María Orosa e Ylagan (November 29, 1892 – February 13, 1945) was a Filipina
food technologist, pharmaceutical chemist, humanitarian, and war heroine.
[MARIA Y. OROSA (1892–1945). Pioneering Food Technologist and Inventor](_blank)
. Retrieved 11 October 2010. She experimented with foods native to the Philippines, and during
World War II developed Soyalac (a nutrient rich drink from soybeans) and
Darak
Darak is a town and commune in the Logone-et-Chari department of the Far North Region of Cameroon.
See also
*Communes of Cameroon
The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are ...
(rice cookies packed with vitamin B-1, which prevents
beriberi disease), which she also helped smuggle into Japanese-run internment camps that helped save the lives of thousands of Filipinos, Americans, and other nationals.
She introduced to the public the well-known
banana ketchup.
Orosa completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry, as well as an additional degree in food chemistry. She was then offered a position as an assistant chemist for the state of Washington before returning to the Philippines in 1922 to focus on addressing the problem of malnutrition in her homeland. She invented many types of food to minimize the need of imported products to feed Filipinos. She took advantage of the abundant natural resources of the Philippine islands such as native fruits, crops and vegetables to make the Philippines self-sufficient.
During World War II, Orosa joined
Marking's Guerrillas to fight for Philippines freedom. She invented over 700 recipes during her lifetime, including Soyalac and Darak, which saved thousands of lives during the war. She also invented a process for canning goods for the guerrilla warriors fighting for the liberation of the Philippines. Without her food inventions, thousands of people would have died in internment camps, hospitals, and on the streets.
Early and family life
Orosa was born on November 29, 1892 in
Taal, Batangas, and was the fourth among the eight children of Simplicio A. Orosa and Juliana Ylagan-Orosa. Although her father died when she was still a child (and helped her mother in the family's general store),
many of her siblings also became distinguished in the Philippines. Her elder brother, Engr.
Vicente Ylagan Orosa Sr., became Secretary of Public Works and Communications, and, later, Chairman of the People's Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC) during the administration of President
Ramon Magsaysay. Her brother,
Dr. Sixto Ylagan Orosa Sr., became a pioneering doctor, and her nieces and nephews included banker Sixto L. Orosa, Jr., Philippine National Artist in Dance Leonor Orosa Goquiñgco, businessman José R. L. Orosa, award-winning cultural journalist Rosalinda L. Orosa, and her biographer Helen Orosa del Rosario.
As a government-sponsored scholar, Orosa earned a bachelor's and master's degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry, and an additional degree in food chemistry from the
University of Washington.
She worked in fish canneries in
Alaska during her summer breaks in college.
Career
Although offered a job as an assistant chemist by the
Washington state government, Orosa returned to the Philippines in 1922. She initially taught home economics at the
Centro Escolar University
Centro Escolar University ( tl, Pamantasang Centro Escolar) also referred to by its acronym CEU is a private non-sectarian higher education institution in San Miguel Manila, Philippines
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of ...
, and later transferred to the Philippine Bureau of Science's
food preservation
Food preservation includes processes that make food more resistant to microorganism growth and slow the oxidation of fats. This slows down the decomposition and rancidification process. Food preservation may also include processes that inhibit ...
division. Orosa wanted to help the Philippines become self-sufficient, as well as empower Filipino families. She organized
4-H
4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...
clubs in the islands (which had more than 22,000 members by 1924), and traveled into the
barrios
Barrios is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Agustín Barrios (1885–1944), Paraguayan guitarist and composer
*Ángel Barrios (1882–1964), Spanish guitarist and composer
*Arturo Barrios (born 1962), Mexican athlet ...
to teach women how to raise chickens, preserve local produce, and plan healthy meals. Orosa invented the
palayok
A ''palayok'' is a clay pot used as the traditional food preparation container in the Philippines. ''Palayok'' is a Tagalog word; in other parts of the country, especially in the Visayas, it is called a ''kulon''; smaller-sized pots are referred ...
oven to enable families without access to electricity to bake, and developed recipes for local produce, including cassava, bananas, and coconut. Her
banana ketchup became a favorite condiment and cooking ingredient in the archipelago. She also developed wines and
calamansi nip, a desiccated and powdered form of a citrus fruit also used to make reconstituted calamansi juice, banana ketchup, and is also used in other recipes. Orosa ultimately became the head of the Home Economics Division and organized its Division of Food Preservation. Using both her local and technical knowledge, Orosa made culinary contributions and taught proper preservation methods for native dishes such as ''
adobo,
dinuguan,
kilawin'' and ''
escabeche''.
