Pomposity of colors - Nature's tool for survival

Pomposity of colors - 

Nature's tool for survival

San Vicente Botanical Garden

                                           Dr Abe V Rotor

Butterfly plant, what a coincidence

     in form and structure, and color;

I'd rather say, a case of mimicry,

    for mutual protection and favor.

Angel's trumpet, flimsy sinister, heralding

     not of victory but defeat;

Narcotics its essence, abuse its courtship,

     to the unwary on a dark street.

Balibago - white in the morning pink after;

     your secret of a short lived;

you must court the sun and bee without delay,

     in the act of make believe.

Mickey mouse the male, Minnie mouse the female,

     both flowers born on one plant;

If ever Disney got the idea from this plant, he's right,

     mystery is what people want.

Begonia, frail and dainty, and easy to wilt

     must shout its color to the butterfly and bee;

Else its flowers like spinsters just fade away

     sad and lonely though colorful and free.

 

Caladium - but you are far from being a flower,

     yet you're an apple to the eye of the beholder;

Whatever perception you create to your pollinator,

     count me as one, your ardent gardener. ~

Autumn at Your Doorsteps

Autumn at Your Doorsteps

The Beginning of Autumn

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days."

- John Burrows

Dr Abe V Rotor

Onset of Autumn in acrylic by A V Rotor

The leaves are still green but autumn is here,

litter on the forest floor turns red and yellow,

and cracks and tickles under my feet bare.

Oh, how seasons change pure and mellow!

Talisay (Terminalia catappa) - autumn tree in the tropics. ~

 

Integrated Production of Basi and Sukang Iloko

  Integrated Production of Basi and Sukang Iloko 

(In celebration of the  215th  Anniversary of the Basi Revolt (September 29, 1807- September 29, 2022) 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Article edited and enlarged from earlier post in celebration of the  215th Anniversary of the Basi Revolt (September 29, 1807- September 29, 2022) 

 18th Century Baroque church of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, the town where Bantaoay River runs through. The historic river is the site of the 1807 Basi Revolt led by illustrious local wine brewers against the imposition of Wine Monopoly by the Spanish government. 

Historic Vigan, UNESCO Heritage city, a main tourists' attraction 400 kilometers north of Manila, northern seaport of the Galleon Trade which carried basi among the local products exported to Europe via Acapulco in Mexico.   

Basi in earthen jars hermetically capped with clay for the duration of aging which lasts one to five years, or  more.  The earthen jars, called burnay, are made of special earth mined at the hilly outskirt of Vigan.  It is glazed to last for many years, in fact generations.  The centuries-old process has not changed. Pagburnayan, the seat of jar making, is a main tourists' attraction.

  Burnay making, centuries-old process

Basi and Sukang Iloko are displayed in tourists shops in Vigan. The labels of Rotor Basi carry the synopsis of the Basi Revolt of 1807. The front label of every bottle depicts a historical place and event of the Ilocos Region, There are dozens of such historic labels, that make a fine collection of the product. Another set of labels depicts the Basi Revolt paintings by Don Esteban Villanueva.

Part 1 - Historical Background

The manufacture of Ilocos wine (Basi) and vinegar (Sukang Iloko) is traced long before Spain colonized the Philippines. Although the two products were already part of a flourishing trade between the Philippines and its neighboring countries, basi in particular reached prominence when it became an export via the Galleon Trade to Europe by way of Acapulco, which lasted for nearly two centuries. (4)

The significance of the industry during the Spanish period can be attested by the fact that the Spanish government declared monopoly on the industry in the same way the Tobacco Monopoly was imposed. This move stirred an uprising by the brewers and natives in the Ilocos region which became known as the Basi Revolt of 1807. (1) See the synopsis of the Basi Revolt.

The Commonwealth era further saw the decline in the production of basi and sukang Iloko displaced by imported products. This was exacerbated by the outbreak of the World War II. The industry has never recovered since then. Today’s generation has a vague idea of this fine, traditional industry, which was once the pride of our ancestors, particularly the Ilocanos.

