Nipa palm vinegar, also known as ''sukang sasâ'' or ''sukang nipa'', is a traditional
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
vinegar
Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...
made from the
sap
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...
of the
nipa palm
''Nypa fruticans'', commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa, from ms, nipah) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adapte ...
(''Nypa fruticans''). It is one of the four main types of vinegars in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, along with
coconut vinegar
Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...
,
cane vinegar
Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...
, and
kaong palm vinegar
Kaong palm vinegar, also known as irok palm vinegar or arengga palm vinegar, is a traditional Filipino vinegar made from the sap of the kaong sugar palm (''Arenga pinnata''). It is one of the four main types of vinegars in the Philippines, alon ...
.
It is usually sold under the generic label of "palm vinegar".
Nipa palm vinegar is listed in the
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ...
international catalogue of endangered
heritage foods
Heritage Foods Limited (commonly known as Heritage Foods) is one of the largest private sector dairy enterprises in Southern India.
History
The Heritage Group was founded in 1992 by Telugu Desam Party Chief and former Chief Minister of Andhr ...
by the
Slow Food
Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regi ...
movement. Along with other traditional vinegars in the Philippines, it is threatened by the increasing use of industrially-produced vinegars.
Names
Nipa palm vinegar is known as ''sukang sasa'' or ''sukang nipa'' in native languages in the Philippines. Both ''nipa'' and ''sasa'' are the native names of the nipa palm in
Tagalog; while ''sukâ'' (with the Tagalog
enclitic
In morphology and syntax, a clitic (, backformed from Greek "leaning" or "enclitic"Crystal, David. ''A First Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics''. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1980. Print.) is a morpheme that has syntactic characteristics of a wo ...
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
''-ng'') means "vinegar". It is also known as ''sukang Paombong'' after the town of
Paombong, Bulacan
Paombong, officially the Municipality of Paombong ( tgl, Bayan ng Paombong), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 55,696 people.
Dubbed as the "Vinegar Capita ...
where it is a traditional industry. The name of the town itself is allegedly from Tagalog ''bumbóng'' ("bamboo tube"), the main equipment in gathering nipa sap before plastic or glass containers became prevalent.
It is also sometimes known as ''sukang tubâ'', from ''
tubâ
Tubâ () is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. They remain popular in Mexico, ...
'', the general term for
palm toddy
Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and i ...
produced from various palm trees in the Philippines, including
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
, buri palm (''
Corypha elata
''Corypha utan'', the cabbage palm, buri palm or gebang palm, is a species of Arecaceae, palm native to Asia and Oceania.
Description
It grows up to tall, and, on the York Peninsula of Queensland, up to 1.5 meters (4' 11") thick (exceeded on ...
''), and kaong palm (''
Arenga pinnata
''Arenga pinnata'' (syn. ''Arenga saccharifera'') is an economically important feather palm native to tropical Asia, from eastern India east to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the east. Common names include sugar palm, areng palm (als ...
'').
Traditional production
![0680jfRiver banks Calero Malolos San Jose Paombong Bulacanfvf 37](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/0680jfRiver_banks_Calero_Malolos_San_Jose_Paombong_Bulacanfvf_37.jpg)
Nipa palm vinegar is gathered from mature nipa palms that grow in muddy soil beside
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
rivers and
estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
. The stalk of the nipa palm is cut and a container (traditionally ''bumbóng'', bamboo tubes) is placed underneath to collect sap. The harvesters traditionally shake or kick the base of the leaves as they collect the containers to induce the sap the flow. They may also sometimes bend the stalk. They are collected twice a day as they fill up, though it may take longer during dry seasons.
The collected sap are placed in ''
tapayan
''Tapayan'' or ''tempayan'' (also known as ''balanga'', ''belanga'', or ''banga'') are large wide-mouthed earthenware or stoneware jars found in various Austronesian people, Austronesian cultures in island Southeast Asia. Their various functions ...
'', large earthen jars traditionally used for
fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
. The sap relies on
wild yeast to turn the sugars into
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
. This turns the sap into a traditional
palm toddy
Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and i ...
called ''
tubâ
Tubâ () is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. They remain popular in Mexico, ...
