MikeLigalig.com

Of 'broas,' 'biscochos' and Bohol

(This is a reprint from Bea Zobel Jr's column "All4Art" under the Lifestyle Section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, dated March 8, 2004)

A reader, Mr. Michel Manuba, wrote to ask me about biscocho and about broas. He asked if biscocho was the Spanish word for biscuits.

Well this is what I have to say: First of all, this should prove that I actually have readers! And now to address Mr. Manuba's question.

Biscocho is a Spanish pound cake. I don't know why it came to refer to a hard dry biscuit here in the Philippines. Then of course, many Spanish words get changed around when they cross the Seven Seas: esquina, terno, derecho—and so forth and so on, but that is another article!

My Spanish cousin came to Manila for a few days and she tells me that broas is very well known in Spain. But the broas there is also known as Bizcocho de Soletilla. The Spanish type is soft and is usually put around a cake. They are also used to absorb any alcohol or liqueur calling them "Borrachos" (Drunkards).

Now let's get on with our Philippine broas.

Michael, you must try the broas of Bohol. They are heavenly! Light and crisp and—I am getting ahead of myself again. In case you will mistake this for a food column I asked Gardy Labad of Bohol to pitch in with some historical information about this delicious product of his province.

No one knows when broas was introduced to the Philippines. (We just know it's scrumptious!) In Bohol the earliest examples are credited to the Rocha hermanas. There were four: Felomina, Gregoria, Concepcion and Tomasa. They specialized in biscochos finos. As I've already explained, this means that they produced fine cakes.

Other contemporaries famous for their desserts were Gabina Rocha Gonzaga and Catalina Pernia. Apparently the Rochas attended a culinary school in Manila with two other Bohol ladies also known for their cooking: Edwarda and Digna Clarin. These two in turn were aunts of Rosa Clarin or Osang. It is from Osang that the lineage of the more famous broas makers descend. There are three: Osang's, Sampaguita and Lady Fingers.

Osang's and Sampaguita maintain bakeries in the town of Baclayon, a few minutes from Bohol's capital, Tagbilaran.

Osang never really wrote down her recipe and her list of ingredients. She simply showed those who were interested how. She liked to say, "delikado ang broas." Meaning that making the thin wafers was a delicate affair. She is said to have rejected any piece that had a crack. She left her measuring cup to her granddaughter, Sylvia Fernandez Maristela.

Making broas begins with eggs. The whole egg is used. This actually exposes as a misconception the idea that the broas industry of Baclayon developed to utilize the parts of the egg that were not mixed in with the mortar used for the construction of the town's massive church.

Next, flour and sugar are folded in. The whole mixture is squeezed out through a pastry bag, forming the narrow shapes. Then it is off to the clay oven. After the broas are cooked, they are laid out on a mat of buri midbribs set over red-hot coals. This is so that the biscuits achieve that oh-so-perfect crispness.

Imagine entering a kitchen warmed by the sweet scents of broas and seeing the little wafers arrayed on their bed of twigs. The best part is that one is always allowed to pick up some pieces to taste. Believe me, I did a lot of tasting all in the name of research!

When you think about it, this concern for that ultimate crispness is so sophisticated. It shows a food sensibility that is so refined.

We are told that only Osang's still uses the twig mats for the final stage. This makes Osang's methods the more traditional of the two. Both bakeries however still use kindling to fuel their ovens. I remember seeing a dog fast asleep on the pile of firewood stacked outside the bakery. A friend of mine dryly observed: "Look they're using a traditional dog-burning oven!" Now I'm going to be in trouble with animal rights advocates for that joke!

We bought broas from Osang's and from Sampaguita to see if there were any differences. I don't know just how many biscuits we tried all because of our dedication to science! In the end we all agreed that we couldn't really tell the difference. But we also agreed that every single one of the broas was fabulous!

The only question left unanswered is why of why is it that the restaurants and resorts of Bohol don't serve the wonderful broas with chocolate for breakfast or merienda.

I think this is a clear example of what we miss out on because we don't appreciate our local traditions and resources so enchanted we are by what is foreign.

And what we miss out on is the most wonderful bit of heaven in a biscuit. It is delicate and crispy. With every bite one tastes our history as well as the lives and passions of our women lingering on our tongues.

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