Halo-halo, correctly spelled ''haluhalo'', Tagalog for "mixed" (the more common spelling instead literally equating to "mix-mix") is a popular cold dessert in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

made up of

crushed ice An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produ ...

evaporated milk Evaporated milk, known in some countries as "unsweetened condensed milk", is a shelf-stable canned cow’s milk product where about 60% of the water has been removed from fresh milk. It differs from sweetened condensed milk, which contains adde ...

or coconut milk, and various ingredients including ube jam (

ube halaya ''Ube halaya'' or ''halayang ube'' (variant spellings ''halea'', ''haleya''; from the Spanish ''jalea'', "jam") is a Philippine dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam (''Dioscorea alata'', locally known as ''ube''). Ube halaya is the m ...

), sweetened

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

garbanzo beans The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual plant, annual legume of the family (biology), family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egypti ...

, coconut strips,

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

, ''

gulaman ''Gulaman'', in Filipino cuisine, is a bar, or powdered form, of dried agar or carrageenan used to make jelly-like desserts. In common usage, it also usually refers to the refreshment ''sago't gulaman'', sometimes referred to as ''samalamig' ...

'' ( agar),

pinipig ''Pinipig'' is a flattened rice ingredient from the Philippines. It is made of immature grains of glutinous rice pounded until flat before being toasted. It is commonly used as toppings for various desserts in Filipino cuisine, but can also be ...

, boiled

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...

or soft yams in cubes, flan, slices or portions of

fruit preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the met ...

and other root crop preserves. The dessert is topped with a scoop of

ube ice cream Ube ice cream is a Filipino ice cream flavor prepared using ube (purple yam) as the main ingredient. This ice cream is often used in making the dessert halo-halo. History Due to its vivid violet color and mildly sweet and nutty taste, ube has ...

. It is usually prepared in a tall clear glass and served with a long spoon. ''Halo-halo'' is considered to be the unofficial national dessert of the

. The term "''halo-halo''" is supposed to mean "mixed" in English because the dessert is meant to be mixed before being consumed. Although strictly grammatically incorrect, this spelling has come to describe any object or situation composed of a similar, colorful combination of ingredients.

History

The origin of ''halo-halo'' is traced to the pre-war Japanese Filipinos and the Japanese ''

kakigōri is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and a sweetener, often condensed milk.新明解国語辞典（第6版）、三省堂 History The origins of ''kakigōri'' date back to the Heian period in Japanese history, when blocks of ...

'' class of desserts. One of the earliest versions of ''halo-halo'' was a dessert known locally as ''monggo kon-yelo'' or ''mongo-ya,'' which consisted of only mung beans ( Tagalog: ''monggo'' or ''munggo'', used in place of red azuki beans from Japan), boiled and cooked in syrup (''minatamis na monggo''), served on top of crushed ice with milk and sugar. Over time, more native ingredients were added, resulting in the creation and development of the modern ''halo-halo''. One difference between ''halo-halo'' and its Japanese ancestor is the placement of ingredients mainly under the ice instead of on top of it. The original ''monggo kon-yelo'' type can still be found today, with similar variations using sweet corn (mais kon-yelo) or ''

saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Şaba (Romanian for Shabo), a town of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Saba (river), ...

'' bananas (saba kon-yelo). Some authors specifically attribute ''halo-halo'' to the 1920s or 1930s Japanese migrants in the Quinta Market of Quiapo, Manila, due to its proximity to the Insular Ice Plant, Quiapo's main ice supply. The Insular Ice Plant was built in 1902 by the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

, which became the ice supplier for the

. Although the ice plant was built, it was not the first introduction of ice in the

. In the mid-19th century, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

imported ice from Wenham Lake to different countries, including

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Australia, and the

. The spelling of "''halo-halo''" is considered incorrect by the

Commission on the Filipino Language , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).svg , seal_width = , seal_caption = , formed = 1937 (first formation)1991 (reformed) , preceding1 ...

, which prescribes "''haluhalo.''" The word is an

adjective In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ma ...

meaning "mixed ogether in Tagalog, a reduplication of the Tagalog verb ''halo'' "to mix."

