Maria Orosa Freedom Fighter - by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco (Hardcover)

About the Book

Includes a recipe for Maria's freedom cookies.

Book Synopsis

**Freeman Book Awards - Honorable Mention - Children's and Young Adult's Literature on East and Southeast Asia

"As a food scientist, she sought to reduce the Philippines' dependence on imported food, pioneering new ways to use local products. And that was before she became a war hero." --New York Times

This delightful children's book follows the life of Maria Orosa--a pioneering woman scientist who studied food science in the United States then returned to a war-torn Philippines and created super-nutritious foods to help her nation in a time of crisis.

A champion of native products from her homeland, Orosa is celebrated for her daring war exploits as well as her scientific inventions. Today she is honored and remembered for:

• Sneaking food into World War II internment camps concealed in hollow tubes of bamboo
• Working as an undercover agent in the underground forces fighting the Japanese occupation
• Developing new ways to preserve seasonal products in a time of grave food shortages, including making vinegar from pineapples, flour from cassava and ketchup from bananas-- all now staples on Filipino tables
• Transforming vitamin-rich rice bran, previously a waste product, into tasty disease-preventing desserts
• Organizing rural-improvement clubs, inventing the palayok or clay oven and developing delicious recipes for coconuts, soybeans and a range of native plants, vegetables and herbs

This book celebrates the life and achievements of a daring daughter of the Philippines, war heroine, culinary scientist and bold freedom fighter who helped to feed the nation!

Review Quotes

"A children's book on her life and works titled Maria Orosa: Freedom Fighter, Scientist and Inventor (written by yours truly) has also been published by Tuttle Publishing in Vermont, USA. The public is also now more aware that it was Orosa who invented the now-famous banana ketchup, without which no Filipino kitchen would be complete." -- Author Norma Olizon-Chikiamco talks Maria Orosa in recent Philippine Star article, and shares the recipe for Banana Ketchup Cake

"[Maria] Orosa's legacy, deeply rooted in the development of quintessential Filipino condiments and sustainable nutrition practices, offers invaluable lessons for contemporary food culture and policy, particularly in regions like Cebu." --SunStar

"A staple in almost every Filipino household is the Banana Ketchup...To my surprise, reading this book about an amazing Filipino scientist, and to find out she invented this and a few more really blew my mind." --Michelle Jocson (@nurse_bookie), Bookstagram

"As a food scientist, she sought to reduce the Philippines dependence on imported food, pioneering new ways to use local products. And that was before she became a war hero." --New York Times

About the Author

Norma Chikiamco writes for leading newspapers and magazines in the Philippines. Apart from winning the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature for Pan de Sal Saves the Day, she has received an Outstanding Journalism Award from the ANZ Chamber of Commerce and a National Book Award from the Manila Critics Circle. She has also written several cookbooks on Filipino cuisine.

Mark Salvatus is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in Manila. Two children's books he illustrated have won awards from the Philippine Board for Books for Young People (PBBY) and the National Book Awards-Manila Critics Circle.