Tapey: The Igorot Rice Wine
"Stay away from the house. Come back in two hours." She yelled to us kids at the yard as she closed the kitchen door. Pushing pine wood into the hearth, she let the flame lap a big potful of dark purple glutinous rice until the mixture of water and rice started to boil. Halfway before the grains could expand and burst, the pot was taken off the fire. Then she strained the rice and spread them over a wide bamboo winnower to cool until they're ready for the yeast. Earlier, the whole rice grains were sifted and separated from the ground tidbits to ensure the quality of the wine. "Whole grains make better wines," she said. "And rice making," she added, "demands silence, especially when the bubod [local yeast] is being sprinkled over the rice, otherwise the grains won't ferment well." That was how my mother's tapey were made, done almost like a religious ritual and they were damn good!
The rice wine is a customary brew used in various occasions among Igorots. Mostly, jars are opened during weddings, wakes and funerals, fiestas, family reunions and birth and wedding anniversaries. To the older generation, drinking the wine is almost akin to taking a sip from a chalice on a Roman altar. It is sacred and shared only when it has been properly offered to the anitos. In most Igorot homes, women make the wine, but as head of the family, the man of the house is given the responsibility to allow the openning of a jar as he sees it fit, otherwise the duty falls on the oldest person in the household, be it male or female. The jars in themselves were heirlooms from generations past and possess interesting stories on their own. When properly blessed before being served, it is hoped that the wine does not bring trouble to those who partake of it. It is believed that spirits dwell among humans, hence the Igorot calls out for them to share with his produce, yet he exhorts them to keep their distance from their human friends and family since they are now on another realm and interacting with humans may cause unnecessary discomfort to their earth bound counterparts. The tapey therefore is not an everyday indulgence, rather, it is reserved for that especial occasion when men and women are just about ready to handle it. Now, times have changed.
A freshly fermented tapey is usually served as a delicacy among women. While men prefer to squeeze and drink the sap out of the grains, women love to eat the rice whole and suck its juice. Because freshly fermented rice wine are sweet, kids are allowed to eat with the women.
When the rice wine has gone too long in the jar, it becomes bitter and vinegary sour. This does not go to waste, instead it is used to give spike on various local dishes generally called "pinaspasan". Among the Igorots of the Southwestern Cordilleras, "pinaspasan ay kaling" [mudfish cooked in rice wine] is one of their favorites. The Northern Dispatch Weekly gives a detailed preparation of the tapey if you want to try it.
The rice wine is a customary brew used in various occasions among Igorots. Mostly, jars are opened during weddings, wakes and funerals, fiestas, family reunions and birth and wedding anniversaries. To the older generation, drinking the wine is almost akin to taking a sip from a chalice on a Roman altar. It is sacred and shared only when it has been properly offered to the anitos. In most Igorot homes, women make the wine, but as head of the family, the man of the house is given the responsibility to allow the openning of a jar as he sees it fit, otherwise the duty falls on the oldest person in the household, be it male or female. The jars in themselves were heirlooms from generations past and possess interesting stories on their own. When properly blessed before being served, it is hoped that the wine does not bring trouble to those who partake of it. It is believed that spirits dwell among humans, hence the Igorot calls out for them to share with his produce, yet he exhorts them to keep their distance from their human friends and family since they are now on another realm and interacting with humans may cause unnecessary discomfort to their earth bound counterparts. The tapey therefore is not an everyday indulgence, rather, it is reserved for that especial occasion when men and women are just about ready to handle it. Now, times have changed.
A freshly fermented tapey is usually served as a delicacy among women. While men prefer to squeeze and drink the sap out of the grains, women love to eat the rice whole and suck its juice. Because freshly fermented rice wine are sweet, kids are allowed to eat with the women.
When the rice wine has gone too long in the jar, it becomes bitter and vinegary sour. This does not go to waste, instead it is used to give spike on various local dishes generally called "pinaspasan". Among the Igorots of the Southwestern Cordilleras, "pinaspasan ay kaling" [mudfish cooked in rice wine] is one of their favorites. The Northern Dispatch Weekly gives a detailed preparation of the tapey if you want to try it.
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