Calasiao 'puto' top choice of town’s tourists

WHITE GOLD The ordinary white puto of Calasiao in Pangasinan remains the best seller among the delicacies tourists buy in the province. PHOTO BY GABRIEL CARDINOZA

By Gabriel L. Cardinoza

CALASIAO, Pangasinan -- The soft, sweet, bite-size and chewy "puto" (rice cake) named after this town remains the favorite "pasalubong" of tourists when they travel back to where they came from.
    Pasalubong refers to delicacies and items a person buys from a certain place to give to the people back home.
    When in Pangasinan, the Calasiao puto tops the list.
    The rice cakes made here have unique characteristics and texture that have not been duplicated by puto makers in other towns and provinces, Calasiao Mayor Kevin Roy Macanlalay said. The famous Calasiao puto, which now comes in different colors and flavors, is described as this town's "white gold." It is widely produced in the villages of Dinalaoan, Lumbang, Ambuetel and Nalsian.
    Ordinary white puto and kutsinta (another variety of rice cake) sell for P110 a kilogram (kg) here, while flavored or assorted puto sells for P130 a kg.
    Macanlalay said that what makes this town's puto special is how it is meticulously made.
    Puto makers here use four varieties of rice, which are mixed in equal proportions before soaking them for an hour in water.     The soaked rice is poured into a stone grinder that liquefies the rice. The liquified rice is then fermented in earthen jars for at least three hours before adding sugar and pouring them into small cup-shaped metal molders. After steaming the batch of molders for 30 minutes, the puto is ready to be served.
    "It's the banga (earthen jars) that gives the puto its soft and silky texture," said Macanlalay.
    However, he said that although this town's famous product continued to attract buyers, as experienced during the All Saints' Day break, the industry is still struggling.
    "I think this is mainly because of the transfer of their stalls from their original location and the rising cost of raw materials they use," Macanlalay said.
    In 2019, some 33 puto stalls across the road fronting the town plaza were demolished as part of the Department of Public Works and Highways' road-clearing operation. They were told that their stalls were standing on the road right of way. "At that time, vehicles could easily buy puto because all they had to do was park in front of a stall and buy without getting out of their cars," Macanlalay said.
    But at their location now, in front of the Catholic Church, buyers need to park and alight their vehicles to buy puto.
    "Then came the pandemic, which stopped almost all of them from producing and selling puto because of the health protocols being imposed at that time," Macanlalay said.
    Macanlalay said that after meeting with the puto vendors, he plans to return the puto stalls to their original location.
    "This product made our town famous, and it has been a source of livelihood for our people," Macanlalay said. On ordinary days, one stall sells at least 100 kg of puto daily and more during holidays.