The idea of reviving this sunset industry holds potentials in creating livelihood opportunities, and in integrating agriculture and industry in the classical concept of agribusiness that is rural- and people-based. The industry offers natural products that protect people’s health, and are friendly to the environment. Lastly it revives the spirit of nationalism, culture and tradition.(3))

The Products

Basi is table wine made from upland sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), glutinous rice (Oryza sativa), and local botanical ingredients: duhat (Syzygium cumini), kamachile (Pithecolobium dulce) and samat (Macaranga tenarius) kariskis (Albizzia lebbecoides), and kupkupyies (Desmodium gangiticum). Bubud, a yeast complex preparation is used as the fermenting agent. It is locally prepared using simple techniques developed at the St. Paul University QC biological laboratory with the assistance of Dr. Anselmo S. Cabigan. (6,7,9 & 13)

Basically basi is a product of ethanol fermentation, with 12 proof which is equivalent to 6 % alcohol (Ref: DOST-ITDI Report of Analysis 01-00-0CL-0017). The bio-chemical equation in basi fermentation is shown in this general formula:

                        Zymase
C6 H 12 O6 ------------- 2 C2H5OH + 2CO2
Sugarcane        Yeast           Basi

This equation shows that basi is the direct product of anaerobic fermentation by a variety of yeast, principally by the genus Saccharomyces of which two species are involved: ellipsoides and cerevisiae. Two other genera make up the locally produced bubud or yeast complex, namely Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces. (11, 12)

Sukang Iloko, on the other hand is basi “gone sour”. Vin egar means sour wine. This means that basi, like any table wine, spontaneously turns into vinegar when oxidized with the aid of microorganism-fermenters. A single continuing process then produces both products – wine and vinegar. Thus, the following equation shows oxidation or acetification (vinegar formation).

                         Acetobacter aceti
C2H5OH + O2 -------------------- CH3COOH + 2H2O
Basi (Ethanol) to Sukang Iloko (Acetic acid)

As shown by the two equations, the two products – wine and vinegar - are integrated. The dual process can be extended to the production of Nata de Coco, and various kinds of fruit wine and fruit vinegar. This means that the formula is applicable in the production of other products, a key to increased productivity of an enterprise. In this paper however, only basi and vinegar production is described. Nata de coco making may be treated as a separate enterprise. (12)

                       Part 2 -  General Features of a Basi-Vinegar Industry

1. It revives a once flourishing industry, making use of indigenous tools and materials. Thus, it also relives a rich history of a people and culture.

2. As a cottage- and rural-based family business, it is dependent on family and local manpower, but nonetheless requires innovations in both technology and management.

3. Its products are made from natural materials and by a natural process, hence safe to health and environment-friendly.

4. It makes use of local researches and indigenous skills, thus it is important to both research institutions and industry. It therefore, links the research system and enterprise system on one hand, and the field with the laboratory on the other.

5. It is viable as a short- or medium-scale enterprise, and can be expanded on long-term basis, which makes it compatible with business organizations, especially family enterprises and cooperatives.

6. It supports the philosophy on which NACIDA and KALAKALAN 20 were founded. It is in line with the government’s program on small and medium enterprises, led by DTI, UP Institute of Small and Medium Enterprises, and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council, and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

7. As a dollar earner (and saver), it takes pride in a modest sense in propagating an indigenous and truly Filipino product that meets international standard for European table wines, in the likes of sherry and mass wine. (Ref: PFDCS 2498 and 9429, Food Development Center, National Food Authority)

8. The universal formula in the production of the two products lends to expansion of product lines within the same framework of technology and business organization. Table wine can be produced from local fruits such as chico (Achras sapota), pineapple (Ananas comosus), mango (Mangifera indica), guava (Psidium guajava), cashew (Anacardium occidentale) and the like, using the same production formula. This is true in making vinegar out of these fruits particularly during their peak season.

