FILIPINO FOODS 43 Figure 12. Pumpk<strong>in</strong> (squash) fruit, flowers, tender tips, and leaves <strong>of</strong> the v<strong>in</strong>e.
44 FILIPINO FOODS PURSLANE Ngalog (I.), Kulasiman (T.), Alusiman (V.) Purslane, a wayside plant grow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> neglected gardens and uncultivated spots, is used to a limited extent <strong>by</strong> the Ilocanos. They like its tart flavor when cooked for a short period with salt or with bagoong or, after cook<strong>in</strong>g, comb<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> a salad with other vegetables such as tomatoes. Wester reports that <strong>in</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es it is boiled with meat and eaten as a vegetable (58). The tart flavor <strong>of</strong> purslane is probably due to the oxalic acid which it conta<strong>in</strong>s. The calcium content, though relatively great, is probably not well utilized because it is <strong>in</strong> the form <strong>of</strong> calcium oxalate, which the body cannot absorb. Purslane is a poor source <strong>of</strong> phosphorus but a good source <strong>of</strong> iron. Purslane is a good source <strong>of</strong> vitam<strong>in</strong> A, a poor source <strong>of</strong> thiam<strong>in</strong>e, and a fair source <strong>of</strong> ascorbic acid. SEAWEEDS The <strong>Filip<strong>in</strong>os</strong> use a number <strong>of</strong> seaweeds or algae <strong>in</strong> their homeland, and <strong>in</strong> <strong>Hawaii</strong> they rapidly discovered those that suited their tastes. A report <strong>of</strong> the Department <strong>of</strong> Agriculture and Commerce <strong>of</strong> the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es (44) states that ((twenty-one species <strong>of</strong> edible, seaweeds are found around the small islands north <strong>of</strong> Luzon and also along the coastal region <strong>of</strong> northern Luzon." The Ilocanos from this region make the greatest use <strong>of</strong> seaweeds <strong>in</strong> <strong>Hawaii</strong>. They do not relish all <strong>of</strong> those liked <strong>by</strong> the <strong>Hawaii</strong>ans. They like neither limu kohu, considered <strong>by</strong> most <strong>Hawaii</strong>ans to be the f<strong>in</strong>est and most delectable <strong>of</strong> all limu, nor limu lipoa, an algae widely distributed <strong>in</strong> the Islands and a great favorite <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Hawaii</strong>ans. However, the <strong>Filip<strong>in</strong>os</strong> use the <strong>Hawaii</strong>an mar<strong>in</strong>e algae shown <strong>in</strong> figure 14 (nos. 2, 3, and 5), and they probably use others <strong>of</strong> which the authors have not learned. The seaweeds are gathered direct from the rocks on which they grow and, at certa<strong>in</strong> times <strong>of</strong> the year when the waves break them from their holdfasts and wash them near the shore, they are gathered <strong>in</strong> great quantities <strong>in</strong> the shallow water. No chemical analyses <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Hawaii</strong>an seaweeds eaten <strong>by</strong> the <strong>Filip<strong>in</strong>os</strong> were made. A study <strong>of</strong> the nutritive value <strong>of</strong> all commonly used edible <strong>Hawaii</strong>an mar<strong>in</strong>e algae may be undertaken <strong>in</strong> the future. Three commonly used <strong>Hawaii</strong>an limu-eleele,lipoa (35), and kohu 19 -have already been analyzed, and analyses <strong>of</strong> dried seaweeds, especially <strong>of</strong> several species <strong>of</strong> laver or Porphyra, are available <strong>in</strong> the literature (37, 48). In the fresh state these three <strong>Hawaii</strong>an limu were found to conta<strong>in</strong> about 90 percent <strong>of</strong> water, 2 --t- percent <strong>of</strong> crude prote<strong>in</strong>, less than 0.1 percent <strong>of</strong> fatty substances extracted <strong>by</strong> ether, and 1.5 to 2.5 percent <strong>of</strong> ash. The carbohydrates <strong>of</strong> algae are not utilizable <strong>by</strong> man as food but give bulk to the <strong>in</strong>test<strong>in</strong>al contents and thus stimulate the normal movements <strong>of</strong> the digestive tract. These three <strong>Hawaii</strong>an algae showed variable amounts <strong>of</strong> calcium (0.089 to 0.584 percent) and much smaller proportions <strong>of</strong> phosphorus. There are no reports <strong>in</strong> the literature which tell how well the m<strong>in</strong>erals (except iod<strong>in</strong>e) <strong>of</strong> seaweeds are utilized. 19 Unpublished analyses, Nutrition Department, <strong>Hawaii</strong> Agricultural Experiment Station.
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