Sorbetes

Sorbetesis a traditionalice creamoriginating from the Philippines and uniquely characterized by the use ofcoconut milkand/orcarabao milk.Often pejoratively called "dirty ice cream",it is distinct from the similarly namedsorbetandsherbet. It is traditionally peddled in colorful wooden pushcarts bystreet vendorscalled "sorbeteros". It is served in various flavors (usually dyed in bright colors) in small wafer or sugar cones and more recently, as apandesalbreadice cream sandwich.
Ice was first introduced as a luxury item to the Philippines in 1847, when an American company, Russell & Sturgis, imported 250 tons of organic ice into the then Spanish colony. They acquired the tax-free rights to import ice into the Philippines by Royal Order in 1848. The company built the firstice plantin the Philippines in Calla Barraca, Binondo. The company went bankrupt in 1881 and was acquired by the businessman Julio Witte. Ice cream was already known to Filipinos in the Spanish colonial period. Ice cream was served as a dessert at the banquet at the inauguration ofEmilio Aguinaldoin 1898.
The first large-scale ice plant, theInsular Ice Plantwas built during theAmerican colonial periodin 1902. It was one of the first permanent structures built by the US government in the islands, and the first ice manufacturing plant inSoutheast Asia.
The first sorbetes was made during this period using a primitive ice cream maker called agarapiñera. It consisted of a metal cylinder filled with the ice cream ingredients, enclosed by a wooden bucket filled with ice. It had a cranking mechanism that churned the contents of the cylinder until it acquired the texture and consistency of sorbetes. This typically took hours, and salt was added to the ingredients to speed up the freezing. These were sold on the streets by peddlers known assorbeteros. They were originally on foot with acarrying pole(similar totahovendors).Sorbeteroseventually started selling their products on a distinctive cart, which were gaudily decorated likejeepneys.Sorbeterosalso carry a distinctive bell, that they intermittently rang. Each cart typically has three flavors, each dyed a vibrant color.
Originally, sorbetes used cow's milk like American ice cream. Manufacturers eventually switched to the more readily availablecoconut milk,carabao milk, and evencassavaflour, to make the ice cream more affordable. These ingredients give the ice cream a distinctly different flavor and consistency to the western ice creams it was based on. Original flavors were varied, but include distinctly Filipino ones like mantecado (butter),ube(purple yam), queso helado (cheese),pinipig(toasted pounded rice), melon, mango, jackfruit, avocado, and buko (young coconut). Flavors continued to evolve and now include a wide variety of artisanal native flavors, including unusual ones likechamporado, green mango with shrimp paste (bagoong),bibingka, and so on.
Over time, sorbetes manufacturers also started competing with commercially available ice creams by adopting their flavors, likechocolate,cookies and cream, andmocha. Commercial ice cream giants like Arce Dairy, Esmerald, Darchelle,Magnolia,Nestlé, andSelecta, likewise, started copying local flavors and also started selling their products insorbeterocarts.
Sorbetes acquired the name "dirty ice cream" as a joke, due to the fact that it is sold on the streets.
Sorbetes are peddled by sorbeteros (ice cream vendors)using colorfullypainted wooden carts which usually can accommodate three flavors, each in a large metal canister. Peddlers get their carts from makers scattered around the cities of the Philippines in the morning and walk the streets the whole day, calling consumers from their houses by ringing a small handheldbell.
The wooden cart has two large wooden wheels at the front part to easily push the cart though latest carts are already attached tobicycles. The cart is stuffed with shaved ice sprinkled withsaltto produce a lowertemperaturearound the metal canisters and keep the sorbetes frozen longer.The whole sorbetes cart is also available for private gatherings when negotiated with the sorbetero. It is usually cheaper than buying gallons of ice cream to be served to guests. Sorbeteros provide several serving options. It may be served in a wafer cone, asugar coneor a breadbun, at varying prices. A serving can include one flavor or, for no extra charge, a mixture of available flavors.
The Sorbetero has also been depicted in film and in song such as the 1979 filmMamang Sorbetero, and the song "Mamang Sorbetero", performed byCeleste Legaspi.