The Process

1. Cleaning and Sterilization of Jar Containers
The jars are thoroughly cleaned. This takes three weeks, with the water changed three times, once every week. The author introduced a technique of improving and hastening the cleaning process by culturing the tiny kataba fish in the jar (Poecilia) feeding on mosquito wrigglers, algae, other plankton organisms, and decomposing matter. With this innovation, cleaning is more thorough and the time required is reduced to a period of one week instead of two. Sterilization of the jars after they are clean is by direct sunlight exposure for at least 6 hours.

2. Brewing
Cooked sugarcane juice is poured into the sterilized jars. The botanical ingredients, bubud (yeast complex) and glutinous rice are then added and the jars are loosely capped with banana leaves and cheesecloth cloth. Fermentation soon takes place and increases in rate until the twentieth day. Thereafter brewing declines. The sediments are removed and the jars are closed, and are ready for ageing.

3. Ageing
The jars are hermetically sealed with termite earth, another innovation by the entrepreneur. Termite earth is dug from a anthill or punso. There are two advantages of using this sealing material: it is clay-hard, and it is termite-proof – because it is waste of the termites. The jars are kept in a dark cool place away from the elements of nature, insects and other forms of disturbance. The idea of ageing is to allow the wine to mellow in order to attain a desired aroma, bouquet or body, color, taste, and other qualities. The wine matures in 10 to 12 months. There is a saying that prolonged ageing improves a “good” wine, but not a “poor” wine. The author can attest to the exceptional quality of basi aged for two up to five years. Other than capital being tied up in long storage, shrinkage is also a problem due to jar leaching and seepage.

4. Bottling and Packaging
Long-necked glass bottles with 750 ml content are obtained from suppliers of new or recycled bottles. The bottles are thoroughly cleaned and sterilized. The bottles are directly filled up with the harvested wine after passing laboratory test (percent alcohol and acidity) and organoleptic test (taste, color, bouquet, etc.). They are capped, sealed, and labeled. They are covered with yellow to orange cellophane to reduce ultraviolet radiation, and placed in individual brown bags and in carton boxes of 12 bottles per box.

Materials

1. Sugarcane – Saccharum officinarum Linn, or unas in Iloko, provides the main ingredient, the source of sucrose extracted by wooden cane crusher or dadapilan. The extracted juice is cooked and evaporated in large kettle until 10 percent sucrose is attained.

2. Kamachili – Pithecolobium dulce (Roxb) Benth. The bark is used for its tannin and crimson red dye.

3. Samat - Macaranga tanarius (Linn) Muell-Arg. Its leaves and fruits are concocted and added to the must during fermentation. Its tannin and dye impart body and bouquet to the wine.

4. Rice – Oryza zativa Linn. Rice increases supply of sugar. Hydrolysis converts polysaccharide into simple sugar, which is ultimately acted upon by yeast. Rice is the main substrate of bubud.

5. Peanut – Archis hypogea Linn. It contains arachis oil and albuminoids, impart special taste and aroma preferred by women drinkers.

6. Kariskis – Albizzia lebbekoides (DC) Benth. Its leaves and pods impart acrid and bitter taste. Moderate amounts enhance body and bouquet of the wine.

7. Cacao – Theobroma cacao Linn. Basi makers add cacao for its chocolaty aroma.

8. Kupkupies – Desmodium gangiticum (Linn) DC. The whole plant is used as filter while the sugarcane juice is being cooked. It imparts a pleasant aroma to the cooked juice.

9. Ginger – Zingiber officinale Rosc. Antibacterial, it is used as an ingredient in the preparation of bubud

10. Duhat – Syzygium cumini (Linn) Skeels. Bark and ripe fruits impart dark color, acrid and bitter taste that contribute to the body and bouquet of the wine.

Quality Control

The ground floor of an old brick house in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, serves as cellar, office and working area. It houses a small office and laboratory. It is readily accessible to the sources of raw materials, buyers and transport facilities. Burnay or earthen jars (15-liter capacity) are made in Vigan. The net content of each jar can fill up 50 long necked bottles of 750 ml, the standard packaging of both products. The principal tools are light microscope, sugar meter, hydrometer, refractometer, pH meter, and accessories such as weighing scale, beakers and test tubes. Analyses and experiments involving sophisticated equipment like chromatograph and distilling apparatus are conducted in cooperation with research institutions like DOST and FDC.

