Pakumbo

Misspelling: pukombo, pacombo

Pakumbo or Pacombo is a sweet treat whose main ingredient is dried coconut. A local delicacy known and widely consumed in the provinces of Batangas and Aurora, pakumbo is distinctive for being packaged in dried banana bark.

How to make Pakumbo?

Scrape off young coconut flesh from the nut shell. Try to maintain nice strands of the meat, instead of irregular chunks.

Simmer the coconut strips in coconut water with brown sugar and pandan leaves until the mixture thickens. This may take three to four hours.

A modest yet popular small-business manufacturer of pakumbo in Aurora province is Golden Sweets, based in the provincial capital of Baler.