Gatas ng kalabaw (carabao’s milk)
When I was a kid, fresh carabao’s milk was sold in long necked bottles with the opening stuffed with rolled banana leaves. I remember refusing to drink it unless heated because the milk fat would solidify and I hated the sensation of semi-solid fat in my mouth. My father would dutifully heat the milk and my brother and I would drink up. There really is nothing like fresh carabao’s milk–creamier and richer than cow’s milk and sweeter too. It’s the stuff that real pastillas used to be made of. Too bad they use powdered cow’s milk for pastillas-making these days.
Carabaos are a beast of burden–the farmer’s best friend because it was the carabao that pulled the plow. Modern life and machinery have replaced it in the rice fields. There are areas in the country though where carabaos are still the farmer’s choice. Or, maybe, these are the small farmers who cannot afford the expensive modern farming machinery.
Although the traditional manner of bottling and selling of carabao’s milk is still practiced (I see banana leaf-topped bottles in the Antipolo market occasionally), it is now sterilized, bottled and flavored the way cow’s milk is. So there’s pandan, melon and chocolate flavored carabao’s milk. I first saw them at Market! Market! in June last year when the photo was taken. They are now available in the bigger supermarkets. I still have to try them though.
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