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Where’s the corn in corned beef? - There’s no question that ever since the American GIs introduced corned beef to us during/after the war (WWII, bro, not Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc.), it’s become one of our basic foods. It’s more popular and versatile than SPAM, which also happens to be a favorite among our brother-Hawaiians but has become priced out of reach of the poor Filipino. Corned beef is usually best sautéed with garlic, onion and black pepper. You can then serve it as is or “guisado” or use it as filling for omelet or torta. It makes very substantial corned beef-rice. It’s perfect filling for a sandwich and standard Pinoy breakfast fare. Sauteed with any vegetable, it becomes a complete meal. What’s more, it’s instant meat and does not have to be kept in the refrigerator which many poor people can no longer afford to keep. Indeed, corned beef is already cooked and tenderized. While raw beef will usually take more than an hour to cook and tenderize, corned beef is a most practical meat dish to serve. In an emergency it becomes a lifesaver when the inconsiderate “barkada” inopportunely shows up demanding beer and “pulutan.” It’s veritable manna from heaven which relief and emergency groups will occasionally dole out as “canned goods” to typhoon, earthquake and flood victims.
In the Philippines corned beef is also known or invariably referred to as “carne norte” (which appears to be Mexican in origin, short for “carne bovina norte-americana,” indicating its origin.
But ask the ordinary Pinoy where’s the corn in corned beef and you’ll get a blank stare. In fact, the “corn” in corned beef refers to the grains of course salts used to cure the meat. The “corn” in corned beef therefore is really a verb, to corn, which means to pickle (in brine); hence, pickled, cured, or corned beef.
Speaking of which have you ever wondered why we don’t seem to have a Pinoy word for “pickle” or “to pickle?” For that matter we don’t have a word for “preserve” or “to preserve.” Neither do we have a good word for “fermentation” or “to ferment.” It’s simply not part of our culture. This also means that we don’t have any terms to distinguish between wine, gin, beer, whiskey or brandy. They will all fall under the only available Pinoy equivalent, ie,“alak.” There’s also no such thing as native Pinoy “jam” or “jelly.” Similarly, our cheese-making knowledge is as crude and primitive.
So, what’s the moral? Nothing much really. Should there always be a moral?
The Pinoy lives for today. Give us this day our daily bread. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Better yet, God will take care of tomorrow. There is no need to hoard or to lay away. Is it possible that the reason some people do not have enough to eat is because some others have become too greedy and kept taking more than a fair measure? How is it possible, for instance, that one “haciendero” and his family own thousands of hectares of land while others do not have the opportunity to own 50 square meters? How did these wealthy families acquire title to such vast tracts of land they never even laid their eyes on much less planted their foot on every square inch thereof?
I believe the Pinoy did not see the need to pickle, to preserve and to ferment because we have fresh fruits and vegetables available the whole year round. Who wants dried or pickled leaves, fruits and other veggies when you can harvest fresh produce any time of the year. Everything and anything grows in the Philippines the whole year round, including all kinds of bacteria and viruses which cause what are known as “tropical diseases.”
Why do you think the Koreans have to make a whole culture out of “kimchi?” The answer is quite obvious, when winter comes there won’t be veggies in their backyard.
Just about the only preserved or pickled veggie/fruit in our culture is our local “atsara.” The term sounds Spanish but actually it may have been derived from the Indian (Bombay) “achaar” which would be the Indian pickles or relish. The Indians also have what their British colonizers eventually called “chutney” which is basically preserved mango and lime (laced of course with chili or hot pepper), a take-off from the traditionally British orange marmalade.
Social workers and community development groups will adopt the slogan “give a man a fish and he’ll eat fish for a day; teach a man to fish and he’ll have fish for a lifetime.”
I have spent time with some fishermen in some little island around Sual, Pangasinan. Each one of them has a tiny dug-out canoe, slightly smaller than a sporty kayak. Early morning of every day, weather permitting, these guys would paddle leisurely out to sea, just a little over the horizon. After a couple of hours they are back with their day’s catch: a few good-size fish they speared, a few pieces of shrimps and squid (pusit), some alimasag and if they’re lucky some shellfish, prawns and other sea creatures. Sometimes it’s a bountiful catch, enough to sell some to the fish dealers waiting on the shore. More often than not, their catch is barely enough to feed the family. Otherwise, it’s squid for everybody almost daily, adobong pusit, fried pusit, grilled pusit, boiled pusit, ground, chopped pusit (get the picture?).
Alex, our handyman who hails from some remote coastal town in Samar, is not particularly fussy about the meals we serve him. Just don’t try to feed him any pusit. He has had his share of pusit to last him a lifetime.
“What will you do, what will you eat, when the weather is bad?” You will ask the fisherman.
“Oh, there’s always some vegetables, camote taps, kangkong, malunggay leaves, sitao, okra, talong, and a few pieces of dried fish. Otherwise, we wait (and pray) for good weather.”
“What do you do with all the time you have the rest of your day after you’re done fishing?” You are curious to know.
“I play with the children or watch them play. Otherwise, I rest and relax, drink “Emperador” (some cheap brandy) with some friends, and then sleep a lot. In fact, I really don’t know what to do with all my free time so I just lie around and take it easy.”
