Mansanitas jam, anyone?

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Many of us may have tasted mansanitas during one of the games that we played when we were still young.

But have you ever heard of mansanitas jam?

This chef from Bantayan town spent most of his quarantine time perfecting the preparation of his mansanitas jam.

Apolinario Navarro, 52, said that since he was unable able to leave their home because of the quarantine, he started to pick mansanitas from a huge tree on their backyard.

Navarro, a resident of Barangay Baod in Bantayan town in Bantayan Island, was a chef de partie of a Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan, before Lapu-Lapu City and the rest of Cebu were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

“Two months ko home quarantine sa amo balay. Naa tanom mansanitas sayang, daghan kaayo hinog. Nag create ko,  nag try himo. Ok naman ang lasa, unique recipe so yummy labi na dili ka adto sa lungsod Kay Wala ko q.pass,” siad Navarro.

(I was under home quarantine for two months.  I saw that the fruits from our mansanitas tree were already ripe. I tried to create a new recipe from it.  It tasted very yummy [that is why we started using it as a spread especially since] I cannot go to the market [to buy] spread because I did not have a quarantine pass.)

During the last week of May, Navarro said he started to produce more of his mansanitas jam and shared these with his neighbors.

And those who were able to taste his recipe liked it too.

Mansanitas is a member of the Rhamnaceae family, which is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines.

This fruit is referred to as a kind of cherry in some countries like Jamaica, Panama, and Singapore.  In the Philippines, this small rounded fruit is called manzanitas (small apples) or mansanitas.

In the preparation of his jam, Navarro said you will have to prepare 500 grams of already blended mansanitas.  Add 100 grams of sugar, 100 ml of orange juice, and 20 ml of kalamansi juice before mixing on a hot pot.  Wait until the mixture starts to become sticky and golden brown in color.

“The making of the jam won’t take that long, naa ra gyud sa mga [it only takes] 20-30 minutes. Perfect nga i palaman gyud ni sa pan [for use as a spread],” Navarro added.

Just like other commercially produced jams, Navarro said that his mansanitas jam is also creamy and sweet.

Not wanting to put his recipe to waste, Navarro said that he is now planning of selling his product at P100 per 300-gram bottle. / dcb