The main ingredient is cooked pure sugarcane juice. Hydrometer reading is around 20 degrees Baume depending on the sucrose content and variety of the cane. Glutinous rice increases concentration since starch is a polysaccharide. Through hydrolysis, starch is broken down into simple sugars. Bubod is a yeast complex prepared from pure culture in the laboratory consisting of several strains of yeast. Four of the strains were isolated at the SPCQ botanical Garden by the faculty and students in biology led by Dr. Anselmo S. Cabigan. Results of the discovery was confirmed by FDC and DOST and published in the St. Paul University Faculty Journal. Five local plants are used in making basi and vinegar. These are kamachile, duhat, samat, kariskis and kupkupyes. Distilled water is ideal to prevent contamination and unwanted materials..

Quality control starts with the choice of sugarcane variety, its cultivation, stage of maturity and crop stand. Too much nitrogen fertilizer is not advisable. Upland crop is preferred over lowland crop. The cultivation of the cane follows local practices with innovations recommended by PCARRD (Philippines Recommends for Sugarcane.) Only premium canes are assigned for basi while inferior canes, such as those affected by drought or typhoons are used for vinegar making.

The key to product quality is in the three stages of manufacture: formulation, brewing and ageing. The skill is acquired through training and experience augmented with basic knowledge in chemistry and microbiology. It is in this stage that laboratory analysis is regularly conducted to monitor percent sugar, acidity of must (fermenting material), cell count of the yeast complex, and fermentation rate.

The last phase of quality control is in bottling, capping and sealing, labeling and packing. Consistency of product quality is of utmost consideration, not only for the whole shipment, but also in all sales, bearing in mind market demand and international standards. Food Development Center, which is authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration and USDA, determines the quality of products exported to the US and its territories. Basi has been determined by the Food Development Center of the National Food Authority for having passed the standard for Sherry, Port and Champagne. (Ref: PFDCS 2498/9429)

Organoleptic Analysis

A taste test was conducted on two occasions among basi drinkers in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur in 1999. Using the Likert scale of 1 to 5, the average rating was 4.05, which proved that the product is of high quality. Earlier a similar test was conducted among the participants of ASEAN-New Zealand Symposium on ethnobotany. Basi was presented as an indigenous product using native herbals. The overall rating obtained was Very Good (4.21).

The criteria of a good wine were defined in another organoleptic test in a seminar sponsored by the Biotechnology Society of UST and the UST Graduate School in 1999. These are aroma, color, clarity, strength, sweetness, general taste, aftertaste, acrid taste, and body or fullness. Actual taste test revealed that basi topped the overall rating with 3.26, closely followed by Local Brand S (3.17). The imported brands garnered the following scores: SanIs (2.54), PerG (2.26), RosSi (1.74), and FlorLon (1.72) NOTE: Brands mentioned are not their true names.

Part 3 - Technology Innovation and Industry Development

These are innovations in reviving basi and vinegar making as a viable enterprise.

1. Standardization of quality refers to both the attainment of high quality wine compared with local and foreign brands, and the consistency in product quality that through time becomes associated with a distinct brand. The key is in the standardization of formula, from brewing to ageing period.

2. Yeast Complex preparation holds the key to quality. Of the yeast isolates, Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces contribute greatly to the improvement of quality.

3. The earthen jar is imprimatur of the product. The use of bigger vats specially designed for large-scale production is in its pilot stage. Product development has succeeded in reducing wastage, increased brewing success, and improvement of color and clarity using indigenous  technology.

4. Control of the “brewing disease” which plagued the industry in the fifties and sixties. A bacterial contamination caused scouring of the jars in the first days of fermentation. The must or substrate becomes sticky and frothy, spilling all over, and attracting flies and other vermin. The disease can cause total loss in a brewing season. Strict sanitation is important in wine making, and quarantine at the source of the cane juice of possible contamination is likewise necessary. (11)

5. Product presentation is linked with history and culture. The labels speak highly of the tradition and heritage of the Ilocos Region. The regional and nationalistic fervor became an important factor in developing the market. There are around sixty different photograph labels of important scenes and events about the Ilocos region, each on every bottle.