''. Leaving it to ferment further, however, allows ''
Acetobacter
''Acetobacter'' is a genus of acetic acid bacteria. Acetic acid bacteria are characterized by the ability to convert ethanol to acetic acid in the presence of oxygen. Of these, the genus ''Acetobacter'' is distinguished by the ability to oxidize ...
'' from the air to oxidise the ethanol into
acetic acid
Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component ...
. It is harvested once the level of acidity reaches four or five percent. The length of time it takes to produce nipa palm vinegar ranges from two to three weeks, though it is faster if a starter culture of yeast is used.
Nipa palm sap has a relatively high sugar content, containing 15 to 22% sugar. This makes nipa palm vinegar slightly sweeter and less sharp than coconut vinegar. It is also slightly salty due to
sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...
content of the sap from the habitat of nipa palms. The vinegar when newly made is typically cloudy white. Due to the high
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
content of the sap, the vinegar tends to turn orange to dark red as it ages. The vinegar also contains
calcium
Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...
,
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
, and
potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
.
The sourness of the vinegar depends on how long it has been allowed to ferment.
Modern production
The production of nipa palm vinegar is usually associated with the town of
Paombong
Paombong, officially the Municipality of Paombong ( tgl, Bayan ng Paombong), is a 3rd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...
in the province of
Bulacan
Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...
, where it is a prevalent local industry. However, it is also produced in other parts of the Philippines. The production of nipa palm vinegar is labor-intensive and it is predominantly only sold in local markets. Usually in roadside stands or by hawkers along with ''
tubâ
Tubâ () is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. They remain popular in Mexico, ...
'' palm wines. Along with other traditional vinegars in the Philippines, which also have problems penetrating the national market, it is threatened by the increasing use of industrially-produced vinegars. Many nipa farmers are converting their nipa plantations into
fish farm
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
s. It is listed in the
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ...
international catalogue of endangered
heritage foods
Heritage Foods Limited (commonly known as Heritage Foods) is one of the largest private sector dairy enterprises in Southern India.
History
The Heritage Group was founded in 1992 by Telugu Desam Party Chief and former Chief Minister of Andhr ...
by the
Slow Food
Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regi ...
movement.
Culinary uses
Vinegar is one of the most important ingredients in traditional
Filipino cuisine
Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...
.
Like other types of vinegars, nipa palm vinegar is used primarily in dipping sauces (''sawsawan''). It may also be sold spiced with
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
,
garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
, and
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s (which are boiled beforehand).
It can also be used in
salad dressing
A salad dressing is a sauce for salads. Used on virtually all '' leafy salads'', dressings may also be used in making salads of beans (such as three bean salad), noodle or pasta salads and antipasti, and forms of potato salad.
Salad dressings ...
s as well as an ingredient in various dishes like ''
paksiw
''Paksiw'' () is a Filipino style of cooking, whose name means "to cook and simmer in vinegar". Common dishes bearing the term, however, can vary substantially depending on what is being cooked.
''Pinangat na isda'' may sometimes also be ref ...
'' and ''
atchara
''Atchara'' (also spelled ''achara'' or ''atsara'') is a pickle made from grated unripe papaya originating from the Philippines. This dish is often served as a side dish for fried or grilled foods such as pork barbecue.
History
The name ...
'' pickles.
It provides the opportunity for women to give birth easily.
See also
*
Kaong palm vinegar
Kaong palm vinegar, also known as irok palm vinegar or arengga palm vinegar, is a traditional Filipino vinegar made from the sap of the kaong sugar palm (''Arenga pinnata''). It is one of the four main types of vinegars in the Philippines, alon ...
*
Bahalina
Bahalina, sometimes called "coconut red wine", is a traditional Filipino palm wine made from fermented coconut or nipa palm sap. It is derived from tubâ (palm toddy) that has been aged for several months to several years. It originates from th ...
*
Basi
''Basi'' is a native ''Ilocano'' fermented alcoholic beverage or wine made with sugarcane juice, particularly those produced in the region of ''Northern Luzon'' particularly in ''Ilocos Region''. This wine is processed in ''“burnay”'' ...
*
Tapuy
''Tapuy'', also spelled ''tapuey'' or ''tapey'', is a rice wine produced in the Philippines. It is a traditional beverage originated from Banaue and the Mountain Province, where it is used for important occasions such as weddings, rice harvestin ...
References
{{Portal bar, Food, Philippines
Philippine cuisine
Salad dressings
Vinegar