Flavorful Escapes: Laguna's Best | Kesong Puti & Lambanog

Flavorful Escapes Laguna: The Fight to Keep Traditions Alive 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 Sta. Cruz, Laguna has made kesong puti for over 400 years. Locals still honor this with an annual Kesong Puti Festival—but in quiet kitchens, the real work continues. Arlene Macalinao has been wrapping cheese in banana leaves for decades. Her family’s method uses fresh carabao milk, sourced from nearby farms. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 Before colonizers arrived, Filipinos were already tapping coconut sap, fermenting it into tubâ, and distilling it into something stronger. Over time, lambanog became the drink of farmers and fiestas—potent, smoky, and deeply Filipino. In Liliw, Mang Larry, a third-generation distiller, still does it all by hand. He climbs trees, collects sap, ferments it, then distills it in a handmade still over open fire. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐆𝐨 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 These aren’t just food products. They’re living archives—recipes that don’t always have measurements, only feel. They’re made by people who stir and and fold the same way every day, because they believe it still matters. About Laguna—from our e-magazine: https://www.simpol.ph/escapes-flavorf...