Description

There is no correct set of ingredients for ''halo-halo'' as the ingredients can vary widely, but the dessert usually includes sugar palm fruit (''kaong''), coconut sport (''macapuno''),

plantains Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

cooked in syrup ('' minatamis na saging''),

jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family ( Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

(''langkâ''), agar jellies (''

''), tapioca pearls,

nata de coco ''Nata de coco'', also marketed as coconut gel, is a chewy, translucent, jelly-like food produced by the fermentation of coconut water, which gels through the production of microbial cellulose by '' Komagataeibacter xylinus''. Originating ...

, sweet potato (''kamote''), sweetened beans, cheese, pounded toasted young rice (''

''), and

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

. The ingredients are placed in specific positions; the fruit, beans, and other sweets are placed at the bottom, followed by shaved ice, and are then topped with either a combination of

leche flan Leche (Spanish: "milk") may refer to: * Leche (surname) * ''Leche'' (Fobia album), 1993 * ''Leche'' (Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas album), 1999 * ''Leche'', a 2010 album by Gregory and the Hawk * Leche frita, a Spanish sweet See also * ...

, ''

'' (mashed

purple yam ''Dioscorea alata'', also known as purple yam, ube (, ), or greater yam, among many other names, is a species of yam (a tuber). The tubers are usually a vivid violet-purple to bright lavender in color (hence the common name), but some range in ...

), or

Evaporated milk Evaporated milk, known in some countries as "unsweetened condensed milk", is a shelf-stable canned cow’s milk product where about 60% of the water has been removed from fresh milk. It differs from sweetened condensed milk, which contains adde ...

or coconut milk is poured into the mixture upon serving. There are various local and regional varieties of Halo-halo that can be found throughout the country, which include different and/or additional ingredients than those previously listed, including sweetened wintermelon, durian, and strawberry ice cream, among others. A similar

Visayan Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group ...

dessert ''

binignit Binignit is a Visayan dessert soup from the central Philippines. The dish is traditionally made with glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk with various slices of sabá bananas, taro, ube, and sweet potato, among other ingredients. It is compar ...

'', commonly called bilo-bilo, is also referred to as "''ginataang halo-halo''" in Tagalog ("''halo-halo'' in coconut milk"), commonly shortened to "''ginataan.''" It is mostly the same ingredients, although the latter is usually served hot.

In popular culture

''Halo-halo'' was featured in season 1, episode 2 of '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown'' when its host Anthony Bourdain visited a

Jollibee Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). As of December 2021, JFC had a total of about 1,500 Jollibee outlets worldwide, with restaurants in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East Asia ...

branch, a Filipino fast-food restaurant, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Bourdain praised the dessert and called it "oddly beautiful". He also posted a photo of the dessert on his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account. The show featured the dessert again in season 7, episode 1 when Bourdain learns how Filipinos make the dessert. ''Halo-halo'' was also featured as a Quickfire Challenge dish season 4, episode 7 of the American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

series ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...

''.

Filipino-American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

contestant

Dale Talde Dale Talde (born October 25, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American chef, television personality, and cookbook author, best known for competing on two seasons of the Bravo reality television cooking competition series ''Top Chef'': '' Top Ch ...

prepared the dessert, which featured avocado, mango, kiwifruit, and nuts. Talde was named one of the top three Quickfire Challenge dishes by guest judge Johnny Iuzzinni of

Jean Georges Jean-Georges is a two-Michelin-star restaurant at 1 Central Park West (between West 60th Street and West 61st Street), on the lobby level of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, named afte ...

. Talde also made the dish in a later episode. The dessert was featured on a Delicious Destinations edition episode of '' Bizarre Foods''. Halo-halo has a wide range of where it can be found, from food stands to 5-star hotels. Filipino fast-food restaurants like

, Max's, and

Chowking Chowking () is a Chinese cuisine fast food restaurant selling mostly noodle soups, dim sum and rice bowls. Its headquarters in the Philippines. After Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) acquired Chowking in 2000, the brand was placed under F ...

serve halo-halo.

References

External links

Halo-halo
��from the ''

Philippine Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded br ...

'' Internet Edition
Halo-Halo: Business & Recipe for Success
��Pinoy Bisnes Ideas {{DEFAULTSORT:Halo-Halo Foods containing coconut Ice-based desserts Japanese cuisine Philippine desserts Palauan desserts Tagalog words and phrases

History

Description

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links