Aside from toyo (soy sauce), suka (vinegar), patis (fish sauce), and many other condiments, banana ketchup is another favorite! It is a delicious combination of ripe bananas, vinegar, and spices, used for almost anything savory. Pair it with tortang talong, tortang ampalaya, ihaw or sugbang bangus, inasal or grilled chicken, and more!

A special thanks to Maria Ylagan Orosa, inventor of banana ketchup

Maria Ylagan Orosa or “Tia Mary” was born on November 29, 1893. She earned her bachelor and master of science degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry in 1919. After turning down a chemist position for the US state of Washington, she returned to the Philippines. Rosalinda L. Orosa once wrote that Tia Mary “came home in 1922 to serve her people.”

And serve she did!

She used her chemistry background to concoct various inventions and recipes. She made local jams from guava using tamarind, santol, and calamansi acids, a “palayok oven” which helped Filipinos bake everything from cakes to meats without electricity, and recipes for both banana and mango ketchup. From vinegars to jams to canning, Tia Mary had done it all. One colleague wrote, “Before Del Monte ever thought of making vinegar from pineapple, Miss Orosa had been making it even before World War II.”

But it was in World War II where she would meet her untimely passing. She had refused to evacuate Manila during the war, as she was also part of the resistance movement against the Japanese. She was soon killed by American bombing in Remedios Hospital in Malate, on February 13, 1945.

Source: Helen Orosa del Rosario, 1970. “Recipes of Maria Y. Orosa.” (PDF link)

Free printable art of Maria Orosa banana ketchup

Download a free printable of this Maria Orosa printable wall art in the Gumroad shop: https://filipinofoodart.gumroad.com/l/maria-orosa-banana-ketchup-art