6. Organization and management of an enterprise in making basi-vinegar making as a viable cottage industry. Under the Rotor Enterprise, the Return on Investment is comparable with other businesses of the same category.

Outlook

How a fledgling industry survives and rises from the ashes of a colonial past is beyond imagination of a scientist-businessman to be able to see any bright prospect. But research and business have many challenges, beyond time, money and perhaps opportunities to become rich. (5)

Would not a business venture consider values beyond economic parameters, such as reviving a rich culture, reliving history, touching fervors of faith and pride in a people? To be practical however, one should first consider the viability of a business before aiming at any higher consideration or “cause.” (3 & 10)

With the current research and business climate in the Philippines there are many risks a scientist-entrepreneur faces, from the crunching effect of currency devaluation to open competition brought about by the world's order on trade liberalization as a result of the passage of GATT and the inequitable workings of WTO which is often to the disadvantage of Third World countries. On the part of science and technology capitalism has taken over many of the indigenous technologies. Fortunately basi and sukang Iloko have been spared so far from such capitalistic techno-piracy. By putting back into the path of trade and commerce, how humble it may be, the first to benefit from the Basi-Sukang Iloko industry thousands of farmers and hundreds of households by way of crop diversification and cottage processing, the prototype of agro-industrialization and agribusiness.

The second advantage is based on the fact that the products derived from the industry are natural, and therefore favorable to the health of the consumer and the conservation of the environment.

Thirdly, the indigenous nature of the technology involved and materials used puts to maximum advantage the utilization local resources thus lessening if not eliminating our dependence of imported raw materials – and imported wine.

Lastly, the technology can be transferred and replicated on the cottage level, a social component to spur rural development and advance cooperativism. I believe in the future of the industry as a heritage of the Ilocanos and the Filipino people as a whole.

References

1. Azurin, AM (1991) Beddeng, UP Diliman QC
2. Brown, WH (1937)- Useful Plants of the Philippines 3 volumes, Bureau of Printing, Manila
3. Conti RM and Malicsi AS (1990) - Decision Making Tools for Small Business. Small Economic Enterprises Development Incorporated (SEED), 119 pp
4. Gironiere, P (1935) Twenty Years in the Philippines
5. Jocano, F.L. (1990) Management by Culture (Fine-Tuning Management to Filipino Culture, 100 pp
6. Lacap, DC (1995) – Alcohol Fermentation of Yeast Isolates from Flowers and Leaves of Syzygium cumini BS Biology theis SPCQ
7. Muega N (1994) Isolation of Wild Yeasts from Flowers of Ocimum basillicum, Justicia genderussa, and Murraya paniculata (BS Biology thesis, St. Paul College QC)
8. Narvas-Quiason, SD and J.O. And (1994) Indigenous Fermentation; Theory and Practice Phoenix Publishing QC 278 pp.
9. Ngo, ML (1998) Yeast Screening in Flowers of Cocos nucifera BS Biology thesis. SPCQ
10. Roque, RS (1990) - Management Advisory Services, Manila 709 pp.
11. Rotor AV (1984) - Ethnic Practices in Basi Wine Making in the Ilocos Region, Proceedings ASEAN-NZ Conference.
12. Rotor AV (1986) – Basi Wine Making in the Ilocos Region: Ethnic Practices and Innovations St. Paul College QC Journal of Research , ppl-15
13. Valdez, MJM (1994) – Isolation of Wild Yeasts from Flowers of Psidium guajava, Calliandra cergenila, and Muntingia calabura BS Biology thesis SPCQ.

