Pinoys' thoughts turned to pulutan this summer -Google

In the scorching summer month of May, Filipinos would typically go for the usual fare of halo-halo, mais con yelo or buko juice to cool themselves down amid the sweltering heat. But times have changed, apparently.

According to Google Philippines' food-related Zeitgeist report for May, thoughts of halo-halo were apparently drowned out by thoughts of food best served with ice-cold beer. According to the report, pulutan —loosely translated as "beer chow" in English— is the most searched Filipino recipe online last month, which could indicate that Pinoys may have had one too many inebriated days in the merry month of May. Coming from the word pulutin which means "to pick up," Filipino pulutan can range from humble roasted peanuts to the all-time favorite sizzling sisig, a dish made from parts of a pig's head and liver. Street food fares such as isaw (pork or chicken instestines), adidas (chicken feet) and betamax (dried chicken blood) are also popular pulutan choices among Pinoy beer guzzlers. Nibbling on pulutan while downing beer is so popular among Filipinos that a number of cookbooks were written specifically about it, including "The Little Pulutan Book" by Gene Gonzalez and "Pulutan: Mula sa Kusina Ng Mga Sundalo" by two members of the Magdalo group. Aside from pulutan, Filipino online users also searched for the usual summer delights such as gulaman (a drink made with bits of seaweed gelatin) and ice candy. Filipino summer vacationers likewise looked for possible "pasalubong" online, as popular regional delicacies such as Polvoron, Espasol, Pili Nut, Kakanin, Buko Pie and Cassava Cake also made it to the list. Filipino desserts such as Pinoy tiramisu and Maja Blanca were also among the most searched in Google's May Zeitgeist. Google Zeitgeist is a periodic analysis of popular terms searched for by users through the Google search engine. "Zeitgeist" is a German term which means "the spirit of the times." — TJD, GMA News