“Why don’t you try to equip yourself with a bigger, motorized banca so you can go farther out where the big fish are, catch more and bigger fish, make more money, keep some packed in ice so you can have a supply to last for a week?”
“I don’t have enough money for that.”
“Well, you can try to borrow. Then you can eventually buy a few more boats, make more money. So, you can employ some people to work for you. That way you will have some more free time for yourself.”
“What do you want me to do with all that free time?
“Well, so you will have more time to play with your kids, rest and relax, drink “Emperador” with your friends, sleep a lot, lie around, and take it easy … !!!???” JAMES L.
Apo James, initially, I felt lazy to read this CORNED BEEF blog of yours. Buti na lang, I scanned the blog and reached the part " ... should there be always a moral?" Yun na, hooked na ako.
Manong, maganda siguro umpisahan natin ang tinatawag na "Fire Side Chat" during which witty but mentally stimulating story tellers like you share the talents and, more importantly, spread the wisdom around. Pansinin mo, the BLOG feature, of MULTIPLY becomes the repository of your discourses, for public consumption, but immortalizes the name and thoughts of Atty. James Lansang, SVD Alumnus. Kaya lang, you renounce permanent ownership and the subsequent royalties. Are you compiling materials for a BOOK you are now writing? Or this comment will start you thinking about it? As a friend, and I guess you have lots, I'll buy. |
Kuya Bob, tnx for your kind and supportive comments. As I promised our Kuya Charlie, who leans towards the doctrinal if dogmatic thinking, I will try to gravitate around the mundane and the trivia in my blogging pursuits. A man has got to know his limitations. Neither do I entertain any grandiose designs for immortality. Mine are simply the spontaneous musings and idle reflections of a tired old man who evidently has nothing better to do than blog. Sabi nga nila, hindi ako tamad, hindi ko lang alam kung saan ko ibubuhos ang aking kasipagan. Neither do I believe in copyright laws or plagiarism. There is hardly anymore thought or idea which is original. Nothing is ours to keep. The whole world should spin on the free flow of ideas. Tnx agn. rgards to the misis.
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Kuya, Epi, tnx for your usual encouraging remarks. I'm afraid however that at this point I believe I'm happy to be able to submit a few blog entries every now and then, the unmistakable mark of a rank amateur. Fr. Jerry on the other hand is a super-achiever and a celebrity in his own right. On my "xvdial" thinking, it cannot be helped. As I suggested in an earlier blog, my high school years at CKS irreversibly turned me into an XVD forever. tnx agn & rgards.
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romesaluyot wrote on Jul 29, '08
Jeemsdee, correct me if I'm wrong but there is an Ilokano word for pickle which is artem, and parek for fermentation. For their ingenuity and for some other reasons (like some say that Ilokanos eat anything that moves) it's no wonder that it is claimed that in case of extreme starvation, the Ilokano will be the last to go. Rome.
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Hi, Rome, tnx for your comments. Personally, I have never yet come across "artem" and "parek" but you may be right. However, you will agree that those words are quite uncommon, an indication that our pickling and fermenting culture is rather underdeveloped. We will probably need a few hundred years to catch up. No hurry. tnx agn. rgards.
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Kuya James, you said "Mine are simply the spontaneous musings and idle reflections of a tired old man who evidently has nothing better to do than blog. Sabi nga nila, hindi ako tamad, hindi ko lang alam kung saan ko ibubuhos ang aking kasipagan. Neither do I believe in copyright laws or plagiarism. There is hardly anymore thought or idea which is original. Nothing is ours to keep. The whole world should spin on the free flow of ideas".
I wonder if your proclamation can qualify as a classic example of faith overriding technology. Or does it border on resignation -- we swim or we lose sight of the island? Perhaps it's the same dilemma that a turtle faces when it loses its shell: am I naked or homeless? Do I feel exposed or do I prefer to be out of touch with my friends? It's a choice of perspective. Reality is relative. A decade ago, I used to laugh with warm bodies; nowadays I've learned to laugh with my laptop. Faith Popcorn brought the idea of modern-day "cocooning". But John Naisbitt prefers to anchor his faith on his "high tech, high touch" concept. We may be cocooned but we are not marooned. Plagiarism simply becomes part of the territory. On second thought, it always has been. Plagiarism has always been an irresistible force budging immovable objects. As Russel Myers said, "Billions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the land. Now it's ruled by Congress. Nothing changes". |
Kuya Rene, Kmuzta. tnx for reviewing some of my blogs. Malalim yung mga comments mo. You should seriously consider a blogging career yourself. You appear to be well-read and an avid wwwreader.Your current love affair with your laptop needs to be checked, though. Sometimes we all need a warm body or viagro to maintain our hormone levels. tnx agn. stay in touch, paiz.
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"Your current love affair with your laptop needs to be checked, though".