Author’s Note: Integrated Production of Basi and Sukang Iloko was adjudged a recipient of the 2002 Business Incentive Development and Achievement Award (BIDA Awards). The award was sponsored by CHED, DTI, DOST, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council and Planters Bank). The integrated enterprise was featured Business of the Month in Agribusiness Magazine of the Department of Agriculture, The Women’s Journal (Revival of Basi, 2000), Bannaoag Magazine (2002) and Greenfields (2002). A scientific paper on the manufacture of the two indigenous products was read by the author at the ASEAN-New Zealand Conference on Ethnobotany in 1995. Basi is a distinct product of the Ilocos region consistently exhibited in agro-industrial fairs here and abroad, which include agro-industrial fairs at SM Mega Mall and the Philippine International Trade Center,  the Basi Revolt exhibit at the National Museum (2008), and UP Diliman Basi Revolt anniversary (c. 2012).

 Basi for shipment to tourists shops and wine shops.

 

 Harvesting two-year old basi. 

Finished product for labeling

* Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738KHz DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

215th Anniversary of the Basi Revolt (September 29, 1807)

 215th Anniversary of the Basi Revolt (September 29, 1807)

Basi and Fruit Wine 

Signature of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur Philippines

Heritage Zone of the North 

(R.A. 11645, January 14, 2022)

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog

  

Basi wine keeps up with the evolving market.  Related wine products from chico, mango, caimito and other native fruits), and the famous Ilocos Vinegar (Sukang Iloko) proudly stand among local and imported brands. Samples of San Vicente products in tourists shops in Vigan, UNESCO Heritage City, and recently one of the new seven wonder cities of the world.  San Vicente town 3-km west of Vigan has been recently declared Heritage Zone of the North under RA 11645.

 

                            Personalized basi labels: Left, historical sites of the Ilocos 

                                               region labels; wedding gift  

Part 2

 Yeast - the Ubiquitous, Universal Fermenter  

Basi wine making, first day of fermentation. Note evolving gas - carbon dioxide. Wine is produced by anaerobic fermentation.

Bottled basi wine for tourists shops and for export. Basi was among the items carried between the Philippines and Europe via Acapulco, Mexico, during the Galleon Trade era (17th and 18th century) when the Philippines was a colony of Spain, so with Mexico. Old folks attribute the unique fine taste of basi to bubud (homemade yeast).

All kinds of alcoholic drink contain ethanol or ethyl alcohol - the only edible alcohol. Wine is as old as civilization. Serendipity must have led to early wine making techniques, the key being the domestication of  the first microorganism - Saccharomyces, the ubiquitous yeast.

Wine making is converting sugar into ethanol. Ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH) is universal in all alcoholic drinks from beer to table wine to liquor, irrespective of generic or brand name. The strength of wine is indicated by proof, which is actually twice that of its percentage content.

Thus, 80 proof is 40 percent ethanol, which is the strength of Vodka, some Brandy, Cognac, Whiskey, and the like. The strength of beer normally ranges from 3 to 5 percent, unless fortified with distilled ethanol to raise it to say, 7 percent. Fortified wine is also common.

Natural table wine such as Basi of the Ilocos region, table wine from grapes and other fruits, normally contain 10 to 12 percent ethanol. Beyond this level, the fermenting yeasts simply die off from the accumulation of ethanol - a biological phenomenon called autotoxicity. It means that the yeasts are killed by their own product, often leaving behind the unfermented sugar. It is this residual sugar that makes a wine sweet - naturally, that is.

Author shows ripe leaves of samat or binuga (Cananga tenarius)

  used in making basi and table wine. 

Yeast is found in ripening leaves. Here the leaves contain the highest level of sugar which the plant did not use or store. The yeast acts of the sugar and as the leaves fall to the ground, a myriad of microorganisms and animals (from fungi to earthworms and grazing animals) obtain their energy from them. Ultimately the organic matter left behind becomes part of the soil, releases the needed nutrients to the growing plants and those in the next generation.

Yeast is ubiquitous, it is found in flowers, ripening fruits, honeydew, ripening leaves. It comes in different species under the genus Saccharomyces, among them cerevisiae and ellipsoides. There are also other genera such as Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces. Not all yeasts make good wine. But one thing is universal to them. It is Nature's way of converting sugar molecules (C6H12O6) back to their elemental form.  Oxidation often accompanies such process, thus converting ethanol to acetic acid (CH3COOH), which is vinegar. Vinegar actually is a term, vin-egar, which means sour wine.

