The ‘miracle’ of Masbate town’s ‘caramelado’

Legend has it that on a clear day, Saint Peter could be seen walking on the beach of this town, 22 kilometers west of Masbate City. This was why it was named Milagros (Spanish for “miracles”).

But the creature that brought wonders to the place is not Saint Peter’s supposed favored animal—the rooster—but the carabao. It is the beast of burden for many farmers among the 44,575 residents, although the population subsists primarily on fishing in the Asid Gulf.

Aside from being work animals, the carabaos also provide fresh milk, which is the main ingredient of Milagros’ most famous fare and source of livelihood for its poor—the “caramelado” or milk curd in caramel.

In Barangay Bacolod, which lies at the junction of paved roads leading to the town proper and the neighboring towns of Mandaon and Balud, many of the residents cook caramelado, which they sell to commuters and tourists.

Teresita Cervantes, 67, learned the trade from her late grandmother.

“Cooking [caramelado] takes hard work. You are exposed to fire. It’s tiring to the arms since you have to endure hours of stirring so the milk curd will not be burnt. While stirring you have to keep watch so the curd does not get toasted,” she said.

Cervantes moonlights as a laundrywoman, but her main source of living for the last 20 years has been cooking the milky white delicacy.

With her enterprise, she has helped her husband raise their 10 children.

A mother carabao is milked when her calf is starting to eat grass. Fresh milk may be bought from carabao owners at P20 per bottle.

Carabao milk, not cow’s milk, is ideal for caramelado because it is thinner and does not easily curdle.

Eight bottles of milk is mixed with half a kilo of refined white sugar. While boiling until it curdles, the mixture must be constantly stirred.

The resulting curd becomes the caramelado—ready to be rolled over by a bottle, cut into small thin bars, and wrapped with cellophane and white wax paper. Total cooking time is about two hours.

“I mix only a small amount of sugar so the caramelado would retain its milky flavor. Less sweet caramelado does not sell much but I prefer to stick to the original way of cooking it,” Cervantes said.

She sells her milky bars in translucent plastic wrappings as do other villagers. A plastic container has 30 bars and sells at P100.

Shelf-life is about one week. For the product to last a month, the curd should be toasted slightly.

Cervantes earns more than enough only during the peak summer months and Christmas holidays when tourists abound. Her sales could reach P3,000 to P10,000 a day.