During
World War II, Orosa used her food science background to invent Soyalac (a protein-rich powdered soybean product) and Darak (a rice bran powder rich in thiamine and other vitamins which could also treat
beri-beri).
She also became a captain in Marking's Guerrillas, a Filipino guerrilla group organized by Marcos "Marking" V. Augustín. The guerrillas helped U.S. forces fight the occupying Japanese troops and employed carpenters to insert Soyalac and Darak into hollow bamboo sticks, which were smuggled to the civilians imprisoned at the
University of Santo Tomas and in Japanese-run
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
camps in
Capas, Tarlac and
Corregidor
Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
. The powders saved the lives of many starving imprisoned guerrillas and U.S. soldiers.
Her "Tiki-Tiki" cookies (made using Darak) also saved many civilian lives during wartime food shortages.
Death and legacy
Although her family and friends urged her to leave Manila for her hometown as American, Filipino, and Japanese forces battled to control the city, Orosa refused, insisting that, as a soldier, she needed to remain at her post. On February 13, 1945, Orosa died of shrapnel wounds after being hit in her government office during an American bombing raid. The hospital to which she had been taken was later also bombed, causing a shrapnel shard to pierce her heart and kill her instantly.
The
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
gave Orosa a humanitarian award for her food-smuggling efforts.
Her niece Helen Orosa del Rosario in 1970 published ''Maria Orosa: Her Life and Work'', which also included 700 of Orosa's recipes.
The Philippines has officially recognized Orosa's contributions. Her home province, Batangas, installed a bust and historical marker in her honor. A street in Ermita, Manila (where the
Court of Appeals of the Philippines is located), is named after her, as is a building in the Bureau of Plant Industry. During the 65th anniversary of the Institute of Science and Technology, she became one of 19 scientists who received special recognition. On November 29, 1983, the
National Historical Institute installed a marker in her honor at the Bureau of Plant Industry in
Malate, Manila. In commemoration of her centennial birth anniversary, the Philippine Postal Corporation issued a postage stamp in her honor. Her hometown of
Taal, Batangas also celebrated the 125th anniversary of her birth on November 29, 2018. On 29 November 2019,
Google celebrated her 126th birthday with a
Google Doodle.
On February 8, 2020, Orosa's tombstone was found at the Malate Catholic School, the site of the Remedios Hospital during the Second World War. The excavation was led by Isabel Picornell. It has been suggested that her body be transferred to the
Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) in
Taguig.
List of works
*''The history and chemistry of norsphenamine'' (1921)
*''Preservation of Philippine foods'' (1926)
*''Rice bran: a health food and how to cook it'' (1932)
*''Roselle recipes'' (1931)
*''Soy beans as a component of a balanced diet and how to prepare them'' (1932)
*''Preserve the national culture in local food'' (1932)
References
Sources
*Ancheta, Herminia M. and Michaela Beltran-Gonzales, Filipino Women in Nation Building, Phoenix Publishing House Inc., Quezon City, 1984.
*http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-no2009093773/
*Centro Escolar University (2019) CEU-SNHM Pays Tribute to Filipina Innovator Maria Orosa. https://manila.ceu.edu.ph/ceu-snhm-pays-tribute-to-filipina-food-innovator-maria-orosa
*Cite Seer X http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.504.4716&rep=rep1&type=pdf
*Republic of the Philippines News Agency (2019). Google honors Filipina scientist Maria Orosa. https://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php/articles/1087406
Further reading
*
*Orosa, Maria Y. and Helen Orosa del Rosario. (1970). ''Maria Y. Orosa, Her Life and Work'' (Helen Orosa del Rosario, Ed.).
uezon City:R. P. Garcia Pub. Co.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orosa, Maria
1890s births
1945 deaths
Filipino chemists
Filipino women chemists
People from Taal, Batangas
University of Washington alumni
University of the Philippines Manila alumni
Filipino military personnel of World War II
Filipino military personnel killed in World War II
Deaths by airstrike during World War II
Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines)