Also published on 14 April 2026 on Hey SoCal

Event Signage at The Huntington.| Photo by May S. Ruiz / Hey SoCal

The name Maria Ylagan Orosa is not a household name to many Filipinos. But her invention, the quintessential Filipino sauce known as banana ketchup, is in almost every Filipino’s kitchen pantry.

Orosa’s life-work was the cornerstone of “Second Sundays: Filipino Food Magic” held on Sunday, April 12, from 11 am to 2 pm. It was inspired by L.A. Times Distinguished Fellow Catherine Ceniza Choy’s research on the history and scientific contributions of Orosa in collaboration with the archival collections at The Huntington Library, the experiential and teaching work of The Huntington’s Kitchen Garden, and public engagement work of The Huntington’s Education Division.

Second Sundays: Fiipino Food Magic featured a Filipino food tasting of lumpia (spring rolls) with banana ketchup, banana mousse, and hibiscus iced tea; a hands-on planting activity where attendees plant garlic or onion in a small pot to take home; a conversation with Choy to learn about Orosa’s life and her scientific and humanitarian legacy; and a reading nook where people can explore books about Orosa and Filipino food.

Choy explained by email when and how Second Sundays: Filipino Food Magic came about.

“Since September 2025 when I started my tenure at The Huntington as the 2025-2026 Los Angeles Times Distinguished Fellow, I’ve been working collaboratively with many people at The Huntington, and primarily the following individuals who I like to call ‘The Filipino Food Magic Team’: Shannon McHugh (Assistant Director of Research); Linde Lehtinen (Curator of Photography); Carola Di Poi (Head Gardener, Kitchen Garden and James P. Folsom Experimental Ranch Garden); Thomas Smith (Experiential and Teaching Gardens Manager); Kim Tulipana (Associate Director of Public, School, and Digital Programs); and Aaron Spoto (Education & Visitor Engagement Specialist).

“The event came about as a result of our team’s desire to see scholarly research being done at The Huntington outside of the traditional classroom and library, and our hope to have this research more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.”  

“As a historian, author, and professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, I am thrilled to be part of this project and to have my research on Filipino food scientist Maria Ylagan Orosa reach a broad, multigenerational audience!” enthused Choy. “Orosa’s achievements in food science and technology (for example, her inventions of nutrition-rich powders called ‘magic food’ saved many American and Filipino prisoners-of-war during WWII; the palayók oven, which enabled Filipinos to cook without electricity; and the iconic Filipino sauce, banana ketchup) and her humanitarian ethos that emphasized science for the common good are admirable. And they deserve our attention.”     

As if those accomplishments weren’t enough, Orosa also invented 700 recipes using common Philippine fruits and vegetables. 

While researching Orosa’s life, Choy discovered something unexpected. “One thing I found out about Maria Ylagan Orosa that surprised me and made me laugh was that she promoted Philippine fruits and vegetables in her recipes and the baking of sweet treats like cakes and cookies!” Choy marveled. “That reminded me that food is about joy and health.”      

“I love reading Orosa’s recipes, but I’m not a very good cook,” confessed Choy. “My husband Greg does most of our home cooking. However, I do enjoy cooking nilágang manók and chicken afritáda, and sharing these dishes with Greg and our two children, Maya and Louis, who are now adults! I am also the daughter of Filipino immigrants, and I appreciate being able to share my Filipino heritage with them through my research, writing, and cooking.”

“Although Orosa was born and raised in the Philippines and she focused her life’s work on Philippine social issues, the foundation of her training as a scientist was forged in the U.S. and she continued her professional development as a food scientist in the U.S. and other parts of the world,” Choy added. “I think that Maria Ylagan Orosa would be pleased to know that, in the present day, The Huntington’s Kitchen Garden is a place of discovery of nature, science, and creativity for people of all ages and backgrounds and that it is the site for a celebration of Orosa’s work in food science!”

Choy has dedicated most of her professional life researching, writing, and teaching Asian American history and Filipinos American history, and The Philippines’s contributions to the world. She also thinks there is a dearth of Asian American biographies.

“My first book – Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History, published by Duke University Press in 2003 – explored how and why the Philippines became the world’s leading exporter of nurses to Western countries like the United States,” Choy said. “My most recent book, Asian American Histories of the United States (Beacon Press, 2022), presents an overview of almost two hundred years of Asian American history for a general audience. I know from over twenty years of experience in academia that we need more Asian American biographies.”

It was a cloudy day in San Marino but the weather didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the group of people – many of whom were Filipinos – gathered for Second Sundays: Filipino Food Magic. As modern Filipino songs played in the background, we enjoyed bites of delicious lumpiá dipped in banana ketchup, which we downed with refreshing iced hibiscus tea. Banana mousse was the excellent finish to a delightful late-morning culinary interlude.

Lehtinen started the program with a Children’s Book Reading of “Maria Orosa: Freedom Fighter, Scientist, and Inventor from the Philippines” by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco. She said she practiced it the night before and her three-year-old daughter had approved. Her daughter joined her on the stage afterwards clearly proud of her mom’s performance.     

A few grey clouds parted to let a burst of sunlight through as attendees walked around to peruse the  display of Filipino fruits and vegetables and reading materials on a table. Some wandered over to the garden beds to examine the various plants.

At noon the Conversations with Experts segment followed with Choy, Carola Di Poi, and Shannon McHugh. McHugh told us that The Huntington’s Research Library has 11 million manuscripts, books, and photographs and every year 2,000 researchers come to work with the objects in the archives.                             

“Of those 2,000 about 150 every year have come by a competitive application process and we fund them to live here for a number of months,” explained McHugh. “And about six of those are such talented researchers that we don’t ask them to apply, we just beg them to come work with us – and Cathy is one of those people.”

McHugh began the conversation with a question for Choy. “This day was planned around celebrating the Filipino food scientist Maria Orosa. Can you start by telling us about her?”

Choy informed us that Orosa, who was born in 1893 and died in 1945, was a scientist, an inventor, and a humanitarian. The breadth of her work goes far beyond her invention of banana ketchup, which is similar to tomato ketchup but uses bananas as its base because they grow abundantly in the Philippines.

“Orosa valued using local food sources, making sure that food was sustainable and reducing dependency on products imported from the U.S.,” enlightened Choy. “She founded a 4-H Program in the Philippines modeled after the same program here, which is about raising fruits, vegetables, and livestock at the local level. She encouraged Filipino families to have their own kitchen garden. And it is appropriate that we’re here at The Huntington’s kitchen garden.”

“What a pleasure it has been working with Shannon, who actually came up with the title Filipino Food Magic, as well as Carola, who is responsible for the planting bed dedicated to Maria Orosa. It has been a wonderful experience,” Choy added.

Di Poi discussed how she learned a lot about Orosa while collaborating with Choy and that the planting bed is comprised of seasonal items Filipinos use to cook their food. She answered questions from attendees about growing their plants and gave tips on how to keep them flourishing.

It rained suddenly and stopped just as suddenly before Choy came back on the stage for a Children’s Book Reading of “Feeding the Fight: The Story of Maria Orosa” by Ceej Tantengco and Sabrina Schnabelm. Second Sundays: Filipino Food Magic then closed with another Conversation with Experts.   

While Choy continues her research work, she has begun writing Orosa’s biography and anticipates to finish it in a year or two.

For Filipinos, the banana ketchup is never far from our dining table – it is a necessary condiment to all our fried dishes. Thanks to Choy and The Huntington we will soon know so much more about the woman behind our beloved kitchen staple.