the flesh is usually yellow to pale white in color. Though not nutritionally loaded, Apple contains Flavonoids and Phytochemicals essential to human health.
➢ Ubas is a fruiting berry, famous for wines, juice, raisins, salads, jelly, and extracts. Usually purple in color, Grapes are high in Vitamin K, Polyphenols, Resveratrol and Antioxidants.
➢ Kahel is a sweet orange hybrid. Sweet and sour to taste it is mainly grown in the Mountain Province. Oranges are high in Vitamin C and Flavonoids.
➢ Sampaloc is a pod-like fruit popularly made into sweetened sour candies and is a vital part of Sinigang and Sinampalukang Manok. Tamarind has a fleshy, juicy and sour acidic pulp. Brown or Reddish skin indicates its maturity. Raw consumption of the fruit is only applicable when the Sampaloc is ripened. Sampaloc is high in Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin), Magnesium, Iron, Phosporous, Potassium and Calcium.
➢ Popular as a deep fried Kamote Que, Sweet Potato is a major staple in Filipino cuisine. Not considered a fruit, but an edible tuberous root crop, Camote is usually yellow, red, violet or beige in color. Camote is very high in Vitamin A (120%), B5 (Pantothenic Acid), B6, Manganese, Potassium and Phosporous
➢ Peras is not native to the Philippines but must have come from East Asian countries by trade. Just like Apple, Pear skin is crunchy, with the flesh peculiarly sweet, grainy and watery.
➢ Aromatic Lemon is famous in teas, cocktail drinks, cuisines, marinades, soft drinks and juices. Its zest is popular in baked goodies and other dishes. Just like Dayap, Limon is a known antidote to Scurvy. Lemon possesses a good amount of Vitamin C and Phytochemicals.
➢ This beautiful cherry red Hagis is a sour fruit usually consumed with rock salt. It is popular as a juice, marmalade or jelly.
➢ Dayap a known antidote to scurvy, is high in Vitamin C, and Phytochemicals like Polyphenols and Terpenes. Dayap is popular in cocktails, tonics, margaritas, marmalade and perfumes.
➢ Notoriously similar in appearance to Langka or Jackfruit, Kamansi is a fruit rich in starch which turns to glucose when ripe. It is said to taste like potato or a baked bread when cooked. Kamansi is high in Vitamin C, Potassium and B1 (Thiamine).
➢ It can be compared to Duhat, but Lipote differs greatly since it grows in clusters like Grapes. It has a purple to almost black colored skin, with a sweet and sour taste when ripened. It is high in Vitamin C.
➢ Pink colored Mabolo looks like an apple at first glance, but its smell is comparable to rotten cheese or feline feces. It tastes like fruit cream cheese.
➢ Often confused with Rambutan, Bulala is a sweeter version and the rarer fruit between the two. It also has spikes, but not the hairy spines that Rambutan has. Also, the seed is edible in contrast to Rambutan.
➢ Galo is an oval shaped fruit in green color that can be consumed raw or cooked by boiling or roasting.
➢ Red to Purple in color, Bignay is a fruit which grows from a shrub. It tastes sour and is usually made into tea, liquor or jam.
➢ A heart shaped compound fruit, Anonas skin contains knobby warts. Ripened flesh is creamy white in appearance.
➢ Prepared as juice or in sorbetes due to its creamy texture, Biriba is shaped like a heart and contains numerous hexagonal protrusions.
➢ A fruit that grows from a shrub, Sapinit possesses a sweet, sour and bitter taste perfect for marmalade, juice, wine or jam. It is known to treat Alzheimer's disease.
➢ Marang (related to Jackfruit) is a staple fruit of Davao together with Durian. It is said to smell almost like Durian though not as pungent, yet superior in taste compared to the Jackfruit. Marang tastes like a juicy Banana with a mild creamy texture. It is advised that the fruit not be ripened thoroughly to preserve the taste, and must be consumed within hours of opening since oxidation may affect its taste.
➢ The fruits of Uvaria Rufa possess a sharp sweet-sour taste and are edible. The fruit got it's namesake since the shape resembles the anatomy of the Carabao's teats.
➢ Dragon Fruit is a native cactus fruit from Mexico. It is now popularly grown in Southeast Asia, with the Philippines steadily growing in farm production. The fruit is a high source of Vitamin C, Potassium, Lipids and Fibers which are touted to prevent certain cancers. The seeds are nutty and likened to Kiwifruit seeds, while the taste is described to be mildly sweet.
➢ Locally known as either Pasyenarya or Garanadina or Parang, Passion Fruit is a good source of Vitamin C, Riboflavin and Fibers. The pulpy skin is hard but can be pressed open with two hands. It has a watery interior with seeds which may either look like chicken eyes or tadpoles. The fruit is popular in mixed juices, jams, marmalades, salads, and fruit cocktail syrups.
➢ Granada or more commonly known as Pomegranate is a fruit from a garden plant in the Philippines. It is also thought to be common in the wild. The juice of Pomegrenates contain anthocyanins, glucose, Vitamin C, ellagic acid, gallic acid, caffeic acid, catechin, quercetin, rutin, minerals, and proteins.
