THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY ISRAEL VIOLA PONCE AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF HOMEMADE BURONG ISDA, A TRADITIONAL EXOTIC FERMENTED FISH OF PAMPANGA, PHILIPPINES BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode: Full-time Major: Food Technology Faculty: Advanced Education Program Office Batch: 2016-2020 Thai Nguyen, November 2020 i DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Food Technology Student name Israel Viola Ponce Student ID DTN1554290047 Thesis Title AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF HOMEMADE BURONG ISDA, A TRADITIONAL EXOTIC FERMENTED FISH OF PAMPANGA, PHILIPPINES Supervisor (s) Dr. Nikki Dagamac (Philippines); Msc. Dinh Thi Kim Hoa (Vietnam) Supervisor’s Signature Dr. Dagamac Abstract: Fermentation is a conventional method of food preservation and is commonly used to enhance food safety, shelf life, and the qualities of organoleptic and nutrition.
Fermented fish are processed and served in various parts of the world and are an integral part of many food traditions. Moreover, these fermented fish have great potential for enhancing sensory qualities, nutritional value, and health benefits. Burong isda is one of the traditional local food of the Kapampangan, for the non-local, this food might be judge by its look and smell. Buro is served on any occasion and partnered with fried fish and boiled vegetables.
Though many scientific studies have been published in many different related topics about this burong isda of Pampanga, focusing on the traditional process has not been thoroughly discussed. The main objective of this study is to investigate how burong isda is practiced by local people in Apalit, Pampanga, making it traditional. To initially specify whether different types of burong isda natural made and angkak are both present in the area. Lastly, how burong isda serves Kapampangan cuisine, in the town of Apalit, and throughout the province.
A face to face interview led with the local communities residing in different barangays at the town of Apalit was conducted, wherein a total of 10 buro makers were asked about the homemade processing of buro. Analysis of the interviewed respondents showed that buro makers follow five major standards when processing burong isda. The results indicate that raw materials, processing, fermentation, buro quality, and working area are the recommended standards that the buro makers practiced in buro making. It recommends comparing the burong isda in public and supermarket by conducting a blind sensory test, to know which burong isda is preferred by the prospective customers.
Differences in the varieties of burong isda of the Kapampangan. Keywords: Burong isda, Fermentation, Pampanga, Buro Maker, Exotic food Number of pages: 79 pages Date of Submission: November 27, 2020 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, thank you very much to the Advanced Education Program, the University of Thai Nguyen of Agriculture and Forestry, along with the University of California Davis, teachers, and staff, for allowing me to be part of your program. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisors: Dr. Nikki Dagamac, for his help, guidance, suggestions, and review of my thesis manuscript for this study.
He is also greatly admired for his patience and the support he has given me throughout my study. I am also profoundly grateful to my second thesis supervisor, Ms. Dinh Thi Kim Hoa, for her valuable advice and strong support for my research study. Their encouragement and continuous support are the reason to make this thesis possible.
I am deeply grateful to my mother, Timotea Ponce for believing, and staying with me, helping me to conduct interviews, during the sleepless nights of writing this report. To my father, Ben Ponce, and my brother and sisters: Julie, Joanna, Joseph, Jhoy, Jennifer, Josephine, Jimmy, and Kim, I appreciate your support, your prayers, your words of upliftment, and wisdom that you have given me to finish this study. Thank you very much for the K48 Food Technology batch for the fun and unforgettable memories and experiences I've shared with you. I would like to express my special thanks to the K44, K45, and K46 batch for supporting me in my first year in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam.
And to the K49 and K50 Filipino Batch, enjoy your time here in Vietnam. To all the Filipinos and international students, I met, particularly Lea, Nina, Charm, Lyka, Aly, Ella, Jose, Keria, Josh, Dicky, Rian, Fathur, Jenny, Gio, Francis, Brian, Marga, iii Karl, Mark, Ken, Sherry, Peter, and Ate Jellie. I had so much fun and many things I learned, and I know that our memories here in Vietnam will never be forgotten and will hold in my heart and mind forever. To my closest Vietnamese friends who treated me as a member of the family, who welcomed me in their homes, and showed me the various parts of Northern Vietnam.
My appreciation goes out to you, and your families. To Nam, Anh Tu, Tien, Viet Anh, Thiet, Quy, Kien, Manh, Hoang Son, and Trinh in particular. I am also grateful to Keith Carlos, and Jerwin Nucom for the support they have given me in gathering the data for this study. And I also owe my deep gratitude to my friend, Pauline Damaso, for encouraging me and guiding me through the last days of my study.
And lastly, ITC to Dr. Duong, and Ms. Huyen, who are encouraging me to express my passion for helping Vietnamese students become more confident in English communication. Thank you for trusting and letting me be part of the Israel English Class Internship.