Natural vinegar is oxidized ethanol, usually with the aid of bacteria, principally Acetobacter and Leuconostoc. The latter forms gelatinous capsule that accumulates into a transparent to white layer we call nata. This is the principle involved in making Nata de coco and nata de piña.

So, even before sugar ferments to vinegar, nata bacteria and other contaminants can spoil wine and vinegar making. A host of organisms are soon attracted such as Drosophila flies, blue bottle flies, wasps, moths and butterflies that feed on the spoiled must. This is happening to unharvested fruits in the field, to remnants of pollination and fertilization, It is true in ponds and lakes where biomass of algae die of algal bloom. Ultimately the product is simply water, evaporating into the air or settling down into a pool or seeping into the ground, and all the organic compounds once part of the living world are back to their elemental components ready to be reassembled into the next living generation. Indeed this a great wonder on how Nature keeps a dynamic balance of the environment called homeostasis.

We can only imagine the ingenuity of wine makers far back during the Egyptian civilization, and in the Orient, the Chinese civilization. I had a chance to visit the ruins of an Assyrian fort outside Tel-Aviv. There, our guide pointing at broken tall jars, said, "The Assyrians were among the best wine makers in the ancient world." The Assyrians were powerful, not even Ramses could conquer them, They had a flourishing economy. Their vineyards can be glimpsed from the vineyards around the place which is Lakish today. Lakish wine is well-known all over the world, perhaps as famous as the Bordeaux in France.

Without yeast, our world would be a less happy one. Perhaps many organisms wouldn't be around in the first place, including us humans.

Here's a toast to the wonderful yeast. Cheers! Kampai! Mabuhay!~

Part 3 - Preparation of Bubod – Yeast Complex

                                Closeup of bubud, homemade yeast complex.

  Basi is aged from one to ten years in glazed jars (burnay) capped with clay. 

Brewing, aging and bottling follow traditional and modern process.

Here is a list of yeast isolates from plants growing at the SPCQ garden. The author, in collaboration with a co-researcher and co-professor, Dr. Anselmo S Cabigan Ph.D. at St Paul University QC, developed the combined process of isolation, multiplication, identification and banking of yeast complex. Thanks to the biology majors who worked for their theses in this field of study.   

Researcher/Plant Source/Wild Yeast

1.Muega, N Basil (Ocimun basilicum), Debaryomyces,
Indonesian Queen - Justicia (Trichosporon genderossa), 

and kamuning Kloerckera
(Murraya pinnaculata)

2.Valdez, M.M Guava (Psidium guajava) Brettanomyces
Powderpuff (Calliandra cergenila) Debaryomyces
Aratilis (Muntigia calabura) Saccharomyces,
Trichosporon

3.Lacap, DC Duhat (S. cumini) Saccharomyces
Saccharomycodes, Debaryomyces,
Hansenula
Kloeckera
Nematospora

4. Ngo, LM Coconut (Cocos nucifera) Cryptoccocus, 
Hansenula

The isolation of these wild yeasts was made possible using a technique developed in the laboratory of SPUQC.  Food Development Center of the National Food Authority (NFA) analyzed and identified the yeast isolates. 

The Rotor-Cabigan Protocol is summarized in three parts, as as follows:

Part 1 - Isolation and Identification of Wild Yeasts from Plants

1. Determination of possible sources of wild yeasts. Since yeast is ubiquitous, it is likely found in places where there is a ready supply of sugar. Pollen and nectarines of flowers offer such as an ideal place.

2. Yeast cells are isolated from these floral parts and inoculated in a 15 percent sucrose solution contained in sterilized bottles (3/4 volume). Beer bottles are preferred because their brown or green color protects the isolates from UV radiation.

3. The bottles are plugged with sterilized cotton and are kept in a dark, cool chamber for at least three days.

4. As fermentation takes place, carbon dioxide evolves and in the process creates a CO2-rich chamber in the bottle that serves as an aseptic blanket especially against aerobic bacteria.

