“Records show that the dome of the Manila Cathedral was sealed in 1780 with a layer of lime, powdered brick, duck eggs, and bamboo sap,” Lim-Castillo notes in a paper titled “Eggs in Philippines Church Architecture and its Cuisine.” “Friar Mariano Gomes of Cavite listed duck eggs for the mortar in his expense list from 1824 his predecessor in 1808 also used duck eggs.” Egg whites were meant to make the mixture “more durable,” and historical records attest to this widespread practice. The egg whites were needed to form a sort of mortar, known as argamasa, which binded and protected the building materials used to construct the churches. “Taking into account all the churches built then,” writes Lim-Castillo, “the number of eggs used ran into the millions.” The Holy Rosary Parish Church in Pampanga, the Philippines. The Spanish colonial era lasted from 1521 to 1898-time enough to build plenty of churches. For the Spanish Empire, the Philippines were an important trading center, connecting Chinese ports, the Spice Islands, and other parts of Asia to Spain through its territory in Mexico. These religious orders built grand stone churches across the islands, as the Spanish looked to impose their religious beliefs across the archipelago. Pia Lim-Castillo, a culinary historian from the Philippines, emphasizes that after the arrival from New Spain of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565, who later became the first governor of the Spanish Philippines, religious orders such as the Augustinians, Franciscans, and Jesuits were quick to follow. This curious relationship between egg whites, desserts, and Filipino churches can be traced back to the arrival of the first Spaniards, who brought not only Christianity but cooking techniques too. Her recipes date from the 16th century, and the most prominent ingredient is egg yolk.
Just outside of Angeles, local chef Atching Lillian is hosting a historical cooking class. Because what else is there to do with millions of leftover egg yolks but bake delicious desserts? Atching Lillian works her egg yolk-y dough on an antique mold to imprint the face of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of bakers. But its legacy is also on display in Filipino bakeries and home kitchens.
“Food is in the foundations here,” Evangelista adds.Īs the well-attended Holy Rosary Church attests, this had a lasting influence on the country’s architecture and spiritual life. The Holy Rosary Church dates back to 1877 and the Spanish colonial era, a period when, Evangelista explains, “Local churches were built with egg whites.” As evangelizing Spanish colonists built churches across the islands, laborers used egg whites as an emulsifier in the concrete.
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