Hahahahaha! I really hope the deviation is not yet significant enough to be irreversible. "Sometimes we all need a warm body or viagro to maintain our hormone levels". Honestly, Kuya Jeemsdee, I have been afraid of using viagra since a friend of mine confided to me that it is the worst suppository he'd ever used. He said it makes you look like Don King, hair and all. Later, I was saddened when he died; the mortician could not close his coffin. And, you might have probably guessed it right, that he was forced to earn his living as a stand up comedian. Dati kasi farmer siya. He used to grow tomatoes and other vegetables. Halos patayin na siya ng mga mamimili ng gulay niya kasi hindi raw makain, puro matitigas. He would dissolve a Viagra tablet in the water and his vegetables stood straight and tall, hard as rock. |
Kuya, Rene, corned beef ang usapan dto, pano napasok sa viagrow ng farmer. Napalayo yta tayo. At any rate, despite the hardness of life, we can still manage to find some humor and amusement in such mundane things as corned beef and stiffening products. I just hope the prudish among us don't take it too hard. tnx agn. keep in touch. rgards
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Sinabi mo kasi, Kuya James, that, in corned beef, "to corn. . means to pickle (in brine)" and the keyword is "preserve". Preserve po, hindi lang "observe". Kung hanggang "observe" na lang, eh, patay. Dito puwedeng ma-apply ang kaisa-isa kong Latin -- rigor mortis. In this case, hindi na "corned beef" ang usapan kundi "formalined beef" na. Patay na, eh.
Naku, magagalit nito ang nagturo sa akin ng syllogism sa sem. hehehehe. |
resumus said
 Sinabi mo kasi, Kuya James, that, in corned beef, "to corn. . means to pickle (in brine)" and the keyword is "preserve". Preserve po, hindi lang "observe". Kung hanggang "observe" na lang, eh, patay. Dito puwedeng ma-apply ang kaisa-isa kong Latin -- rigor mortis. In this case, hindi na "corned beef" ang usapan kundi "formalined beef" na. Patay na, eh. 
rene/rey: your pithy comments spice up my humble "corned beef" blog entry and give it more interesting flavors. I am glad to have caught your attention enough for you to interactivate and reflect on such a mundane subject. tnx agn. rgards
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Manong jeemsdee, for as long as the comments to your blog are not yet longer than your blog itself, I don't think we're breaching any edict of the Kalantiao Code.
Perhaps the lesson that can be extracted from this exchange is that it only takes focus and a special delusion of approximating the likes of Aristotle or Descartes to see the extraordinary in anything ordinary. Yes, the commonplace. For more clarity, life is easier if we are not good looking. . . but since we really are not good looking. . . life is difficult. To further stretch the presentation of the pilosopiyang kalye on the deep nuances of the familiar, I'm reminded of the following lingering questions: Kung totoo ang “Darwin's Theory of Evolution” na ang tao ay nagmula sa unggoy, bakit may mga taong mukhang kabayo? Why do they say I’m bald when I’m just a little taller than my hair? My teacher told me that photons have mass. I'm confused; I didn’t even know that they are Catholics. Is gross ignorance 144 times worse than normal ignorance? What then is net ignorance? Am I an atheist if I don’t believe in Nora Aunor anymore? Ano ba ang rootword ng “analysis”? Is it “anal”? Why does the sun keep on shining? Why does the sea rush to shore. Don't they know. . . .? Can love really be measured by the hour of the day? Why is that sweet love story older than the sea? Marami. Marami ang mga ordinaryong katanungan na kalimita'y atin na lang binabale-wala. Hindi naman ito nakakadagdag ng extrang pera para mabayaran natin si Bombay na pinagtataguan natin sa araw ng kanyang paniningil, di ba? My only profound query nowadays is "How can I write my own blog if I find the King James version of life irresistible?" . . . na dahil sa kahabaan nauubos ang time allocation ko for email reading? Who will clean the toilet? Who will clean the oven? Kaya't sumasakay na lang ako sa blog mo, Manong Jeemsdee. . . nagbabakasakaling mabahaginan mo ako ng iyong popularidad sa Multiply. . . kung sa Ingles pa, "piggyback" na lang. . . ako ang "back". hehehehe. |
Bro. Rene/rey, I believe you are well on your way in your blogging career.
Your counter-comments actually complement my blog thoughts which - carelessly strewn together - leave much to be desired. A discerning reader like you supplies the much-needed finishing touches. tnx agn. |
Inuman na 'to, Kuya. hehehehe. A-attend ka ba sa CKMS event come Sept. 6? Medyo nawala na ako sa petsa at kung ano nga ba ang event na yan. Akala ko kasi SVD centennial na ngayong taon. Parang next year pa ata. I'm planning to travel to Manila around that time. Plano pa lang.
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elmersarmiento wrote on Aug 6, '08
We have "atsara" or pickled papaya; "buro" of Pampanga and "binubudan" of the Ilocos or fermented rice/fish; "Tapuey" for the wine. I think we have this in our culture.
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elmersarmiento said
We have "atsara" or pickled papaya; "buro" of Pampanga and "binubudan" of the Ilocos or fermented rice/fish; "Tapuey" for the wine. I think we have this in our culture.
Tnx for the input, Kuya Elmer. As usual, korek ka dyan! We do have a few things in our culture that we can brag about. Keep in touch.
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