5. The culture is then analyzed in the laboratory. Identification of the yeast isolates is done using the standard procedure of FDC. Yeast isolates by Muega et al at SPUQ were obtained using this procedure.

6. The next step is the isolation and culture of the desired yeast isolates for specific purposes. However, the yeast complex as a whole, after proper identification, can be propagated for commercial use.

Part 2 – Propagation and Banking/Storage of the Yeast Isolates

1. The yeast complex is allowed to multiply for another 5 days in the culture bottles. Detection of any contaminant necessitates discarding the culture, and the procedure is repeated.

2. Rice flour is heated to 100 degrees Celsius and allowed to cool to 50 to 60 degrees Celsius (equivalent to pasteurization). The fermenting sugar solution is the mixed with the flour to make dough. Ground dry ginger is added at the rate of 1 part to 4 parts rice flour. The dough is mashed thoroughly and made into balls, two inches in diameter.

3. The balls are laid on cheesecloth, lined with clean rice straw, and incubated in a wooden box for 5 to 6 days in a dark, enclosed chamber, at 35 to 40 degree Celsius.

4. The balls are air-dried for 3 to 5 days, or until they are dry enough to be pulverized. Direct sunlight may kill the yeast cells. This is now the inoculant that is used in basi and fruit wine making. The rate of inoculation is equivalent to 10 balls to a standard size jar (burnay).

5. The powdered inoculant can be stored in an airtight glass container and placed in the vegetable section of a refrigerator. Viable storage time is around 6 months.

Part 3 – Alternative Procedures and Other Applications of the Rotor-Cabigan Protocol

1. Substrates may vary, according to the microorganisms to be propagated and banked. Papaya pulp is commonly used for Aspergillus niger as shown in the experiment of Marasigan, 1995.

2. Papaya pulp is also recommended in the preparation of Rhizobium inoculant for soybeans and other legumes (Jacob 1997)

3. Other fruit pulps such as citrus and mango have been tried successful in the propagation of food-fermenting organisms such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides (nata de coco), Lactobacillus (yogurt), Micrococcus and Pediococcus (patis), and other Halobacteria (bacteria responsible in bagoong making). (8)

4. Other alternatives the protocol can adopt are in the propagation of
cellulose-breaking bacteria such as Trichoderma, and biological pesticide such as Bacillus thuringiensis. 

Part 4

Table Wines from Local Fruits 

Living with Nature Products

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Table Wine products from 16 different local fruits growing in the Ilocos region

Table fruit wine making is a  continuing project of developing

 table wine from local orchard and wild fruits in the region.

 

 

House guests at the old cellar. "It's like living in the time of the Galleon Trade (16th to 18th century) when basi wine was one of the products carried by ships to Europe via Acapulco, Mexico."

 

 An 18th Century Basi Cellar 

Living With Nature Center, San Vicente Ilocos Sur ~

Basi Revolt 1807 was fought along the Bantaoay River which runs

downstream through the towns of San Ildefonso and San Vicente,

 Ilocos Sur. Bantaoay is a barangay of San Vicente. 

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday~

Waterfall Forever

                                                       Waterfall Forever 

“A waterfall happily and cheerfully flows in the nature; there is happiness only if there is freedom!” - Mehmet Murat Ildan

Dr  Abe V Rotor

       Waterfall in acrylic on glass by AVRotor 

Flow from the hills,

play on the rivulets,

laugh with the brook,

feed the river,

make it full and strong and swell,

mirror the land and sky

before you bursts into waterfall.

Delight many a wide-eyed child,

make him afraid that he will be brave,

awed to gain respect,

mystified to explore and learn,

subdued to be determined.

Flow, flow forever in his mind;

throb, throb in his heart

with the thunder of love,

the whisper of humility,

and into his soul

fill the font of eternity. ~

 “There’s no better place to find yourself than sitting by a waterfall and listening to its music” -― Roland R Kemler

“There is a waterfall in every dream. Cool and crystal clear, it falls gently on the sleeper, cleansing the mind and soothing the soul.” ― Virginia Alison