Pastillas, also known as pastillas de leche (literally "milk pills"), refer to a type of milk-based

confections Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

that originated in the town of San Miguel in

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 ...

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 ...

. From San Miguel, pastillas-making spread to other Philippine provinces such as

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the C ...

and

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...

Description

Initially, pastillas de leche were primarily home-made by

carabao The carabao ( es, Carabao; tgl, Kalabaw; ceb, Kabaw; ilo, Nuang) is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') native to the Philippines. Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Spanish Philippines in the 17th century. They ...

-rearing farmers. A small-scale industry on the food product soon grew, with the pastillas made from either

cow milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

or both. Refined sugar and

calamansi Calamansi (''Citrus'' × ''microcarpa''), also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is an economically important citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, ...

juice are also added during the pastillas-making process. In San Miguel, Bulacan, a Pastillas Festival has been celebrated every May since 2006. The ''

pabalat Pabalat is a form of papercutting originating in the province of Bulacan in the Philippines. It involves making intricate papercut designs from wrappers used in pastillas and laminated as bookmarks, and usually made from ''papel de japon'' (Japane ...

'' tradition is also included in the festival, which involves the display of elaborate paper-cut designs using the pastillas' wrapper material.

Variants

There are three main categories of pastillas based on consistency: soft pastillas, hard pastillas, and toasted pastillas. Soft pastillas has a soft creamy texture. Hard pastillas is a denser version that crumbles when eaten. Toasted pastillas is lightly baked in an oven so that the exterior is browned - giving it the texture of hard pastillas on the outside and soft pastillas on the inside. Another category is the filled pastillas, which are basically just pastillas with a different-flavored filling. Pastillas has numerous variants based on the ingredients used. One of the most common variants is the pastillas de yema (also called yema pastillas or pastiyema). It is a type of filled pastillas with a filling of yema, a very sweet traditional Filipino custard confectionary. Other variants also use other flavors and ingredients, like pastillas de mani (peanuts), pastillas de pili (

pili nut ''Canarium ovatum'', the pili (Central Bikol and Filipino: ''pili'', ;), is a species of tropical tree belonging to the genus ''Canarium''. It is one of approximately 600 species in the family Burseraceae. ''C. ovatum'' are native to the P ...

s), pastillas de ube (

purple yam ''Dioscorea alata'', also known as purple yam, ube (, ), or greater yam, among many other names, is a species of yam (a tuber). The tubers are usually a vivid violet-purple to bright lavender in color (hence the common name), but some range in ...

), pastillas de mangga (

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

), and so on. In the

Davao region Davao Region, formerly called Southern Mindanao ( ceb, Rehiyon sa Davao; fil, Rehiyon ng Davao), is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region XI. It is situated at the southeastern portion of Mindanao and comprises fi ...

of southern

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

, a popular variant is the pastillas de durian (also called "durian candy"). 580Pastilas Tortang talong 07.jpg, Soft pastillas 06991jfCuisine Foods Landmarks Baliuag Bulacanfvf 48.jpg, Hard pastillas Durian candy (Durian pastillas) - Philippines 001 (3) 02.jpg, Durian pastillas from the

of southern

9806Foods in Bulacan Macapuno 02.jpg,

Macapuno Macapuno or coconut sport is a naturally occurring coconut cultivar which has an abnormal development of the endosperm. The result of this abnormal development is a soft translucent jelly-like flesh that fills almost the entire central cavity o ...

pastillas from

0914jfPistang Bayan Pasalubong Philippine delicacies Bustos Bulacanfvf 02.jpg, Various types of pastillas from

Similar dishes

Dulce gatas Dulce may refer to: Places *Dulce, New Mexico * Dulce Base, a supposed American secret military facility * Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica * Dulce River (disambiguation) People * Dulce (Mexican singer) (born 1955), Mexican singer and actress * Ana Dulc ...

'' is another type of confection from

Negros Island Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

, which is sometimes considered a type of pastillas since it uses the same ingredients of carabao milk and sugar (in this case,

muscovado sugar Muscovado is a type of partially refined to unrefined sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour, and dark brown in colour. It is technically considered either a non-centrifugal cane sugar or a centrifuged, partially refined sugar accordi ...

). Unlike pastillas, however, it is a liquid, and isn't eaten as a candy, but rather as a spread for bread or crackers.

References

Candy Culture of Bulacan Philippine desserts {{Philippines-cuisine-stub

Description

Variants

Similar dishes

See also

References