Maja blanca

Maja blanca

Top: Maja blanca; Bottom: Different variants of maja blanca, including cheese, ube, pandan, and corn
Alternative names Coconut pudding, Coconut cake, kalamay
Course Dessert
Place of origin Philippines
Serving temperature Room temperature, cold
Main ingredients Coconut milk, cornstarch
Variations Maja blanca con maiz. Maja de ube

Maja blanca (Tagalog: [ˈmaha ˈblaŋka]) is a Filipino dessert made primarily from coconut milk. Also known as coconut pudding, it is usually served during fiestas and during the holidays, especially Christmas.

Description

Maja blanca has the consistency of thick gelatine and a delicate flavor, and is creamy white in color.

Etymology and history

As the name suggests, the dessert is of Spanish origin, adapted from the traditional holiday dessert manjar blanco, and is thus related to other similar desserts such as blancmange. The name means "white delicacy”.[1]

Maja blanca is also known as maja blanca con maíz, maja maíz, or maja blanca maíz when corn kernels are used in the preparation (maíz is Spanish for corn).[2]

Preparation

Maja blanca is relatively easy to prepare. A coconut milk (not coconut cream) and cornstarch mixture is heated to boiling over a low flame while stirring. Agar (gulaman in Filipino) can be substituted for cornstarch.[1] Corn kernels, milk, and sugar are also often added, though these are not traditionally part of the recipe.[3] Once the mixture thickens, it is then poured into serving dishes previously greased with coconut oil and allowed to cool. Once firm, latik (browned coconut cream curds) are then sprinkled as toppings.[2]

It is also often refrigerated and served cold to improve the texture.[4]

Maja blanca is similar in texture to panna cotta, but the flavor is different due to the coconut milk.

The corn kernels and latik are used to add different textures to the maja blanca, which, by itself, usually has a creamy texture.[5]

Variations

Maja blanca can easily be adapted to include various other ingredients, often resulting in changes in the color of the dish. Examples include squash maja blanca which uses calabazas (Filipino: kalabasa)[6] and a version of maja maiz that uses butter, resulting in a distinctive yellow color.[7]

Other common variants include maja de ube (or maja ube), a deep purple variant of maja blanca which uses ube (purple yam);[8] and maja buko pandan a light green variant which is flavored with pandan leaves and coconut meat.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Maja Blanca". Driftless Appetite: Life & Food in the Driftless Area. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Reynaldo G. Alejandro & Doreen G. Fernandez (1998). Food of the Philippines. Tuttle Publishing. p. 102. ISBN 978-962-593-245-3.
  3. ↑ Vanjo Merano (November 8, 2009). "Maja Blanca". Panlasang Pinoy. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  4. ↑ J. Dagoon (2005). Home Economics Technology IV. Rex Bookstore, Inc. p. 89. ISBN 978-971-23-4221-9.
  5. ↑ "Maja Blanca Recipe Filipino by Pilipinas Recipes".
  6. ↑ Regional Field Unit No. 5. Emily B. Bordado, ed. Vegetable-based recipes (PDF). Department of Agriculture, Republic of the Philippines. p. 11.
  7. ↑ "Maja Maiz". Home Cooking Rocks!. July 30, 2004. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  8. ↑ Dagoon; et al. (1999). Culinary Arts I. Rex Bookstore, Inc. p. 269. ISBN 978-971-23-2603-5.
  9. ↑ "Buco Pandan Maja with Corn". Mely's Kitchen. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
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