All the lessons that I learned from helping the students will mark in my heart forever. Above all, I would like to thank God for the courage and commitment, knowledge, and capacity to complete this research. Without his grace and blessing, the study would not have been possible. Israel Ponce iv Table of Contents Abstract:.
iii LIST OF FIGURES. viii LIST OF TABLES .1 Background of the Study .2 Significance of the Study .4 Objective of the Study .5 Scope and Limitations.6 Definition of Terms.1 Introduction to Fermentation .1 Fermented Fish in the Philippines.3 History of Burong Isda .1 The Birth of Kapampangan Exotic Cuisine .2 Burong Isda Production. Qualitative Research Approach .1 Theoretical Framework of the Study .1 Role of the Researcher .2 Time and location of the study.4 Data Collection Methods .5 Analysis of Data .2 QDA Miner Software 4.4 Sorting of Codes .2 Demographic of the Participants .3 Theme 1: Traditional processing of buro thoroughly explains by the buro makers of Apalit, Pampanga.4 Theme 2: Burong isda maker follows some standards in the processing of buro.5 Theme 3: Participants cope up in a challenging situation.7 Burong isda as part of food culture of Kapampangan. 59 Appendix A: Informed Consent Form.
60 Appendix B: Interview Questions for Buro Makers. 61 Appendix C: Processing of Burong Isda. 62 Appendix D: Trying other kinds of Fish in Making Burong Isda. 64 Appendix E: Standard in Processing of Burong Isda (Narrative).
66 Appendix F: Manufacturing of Burong Isda. 67 vi Appendix G: Summary of Qualitative Analysis for Burong Isda Processing. 68 Appendix H: Coding Frequencies of Accumulated Codes. 69 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.
Theoretical Framework of the Study. Map of Apalit, Pampanga .Traditional processing of burong isda. Types of packaging to ferment the buro. Buro maker demonstrates a good quality buro.
Storing the leftover buro. Manufacturing of burong isda in the local market of Apalit. Burong isda a Kapampangan exotic cuisine. 46 Figure 9 Qualitative Analysis of Burong Isda Process.
68 Figure 10 Codes Frequency. 69 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Burong Isda Processing (Narrative). 63 Table 2 Categories: Burong Isda Process Development. 64 Table 3 codes: Manufacturing of Burong Isda.
67 ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study The Philippine archipelago is home to a various array of ecosystems, organisms, people, and cultures. Filipino cuisine is not an exception as distinct regional flavors stem from the unique food preparation techniques and culinary traditions of every region. Although Philippine endemic foods are reminiscent of various foreign influences, local processes are adapted to native ingredients and following local tastes. Extensive throughout the numerous islands of the Philippines is that the use of fermentation strengthens the organoleptic qualities and additionally extends the shelf- life of food.
The Philippines' three major groups of islands, namely Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, each have their fermented food products that suit the local palate. There are fermented foods available all over the country, but there are regional peculiarities regarding the use of some of these products as foods or condiments. Every locality has its fermented food, which is traditionally unique to its ethnic culture. Other places may adopt these foods and have gained acceptance (B.
Pampanga is one of the seven provinces located in Central, Luzon. It is named as the Philippine culinary capital because it blesses the province where great cooks are trained by the Spaniards during the colonial era. Kapampangan added a twist using the abundant and unique ingredients in their region, which is also the origin of exotic cuisine. The food's vivid and rich flavors are evident in every Kapampangan recipe, 1 as they use the country's best ingredients to produce quality and delicious food.
In Pampanga, you can find many types of authentic and exotic cuisine (Garcia, 2013). Buro is salted or fermented, and isda means fish, this is the general term to this product. Burong isda, which might vary on their names depends on the fish species they used. Burong isda is very kind of like other fermented fish and rice dishes of Asia, including narezushi of Japanese cuisine and pla ra of Thai cuisine (Sanchez, 2008), besides the Buro has two kinds in the Philippines, a white buro that is all- natural and a red buro that is both popular in Pampanga.
Red yeast rice or angkak, used as a natural food colorant for the preparation of fermented rice, and fish (locally known as burong isda), in the Central Luzon region. White rice grains that commonly function as Monascus carriers are mixed with burong isda to enhance the flavor and appearance, because of the pigment formed by Monascus, the reddish appearance of burong isda makes it more desirable for the local consumers in Central Luzon. In comparison, the white buro is all-naturally fermented, and the white color comes from cooked rice or porridge. The product burong dalag or mudfish (Channa striata,), like for example, would seem to offer possibilities as a way of preservation of high-protein food.
When properly packed to exclude air, sufficient acid produced and retained to preserve the buro without resorting to high-temperature cooking. Unfortunately, the condition for better fermentation and subsequent preservation are poorly understood by people who prepare the product in the Philippines (Rhee, 2011: Jay Lorenz P. Also, the past research focus leads this study's researcher to investigate the 2 traditional burong isda process through interviews with the local buro makers in the town of Apalit.2 Significance of the Study The results of the study will help the locals and non-locals to understand more about the exotic Kapampangan fermented foods of Pampangueños, and one of these fermented is burong isda. In particular, the study findings are considered useful for: Students.
The research findings should act as a ready visual reference for further study and research. Locals and Non-Locals. The findings of the study will serve as a guide for understanding the types, varieties, traditional processing, serving, and cooking of burong isda in Pampanga. The information to be generated from this study can use as a specification for researching product development on this traditional fermented burong isda.
What specific fish the burong isda maker in Apalit use to make a buro? 2. Do buro makers follow any standards in the processing of burong isda? 3. Could Pandemic Covid-19 affect the processing and distribution of burong isda? 3 1.4 Objective of the Study 1.