LatO: Seaweed Balls in the Making

original recipe.

The ingredients used for the original research was:

• ½ cup lato
• ¼ cup finely chopped carrots
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup cornstarch
• alamang
• ¼ cup butter

The procedure was as follows:

1 Carrots were chopped into fine bits.

2 ½ cup lato and ¼ cup carrots were placed in food processor.

3 Egg white was separated from the egg yolk.

4 In a bowl, egg white and cornstarch were stirred by hand.

5 Lato and carrots were slowly mixed into the egg white-cornstarch mixture.

6 Three treatments were observed: the first was the plain batter; the second, batter alongside alamang or dried shrimp; the third, batter with giniling or ground pork.

7 Two centimeter balls were formed.

8 Balls were deep-fried for 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

A taste test was afterwards performed on ten students from PSHS - Main, who were asked to rate the seaweed balls from 1-9 (with 9 being the highest) in terms of taste, texture, appearance and odor. The alamang set-up garnered the highest overall acceptability, which was the basis for our choosing this particular treatment.

what was done.

For the batter, we first used the following proportions: ½ cup carrots + ¼ cup lato + 2 egg whites + 1 tbsp butter + ½ cup cornstarch. However, this resulted in a liquid mush, so we adjusted the proportions, adding 1 ½  cup cornstarch + ½ tbsp butter + 1 egg white. This results to a total of:

• ¼ cup lato
• ½ cup finely chopped carrots
• 3 egg whites
• 2 cups cornstarch
• 1 ½ tbsp butter

The same procedure as that detailed above for numbers 1 - 5 was used, except that a blender was used instead of a food processor and 3 cm balls were formed.

The treatments that were applied to the project were as follows:

Treatment 1: Control

Eight balls were formed from half of the batter produced.

Treatment 2: ½ tbsp alamang

Four balls were formed from one-fourth of the whole batter, or half of the remaining batter. One-half tablespoon of alamang was added and mixed thoroughly into this batter, and then balls were formed.

Treatment 3: 1 tbsp alamang

Another four balls were formed from one-fourth of the whole batter, or half of the remaining batter. One tablespoon of alamang was added and mixed thoroughly into this batter, and then the balls were formed.

These treatments then went through step 8 of the preceding procedure.

evaluation/results.

Instead of a food processor, the only available equipment was a blender. The blender heated up when we placed the lato and carrots. We inferred this might be caused by the dryness of both ingredients, so we decided to add egg white for smoother blending. The consistency of the product formed was not favorable. The initial mix was liquid, probably because the blended ingredients were too liquid. We changed the proportions of the ingredients. This resulted in a mix that was better but did not hold its shape when formed into balls. We further added ingredients to obtain the necessary consistency.

Since they did not specify the amounts of alamang, we made two types -- one with half a tablespoon of spicy alamang, and another with one tablespoon. Upon deep-frying, some balls would pop and jump (haha) out of the pan. This may be because water remained inside the balls. For some balls, the inner portions were not thoroughly cooked. This could be because of the large diameter, and the overall batter consistency, which had become too solid.

The balls did not taste (well). Its appearance was that of a crunchy golden brown exterior, although, since the insides were not properly cooked, there was still raw cornstarch. It is possible that the cornstarch masked the flavor of the other ingredients. The product lasted for 5 days without refrigeration, in a tupperware stored at room temperature.

improvements to be done.

We decided that we needed to find a more optimal proportion of ingredients, primarily balancing the original recipe with the one that we conducted. Following this we decided to use flour for better consistency, but retain an amount of cornstarch for the texture; and add salt or appropriate flavoring to create a better taste. Furthermore, we decided to use a smaller size for the balls so that the inside would be cooked thoroughly. Since we were not able to test the shelf life when the product was refrigerated, we also hope to be able to test this next time, and also, aside from testing the deep-fried balls, to test the ones that will be refrigerated - that is, balls that will be stored in the freezer for future consumption.

For the self-made packaging, we are currently exploring the use of a plastic Ziplock® bag - we find that plastic is the most appropriate packaging material because of its protection against the moisture that will probably be encountered inside the freezer; additionally, it is light and resealable, which is ideal in cases when the consumer will want to have a convenient means of storing the remaining seaweed balls that s/he will not yet cook.