As a child, I spent several summers in my grandparents’ home in Cebu. My grandmother would indulge her apos with copious amounts of goodies such as otap, rosquillos and my all-time favorite…consilva. Consilva were thinly sliced and fried bananas that were coated in a sweet and sticky caramel and in lola’s house, purchased by the can (roughly 2 cubic feet). At the time, several slices were held together with the rib of coconut leaves (I think it is the same material used in walis ting-ting) so the bananas were like keys on a keychain. I could easily consume 6-8 bunches of consilva and I never recall having difficulty with the incredibly sticky nature of the delicacy. I don’t recall any sesame seeds on my lola’s consilva which she ordered from her “special†source. Back home in Manila during the school year, lola used to occasionally send us some canned consilva together with these ancient white envelopes that had an equally sought after goody inside… 5 or 10 pesos “allowance†that we could spend on something at the candy store, book store or wherever.
Perhaps 20 years have passed before eating consilva again. And I have never found a source that makes it the way I recall it. In fact, the delicacy in the photograph above is more commonly referred to as pinasugbo, and unlike the consilva of my childhood, this is a drier version of the snack and it is sprinkled with sesame seeds. Gone also is the clever coconut stem innovation and instead it is replaced with white paper which is infuriating as it sticks to the banana. The taste is like a cross between banana chips, banana-que with a medium soft-hard consistency that is incredibly sticky. I can’t properly describe it but it is absolutely delicious. It could also be considered hazardous to one’s dentures, if you have them. They don’t last that long and should be eaten fresh. If anyone knows how to make these I would be grateful for a recipe…
20 Responses
since my mom’s family is from cebu, we’d always have this at home. but all i remember is the white paper wrapper and it would be so difficult to peel them off the banana!! but it’s all worth the trouble. and all this time, i did not know that they were also called consilva–pinasugbo talaga alam ko. my mom would even buy the bad tasting ones from the grocery basta lang makakain ng pinasugbo. =)
Whenever I go home to the province, pinasugbo is one of the pasalubongs I always bring back home to Manila. My kids love it. But as you said, the paper wrapper is a lot of trouble so I always get the pinasugbo wrapped in clear plastic, a lot easier to peel. But my father prefers to get the ones wrapped in paper kasi yun daw ‘yung special, ha ha! Basta ako mas gusto ko’yong naka-plastic, more moist din. The ones wrapped in paper are dry.
My family is also from Cebu and what I remember is the struggle I would have with the paper attached to the banana brittle….I couldn’t peel off the paper so I just ate the paper and still it was delicious. My favorite of all times!!
I remember these from my childhood too. I also notice that all the comments thus far talked about the aweful paper it’s wrapped in. It’s ridiculous that after all these years no one has come up with a better alternative, what about parchment or wax paper, even clear plastic will do. Most food items that we get here in LA coming from PI all have terrible packaging. In marketing class, it’s one of the 4 P’s but no one seems to care that much. The Pinasugbo that I tried in Ilo ilo recently were good. It was also not jaw breaking too. ALso the one’s from Virgie’s in Bacolod are good.
i can always remember the peddler shouting at the top of her voice “konsilbaaaa” when i was young. us little kids would then run home in the hope nanay will spare us a few centavos so we can buy even a bunch of these ultra delicious cebuano delicacy. just a taste of it will be enough to last us through the day. yeah, consilvas back then were tied together by a piece of “walis-tingting” (to borrow MM’s word) and we would lick the sweet taste of the caramel off it. those were the days. whether consilva or pinasugbo i love them both the same….and miss them too
I’ve always liked them. Over the years, I noticed that if the stuff is recently made, the white paper wrapper comes off clean because the banana’s still moist. Otherwise, the fruit dries out, the paper gets glued to the sugar and the struggle ensues. Can anyone recommend any good brands available in Manila supermarkets?
I noticed the problem in PINASUGBO is only the paper wrapper, don’t worry guys i will suggest to use edible paper like the turones de casoy in region III just to enjoy more eating pinasugbo.
call me weird, but in my utmost enjoyment of the pinasugbo i don’t bother with trying to unwrap the sticky paper, but eat the bottom part as it is, anyway it’s biodegradable. (LOL) :)
I just bought these at a pinoy grocer in Chicago and never tried them before. Paper is tough to unwrap but the effort is worth it. i’m going to have one now.
In Ilo-Ilo, we call that PINASUGBO. Deliciiiiooouuus! Your post made me crave some right now. Haha!
what are the ingredients of pinasugbo?
hirap kainin coz its hard to peel off the paper.. but it tastes really good! i really have a sweet tooth! :P
here’s a little tip for pinasugbo lovers. 5-10 seconds in the microwave makes the papaer just slide right off. and warm pinasugbo is delish.
im craving for the pinasugbo.i remember i tasted it when i was in cebu.its more soft and chewey when hot that in the supermarket.consilva or pinasugbo recipe anyone can send me.im very much thankful.
I bought pinasugbo for the first time, I didn’t even know it was a Filopino candy/fond childhood memory. I love it, I feel
like I’m in a tropical port in a Hemmingway novel. This now is my 2nd fave brittle. Right after Peanut brittle. How is pinasugbo pronounced?
Leah, PEE-NAH-SOOG-BOO (that’s a short boo). Do you live in the Philippines, or you managed to purchase this elsewhere?
can you gieve me the all recipes of pinasugbo please/???
Banana fritters or brittle taste good i luv it…the only pain in the ass for me is the paper wrapper….
please somebody teach me how to cook pinasugbo coz i want to make it as a business….pls guys send me the info
plssss…put a procedure how to make banana pinasugbo