LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—Smoked meat, called “kinuday” particularly by the Ibaloy tribe folks in Benguet, has been accorded a stamp of approval for its sensorial properties in succeeding taste tests conducted for a food panelists chosen by a combined team of food research specialists from Quezon City and Benguet.
Other tribe folks in Cordillera, like the kankana-ey in Benguet, kinuday are also known as “kini-ing” and a considered a blockbuster in their food galore when cooked with the “pinikpikan,” a chicken singed off its feathers.
Taste of the tongue is incontestably essential to human appetite and smoked meat of the highlanders in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has come under scrutiny as gourmet of delight.
Unsurprisingly, many outside of CAR, like those from the lowlands, Ilocos region, Region 02 and those who have stayed long in CAR have also taken a liking to kinuday or etag, usually cooked with pinikpikan, a famous chicken dish in Cordillera.
What had been given importance by the study were the flavor, color and texture bestowing the smoky touch of smoked meat, particularly kinuday which was the core of their study.
Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing meat, particularly pork by adding essential ingredients and subjecting the meat to curing with use of smoke, the sun, or both.
But such process is easily described than done. For it takes skill and patience to come out with a top-grade smoked meat, as the researchers found out in their study.
Their study is titled, “Organoleptic and Physicochemical Characterization of Ethnic Smoked Pork Delicacy (Kinuday) produced by the Ibaloy Indigenous People in Cordillera, Philippines.”
It was conducted by the College of Home Economics and Technology of the Benguet State University (BSU) and the College of Home Economics, University of the Philippines (UP), Diliman, Quezon City.
There were three researchers, namely Cynthia D. Carambas, Myrna Benita Z. Luna (UP, Diliman), Consuelo T Chua (UP, Diliman) and their proctors Avila J. Balaoing of the Ethno Food Technology of BSU, Balauro Carambas of BSU and others.
Eight trained panelists, four females and four males were chosen. They were all expert kinuday processors as well as kinuday consumers and selected based also on their skill and ability to understand Ibaloy dialect and speak it fluently.
The panelists possessed the ability to evaluate the quality characteristics of kinuday as regards its color, texture, aroma, visual dryness, saltiness and last but not least, its smoky flavor.
Establishing characteristics of kinuday was done to disentangle the perplexity regarding its distinction with other smoked meat products by other groups in CAR, like etag, the researchers pointed out.
Each smoked product claims its rightful hub, the researchers stressed, as the researchers concentrated only their efforts on the traditionally prepared Benguet kinuday.
Although the quality and characteristics of the sun-dried and smoke dried etag was established, detailed organoleptic characterization of etag was not studied by the group as it dwelt only on kinuday.
After having received clearance from the Department of Science and technology – National Ethics Committee (DOST-NEC), researchers got meat from native pigs that were processed separately from 24 hours for one set and 36 hours for another set.
Then they compared the results. Looking at the derived values for Chroma (intensity) in general (skin, fat and color), it was evident from the panelists that the 24-hours smoked pork sample was less vivid as compared to the 36-hours smoked pork.
The lesson derived was that the more time and effort spent on smoking pork, the better the result. For the 36- hours kinuday samples lean color presented a more vivid or intense characteristic than its counterpart.
For lightness or darkness of kinuday sample, the color analysis of the panelists reflects that the 36-hours smoking duration is darker than the 24-hours kinuday counterpart.
It was proven by the panelists that the difference in smoking duration is sufficient to detect a discrepancy in the smoky flavor of kinuday, since smoke flavor can penetrate the skin and meat surface as smoke permeates organic surfaces.
Hence, the longer pork being made into kinuday is exposed to smoke, the more the meat is saturated, the study said.
Characteristics not affected by smoking duration include uncooked outer surface fat color; uncooked inner surface skin, lean and fat color; cooked outer surface lean, fat and skin color; cooked skin and fat color; uncooked and cooked aroma and texture, and; visual dryness.
Longer smoking duration imposes higher intensity in terms of color, saltiness and smoky flavor, the research noted.
At the end of the processing following traditional preparation of kinuday, the panelists affirmed that smoking duration of the meat clearly affects the organoleptic (sensorial) characteristics of kinuday, specifically its outer skin and lean color (uncooked), the inner lean color (when cooked), saltiness and its smoky flavor.
It happens that there is a generalization that pork-based native delicacy in CAR, regardless of its preservation method may be termed “etag.” However, the tribe folks of Benguet particularly the Ibaloy indigenous group and Mountain Province disagree.
The term “etag” is a word from the Mountain Province tribe folks and the word “kinuday,” an Ibaloy term.
As to the main argument that “etag is saltier, whereas, kinuday is less salty,” is a matter of conjecture since there are expert makers of etag whose products have been proven in the market as having exactly the right saltiness.
Or, it also depends on the taste buds of people having the fancy of eating salted pork. Some may prefer it with or less of salt, according to Mary Capuyan, from Sagada, Mountain Province and a connoisseur of etag.
It is just a matter of having the right sense of rubbing the exact salt on the meat prior to its smoking process, according to “etag” producers, Capuyan related.
“Adda ti mangkaima-an nga agaramid ti etag, adda met ti uray kayat da ag-aramid ti etag, saan da maala-ala. Kasla met a iti panagluto. Adda nalaing agluto, adda ti saan,”Capuyan said.
In Sagada, not only is their ancient hanging coffins and perpetual rainbow the things the 11,510 “Sagadians” (2020 census) of this tiny town take pride in.
Equally close to the Sagadians’ heart is a delicacy, etag, which appears to be unique in this municipality.
Etag meat is one of the prides of Sagada.
Considered a popular food of the townsfolk, etag is a meat of a native pig prepared in a way which has been handed down from generation to generation.
Here, residents singe the pig to remove the fur. The process is supposed to preserve the aroma and taste of pork. The meat is then cut into inch-thin pieces salted and hung over an open fire for smoking.
As soon as the meat turns brownish, indication the meat has reached its best smoking quality, these are transferred into wooden vats or wrapped in clean brown paper. Sagadians say the meat can be stored for months without spoiling, and passage of time even improves its taste.
Etag can be used for various recipes, can be cooked in any manner – fried, grilled, boiled or steamed – without losing its taste, Capuyan said.
A favorite among the locals is etag cooked with pinikpikan. The special dish is always present during weddings, betrothals, baptisms, school graduations, outings or family gatherings. A Sagadan family that forgets to prepare this dish during such occasions will receive a side-ribbing of sort.
Ancient Sagadians and even those present today, use etag as part of their offerings to Kabunyan, the legendary god in Cordillera.
Such practice of including etag as sacred offering still persists today, even as all highlanders have come under the Christian roof. Capuyan explained Sagada people and other in the Mountain Province include etag in offerings to appease bad spirits, respect for the gods, simply to thank for the blessings coming their way or to ward off any possible negativity.
Tourists have tried the delicacy and said they find it “intricate,” explaining further its taste subtle and inviting.
Sagadians are uncertain as to the origin of etag but it is commonly believed the delicacy has been devised by their ancestors in the pre-Spanish period.
Other Sagadians who moved to Baguio City and La Trinidad and presently engaged in entrepreneurship like clothing (hukay-hukay) business or other business leanings state that when they cannot find etag in Baguio, they order the smoked meat from their place Sagada, from their town mates who regularly travel to Sagada and back to Baguio or La Trinidad.
For etag tickles not only the palate but it is a cultural embeddedness that defines their society’s identity in any cultural lens.