Buko pie, sometimes anglicized as coconut pie, is a traditional Filipino baked young coconut (malauhog)

pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

. It is considered a specialty in the municipality of

Los Baños, Laguna Los Baños (IPA: Help:IPA/Tagalog, ɔs bɐˈɲɔs, officially the Municipality of Los Baños (), colloquially 'elbi' or simply LB, is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Laguna (province ...

, located on the island of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

. Buko pie is made with young coconuts (''buko'' in Tagalog), and uses sweetened

condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...

, which makes it denser than cream-based custard pies. There are also variations of the pie, which are similar but use slightly different ingredients, such as macapuno pie, that uses '' macapuno'', a special type of coconut that is thick and sticky. The pie was originally a delicacy only available in the Philippines, but blast freezing technology has allowed buko pie-makers the ability to export. As it has become easier to transport and more accessible around the world, people are able to buy it as a '' pasalubong'' or homecoming present after having visited the Philippines. Buko pie is traditionally plain, but nowadays flavorings such as pandan,

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

, or almond essences are used. Buko pie is different from the American

coconut cream pie A cream pie, crème pie, or creme pie is a type of pie filled with a rich custard or pudding that is made from milk, cream, sugar, wheat flour, and Egg (food), eggs and typically topped with whipped cream. Cream pies are usually what is used for ...

, as it has neither cream in the coconut custard filling nor

meringue Meringue ( , ) is a type of dessert or candy, of French cuisine, French origin, traditionally made from Whisk, whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acid, acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or potassium bitartrate, cream of t ...

swirls on top of the baked coconut custard.

Origin

The buko pie is said to have originated from the province of Laguna in the Philippines. The creators of this Filipino

pastry Pastry refers to a variety of Dough, doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury Baking, baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often descr ...

were the Pahud sisters, who were locals of Los Baños, Laguna. Soledad Pahud returned to her family in the Philippines after finishing her Ph.D. in the U.S. while being a manager in a famous clothing company in San Francisco for 13 years. While she was working abroad, she learned to make

apple pie An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...

s. In the process of starting up a bakeshop business, Pahud tried to recreate the American dessert with the help of her sisters. As apples were not native to the Philippines, Pahud along with her family improvised and replaced the ingredient with ''buko'', young coconuts. Using buko as the ingredient for the pie filling was recommended by one of her sisters, Apolonia, because of its abundance locally. The Pahud sisters' bakeshop business grew into what is now Orient Buko Pie Bakeshop, their own bakery specializing in buko pies. The sisters also created their own variations of the buko pie which include apple buko pie, pineapple pie, and tropical pie.

Nutrition

Buko pie is very high in calories and rich in fat, carbohydrates and proteins according to its nutritional value. It is a source of

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

niacin Nicotinic acid, or niacin, is an organic compound and a vitamer of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It is produced by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Nicotinic acid is also a prescription medication. Amounts f ...

and

folate Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...

. As a result of the use of white sugar and

in the pastry, excess calories and simple carbohydrates are found. While the pastry contains 66.9g of

carbohydrates A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ma ...

, the level of simple carbohydrates within a buko pie is higher than the level of complex carbohydrates. The dish serves as a source of a healthy yield of iron. Buko pie also contains a high amount of sugar and magnesium, and an average amount of sodium.

Method of preparation

When making buko pie a double baking method is followed. The pie crust and the pie filling need to be prepared separately before combining the two together. First the pie crust is made by mixing flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Afterwards, the mixture is made into dough by adding and mixing in ice water and egg yolks. The dough mixture is then refrigerated and thinly rolled out by using a rolling pin. To finish the crust component of the buko pie, the dough is blind-baked and set aside to cool. Next, the pie filling is prepared. The pie filling ingredients listed above are mixed and cooked on low heat. Once the pie crust and the pie filling are finished, they are combined by pouring the filling into the pie crust. A second crust is used to cover the filling and seal the pie from all sides. It is then baked a second time until the crust is lightly browned.

Similar desserts

Buko pie is similar to the Dutch-Indonesian '' klappertaart'' and the South African ''klappertert''. ''Klappertaart'' differs from the Filipino buko pie as it is a baked creamy coconut custard without the crust, and contains

raisins A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, the word ''raisin'' is reserv ...

and nuts. ''Klappertert'' is most akin to the Filipino buko pie as it also has a crust, but differs in that it also adds apricot jam and a dash of

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

to the coconut custard. Buko pie is also similar to the

of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

(sometimes known as "coconut custard pie") in terms of the main ingredients, but they are prepared differently. Buko pie also uses tender young coconut or macapuno and has a much higher ratio of coconut to custard, being more of a "coconut pie" rather than a "custard pie." Buko pie does not traditionally use

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

or vanilla, unlike American custard pies.

External links

References