Everyone has a different definition of what constitutes ‘fancy,’ with especially broad variations occurring across national and economic lines, but in the realm of the sweet most would agree that the French have this elusive descriptor locked down. And while the global masters of pastry may not be solely responsible for the wonders of the meringue - the Swiss and Italians both also claim ownership and probably had something to do with the confection’s creation - the airy snack does fit squarely into the French dessert tradition, with its routine elevation of earthbound items to a divine plane via the wonders of furious frothing. This brings us to the Philippines, an island with more than its share of foreign influence, but which has never hosted any sustained French (or Swiss, or Italian) presence. How then do we end up with the Puto Seko, subtitled here as ‘fancy cookies,’ which taste like a dustier, denser cousin to the meringue? They’re actually a wholly Filipino invention, also referred to as ‘rice cookies’ although none of the recipes I've found online use rice. The La Pacita brand doesn't either, although these little nuggets are adulterated with a few other ingredients, from coconut milk to palm oil, that you’d never find in the simple meringue. The rice element seems to have roots in the Indian coconut/rice breakfast dish known as the patta, which made its way across the Strait of Malacca and east to the Phillipines, transferred into Tagalog as a puto (an unfortunate translation, considering the Spanish meaning) which seem closer to a dim sum snack than this calcified incarnation. Procured from a Vietnamese supermarket in Philadelphia, the bagged version of these dry cookies are initially off-putting - dry, tacky and a bit tasteless - but they grow on you (possibly with the aid of chemical means), settling in as a sort of unspiced, unsugared pfefferneuse. The strongest point of comparison is probably ‘forgotten cookies’ (more fragrantly known as forgotten kisses), the French Toast of meringues, which age and harden the dessert by leaving them to bake in an oven overnight. The world of baking influence remains a huge mystery, and while I’d need to taste an actual fresh batch of Puto Seko to determine that La Pacita isn’t engaged in any funny business, I imagine the ‘fancy’ cookie’s similarity to the French delicacy has occurred by mere accidental cultural transference, the spores of one famous dessert popping up half a world away, a not-so-portable rice dish transforming to resemble a Western countepart. As for the bag itself, it’s might be significant to note the balloon-like, primary colored orbs of the logo, which resemble the classic Wonder Bread insignia, and while these cookies aren’t as light as the famously mild loaf, their appearance shares a similar aspiration toward snow-white purity.
1 Comment
Ayen
5/20/2022 04:31:49 pm
Puto Seko's probably my most favorite Filipino snack. Glad to have learned more about where it came from although it was quite surprising to see how it translate in Spanish haha. Thanks for the info!
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