Anything Pinoy

In classy organic food shops in various parts of Metro Manila, its neighboring provinces, down to the Boracay Island and up to the United States, Lola Conching’s Vinegar is a prized item.

Thanks to the growing public awareness on the hazards of chemically-treated foods that consumers are into alternatives —- the natural or organically produced stuff.

Lola Conching is a brand name of the organic coconut nectar specialty vinegar being produced by the Sorsogon Food Enterprise (SFE), a six-year old small-scale family venture based in this first class farming and coastal municipality at the southeastern tip of Luzon.

“Among our leading outlets in the Metropolis are Rustan’s Supermarket, Waltermart, Gateway and Shopwise. Lola Conching’s Vinegar is also available in top organic food shops in Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog cities down to Boracay Island,” Linda Corsiga, SFE’s owner and manager told the PNA Monday.

Every two months, a truckload of delivery consisting 10,000 of properly labeled and sealed bottles of this product is transported from here to Metro Manila for distribution to those outlets, Corsiga said.

A separate shipment of 50 specially packaged boxes containing 24 bottles each is being shipped every 45 days to Minnesota, USA, she said.

Lola Conching’s vinegar products have both nutritional and medicinal value and the natural herbs that are mixed with them are health promoting “neutraceuticals” (nutrient supplements that act like pharmaceuticals) and are considered “functional foods” or nutritious foods that can prevent diseases, Corsiga said.

The coco nectar specialty vinegar comes in filtered and pasteurized labeled as “classic” and unfiltered and unpasteurized, with the “mother vinegar” or film like gels floating inside the bottle termed or labeled as “virgin”.

The vinegar has also four variants based on its four natural flavors-raw wild honey, chili and ginger, garlic and lemon grass. These natural herbs are proven to contain nutritional value and are health-promoting.

The brand name Lola Conching, Corsiga said, was derived from the name of the family matriarch who started here the production of organic coco nectar vinegar as a backyard industry in the 1950s.

It was only sometime in 2003 when Corsiga, one of Aling Conching’s daughters who holds a diploma in education, decided to venture into vinegar production as a small family enterprise under the SFE trade name.

First, she made an intensive research and study about vinegar production, trained and consulted with the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Coconut Authority, Corsiga said.

This enterprise was conceived not only with the end in view of gaining profit but committed itself into the cause of lessening people’s exposure to chemically-treated food and to help protect the environment by propagating organic agri/aqua culture espousing organic practices and natural methods in food production, Corsiga said.

Last year, SFE was invited by the department of Trade and Industry (DTI) into its “Orgullo kan Bikol” Trade Fair at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City late last year and its booth was a crowd-drawer for its Lola Conching’s vinegar.

Everlyn Paguio, DTI’s provincial product promotion division chief for Sorsogon, said a Filipino-American business prospector who owns a chain of organic food shops in Minnesota bought a box of the vinegar from the SFE booth during the trade fair and brought it home to America.

Two weeks later or sometime last November, Corsiga received an order for 10 boxes and a dollar check for payment from that American businessman.

“I was surprised and elated by that order and dollar payment. I made the shipment a week later after complying with all the exportation requirements. Suddenly SFE became an exporter and a dollar earner,” she said.

A month after that first shipment, a repeat order of 25 boxes came in and since last January until February, the volume was increased to 50 boxes monthly, Corsiga said.

With these opportunities coming to SFE, Corsiga said she remembered what an Australian friend had told her that “Bicol is a paradise for bees because it is coconut-rich. Coco flower is a major source of nectar which honey bees love.”

She said: “SFE has joined the bees in enjoying the sweetness of coconut nectar.

“Anyway, it is only 10 hectares of family-owned coconut land where we compete with the bees.”

SFE has 15 employees at its plant here. Five of them are the coconut nectar gatherers, a vanishing breed of indigenous barrio workers who climb towering coconut trees to collect from its buds the once famous tuba or coconut wine. The others are the bottlers, labelers, packers and bottle cleaners.

The coco vinegar is produced by cutting off and shaving twice daily the top of the newly formed coco flower until the sap starts to drip out.

These sweet ‘drippings’ are the same nectar that honey bees sip and turn them into honey in their hives.

A bamboo collection vessel is placed where the sap drips into and a tuba harvester or “mangete” collects it once or twice daily. Natural fermentation takes a minimum of 60 days, after which the naturally sweet tuba (coconut toddy) has aged and has turned into the naturally best-tasting vinegar, without adulteration.

When it reaches its natural acidity level, it is then bottled, without preservatives or chemical additives, free of artificial flavorings, colorings and dyes and sealed fresh to preserve all its natural goodness.

Everlyn Paguio, product promotion division chief of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Sorsogon provincial office said, the SFE vinegar has been tested by two reputable BFAD-recognized laboratories which confirmed its purity and excellent quality as indicated by its Percent Titratable Acidity (PTA) and Permanganate Oxidation Number (PON).

It was also tested for its vitamin and mineral content. Tests reveal the presence of beta-carotene, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, iron, magnesium and sodium. It has potent supply of potassium, which promotes cell, tissue and organism growth, Paguio said.

The DOST has also certified that SFE vinegar has a minimum shelf life of one year.

Lola Conching’s vinegar are available in two glass bottle sizes, the 750 ml. priced locally at P75 and the 350 ml. priced at P45 which is a little bit expensive than the ordinary commercial vinegar available in most local market.

But the price difference is insignificant considering the nutritional, health, and medicinal value one can derive from these organically produced coco nectar vinegar. It is ideal for cooking, dipping, marinating, salad dressing and pickling. If not diluted with water, it is itself a preservative.

Other than its culinary uses, organic vinegar is touted to be “the Home Remedy for the 21st century” for reasons that it is high in cancer–fighting oxidants, a natural appetite suppressant, reduces cholesterol to prevent heart disease, helps retard osteoporosis, slows the effect of aging and reduces the frequency of headaches.

It also helps cure many common ailments such as dandruff, menstrual cramps, acne, sinusitis and congestion. It is also a good bleaching agent.

“It is about time we substitute our ordinary table vinegar most of which are laced with acetic acid and other chemical additives with this organic coco nectar vinegar, Paguio said.