𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 | 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗢𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗮: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗞𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗽 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Report by Cenon Pineda | Graphics by Angel Chogyomon | Layout by Jayane Leslie Feliciano

I’m sure you have heard about the famous banana ketchup of the Philippines. However, did you ever come across who was its inventor?

Maria Orosa, a nationalist and food scientist well known for her intellect and academic excellence, has proven herself worthy of recognition due to her immense impact on the culinary industry. Having discovered various methods for fermenting food and different formulas for making condiments from cassava and mangoes, she has paved the way for using scraps as valuable ingredients for survival.

With her incredible creations she has managed to help countless guerillas during World War II. Showcasing not only her innovations, but also concern for her fellow men. She has also smuggled back then due to the scarcity of food resources.

Which was also one of the reasons on how “Banana Ketchup” came to be, as the renowned condiment of the country. This all occurred during 1930 on the colonization of the Americans. During these moments the foreigners has introduced different ingredients or products unique to the eye and taste of Filipinos. One of it being Ketchup, furthermore due to the expensiveness of this product, it has become impossible to import.

Another existing issue was the difficulty of tomatoes to thrive on a tropical country such as the Philippines. Which is why Maria Orosa has thought of a creative way in using bananas as the main ingredient instead of tomatoes. Since the country has always been rich of this fruit.

From a mere want for some condiment came a huge innovation, that has changed the history of Philippines forever. This has been a testament on how far Filipinos can go, with just the right support and idea. This milestone has then travelled into much farther heights, to even creating brands, that has been well known in the food industry worldwide.