The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans

What better way to say goodbye to sweltering days than by indulging in a large mug of ice cream! What I had was the ordinary on-the-street sorbetes peddled by the sorbetero pushing his cart, with the seeming ceremony of announcing his arrival with a bell.

Melon and mango, those are the flavours in the mug. In Santa Rita, the sorbetes is not just some artificially-flavoured concoction but home-made ice cream. One can even taste and feel the morsels of the fruits used. 

Whenever there is an occasion, Sta. Rita’s favourite sherbet would be that of buco perfumed with dayap rind. Most people I ask would name it as theirs. Visitors who have been introduced to this kind of sherbet always look for it when they’re in town. No wonder, the sons of Tatang Paeng Marcelo (the ice seller in the market) are still at it and their calapiñeras (from Spanish garapiñera, meaning ice cream freezer) are always fully booked. You’ll have to request for weeks before the town fiesta otherwise it’s sorry, better luck next time.

Sherbet of melocotón or lychees is also something very refreshing that is also often served during special occasions. If the household really wants to pamper its guests, there is one calapiñera of buco sherbet that is not too sweet and which serves as the agua tiempo (we never used to serve softdrinks). The lychee sherbet is then served for dessert. 

There are perhaps a hundred combinations of ice cream that we also enjoy. One that really tickled my taste buds is from a vendor in Guagua which was a combination of cheese and fresh mangoes. Fantastic! Very indulgent indeed.

Then there’s the classic macapuno, dalayap and gatas damulag combination. Oooh la la! With all these ice cream flavours that never fail to capture our fancy, don’t you wish it was summer all year?