About CHOP

The Culinary Historians of the Philippines (CHOP) is a non-profit sister organization of the Culinary Historians of Washington, D.C. (CHoWDC). We are not historians in the academic or scholarly sense; we are students of culinary history who want to give back to society through culinary-based programs. Our mission: To study, promote, and help preserve the history and heritage of Philippine cuisine and culinary customs/traditions; to implement advocacy programs; and to study the cuisines of other countries. [Your comments on our posts are most welcome.]

Monday, March 23, 2015

Coconut Oil Lecture, August 16, 2014 (N. Forbes Pavilion)


Our two distinguished and renowned scientists/experts in their fields, Dr. Fabian (Toby) M. Dayrit and Dr. Vermen Verallo-Rowell, took us on an enlightening journey through the facts and falsehoods of fats in food and the scientific validation of the health benefits of coconut oil and the coconut as a whole, the perfect health nut.

They effectively debunked the myth that the fats in coconut are bad for your health; on the contrary, scientific studies have shown that coconut oil is cholesterol-free, trans-fat-free, and heart-healthy. The saturated fats in
coconut oil are the good fats (called Medium-Chain Fatty Acids) which go directly to the liver to be converted into energy, unlike the Long-Chain Fatty Acids found in most other oils. 
It was unfortunate that we didn't have enough time for a much longer Q&A forum, but perhaps we could do another seminar in the future.


The talks were followed by Pia Lim-Castillo's demonstration/short course on preparing and cooking three coconut-based dishes, which everyone enjoyed tasting (many thanks to Gretchen for helping in the demo). Thanks also to Serye Restaurant (c/o Alvin Lim) for pre-cooking the delicious dishes so we had enough servings for everyone.


More than 50 were in attendance, so all in all, it was a very successful and enjoyable afternoon. Thank goodness that the heavens waited until well after the seminar before they opened up and unleashed buckets and buckets of rain!
Our deep gratitude to Dr. Dayrit and Dr. Verallo for graciously accepting CHOP's invitation to speak at this well-attended seminar.

PROGRAM

1:00 - 1:30    Registration
1:30 - 2:00    DR. FABIAN M. DAYRIT
2:00 -2:30     DR. VERMEN VERALLO-ROWELL
2:30 - 3:00    Question and Answer Forum 
3:00 - 4:00    Cooking Demonstration

Pia Lim-Castillo, CHOP Vice President, will demo the following five dishes, chosen not only for their uniqueness but also for their health benefits:
        1.    Adobong Manok sa Sinunog na Niyog - Braised Chicken in Charred Coconut
        2.    Ensaladang Puso ng Saging na may Kakang Gata - Banana Heart w/ Fresh Coconut Milk
        3.    Ginataang Labong, Mais at Saluyot - Bamboo shoots with corn and jute leaves
        4.    Suman sa Latik
        5.    Fresh Lumpiang Ubod
        6.    Buko Pandan Salad
The demos will be followed by a tasting of what has been prepared. 

Pia has generously offered to share her recipes with those in the audience who are interested. Just make sure we have your email address (we decided not to print the recipes, to save some trees!).

4:00 - 4:30    Eating, book signing, retail therapy!


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1 comment:

  1. This is a great post, North Forbes Pavilion is the perfect place for this kinds of events. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete