Dirty Ice Cream

Looking Back #14

by Ambeth R. Ocampo

"A history of food is fascinating not so much because of the scents, colors, and flavors of food but the way in which food shapes people and how people shape the food they eat... A history of ice cream in the Philippines is not just a catalog of taste but an alternative way of looking at how Filipinos have changed to become the nation we want to be."

- From the lead essay A History of "Dirty Ice Cream"

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Asian Literature

100 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Lamberto R. Ocampo better known as Ambeth R. Ocampo (b. 1961) is Filipino historian, academic, journalist, cultural administrator and author best known for his writings about Philippines' national hero José Rizal, and for his bi-weekly editorial page column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Looking Back." He became the Chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2002 until 2010, and was appointed as Chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2005 until 2007.

Reviews

[Khonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting this book to contain essays about Filipino food. Sadly, of the 19 essays in the book, only the first 4 (or 5 if you count the one about ice) were about food. The rest were about popes, saints, taxes, crimes.

[Roxy Nicolas]

My second book from the same author. The first one was the Diorama Experience souvenir booklet for Ayala Museum. Though, I just bought the book 'coz I thought he will give a detailed history of how dirty ice cream started in the Ph, I find the book interesting as I've read various facts about Popes, Japanese refugees, streets in Makati, or even the original manuscripts of Noli, FIli and Mi Ultimo were robbed from the National Library.: I mean you don't study that in your school.

Overall, a good read and definitely will buy the other series. My friend told me that these are essays from his columns. So since I am not a follower of his column I am not aware of such. Also, reading this convinced me to read the Quijano de Manila history series by nick Joaquin.

I think a good book is the one which will convince you to read more about the author's other works and also reminds you to read a book that you have been eyeing for so long

[kb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to ending this Looking Back readathon with Filipino food in history, but this had little of it so I was a little underwhelmed. Also not as cohesive as the other books. Hopefully the next one in the series will be better.





Everything I read in 2020 here :)

[V, The Reading Turtle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not about one thing; there's no clear focus or one recurring theme. Consider this a history book about religion, taxes, and crimes. Food is barely mentioned. The title is probably a metaphor for something and somehow I missed it. I'm very good at missing metaphors.

This is a very informative collection of essays, different from what I’ve read before from Sir Ambeth Ocampo. It’s refreshing to learn about topics he hadn’t taught me yet, like religion and government.

[Bianca Nagac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for more excitement in this book and it didn't fail me on the first chapters of the book. But as the book progresses, I was a bit losing my focus and skipping on few pages. Nevertheless, Ambeth is still my favorite historian because his power to make trivial facts interesting is there.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit disappointed since I expected this book as an anthology of essays regarding Filipino food history given the first few entries and the book's blurb. I like the previous books in the series where the essays are, at the least, related to the book's running theme.

[John Ray Catingub · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another dependable volume of obscure Filipino history by Ocampo. Though I was expecting a majority of the essays to dwell on food, he took a pleasantly surprising turn in his religious essays in this volume.

[crispylicious juicylicious · Rating 4 out of 5]

May natutunan naman and i like how this author didnt sound like an academe gatekeeper haha will read more. I thought it’s going to be mostly about food, there some hints of commentary here and there 👀 so i will read more!

[Gab of Green Gables · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insights on the early ways of making ice cream in the country is a delight to read along with other historical accounts on religious artifacts, etymologies of places and government accountability in the earlier times.

[Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with Looking Back # 13, and I'm all the more enticed to read about the history of food in our country.

[jellybean]

thought there would be more on the history of food, but it was a bit of a varied topic with popes, saints, and taxes. still enjoyable and interesting though

[空 · Rating 2 out of 5]

medyo mas boring siya kesa dun sa ibang nabasa ko. baka kase yung ibang mga sanaysay e listahan lang ng mga isda?

[Delie Dell Chua · Rating 5 out of 5]

From ice cream, methods of cooking different fishes to Catholic religion, popes and cardinals, I sure learned a lot of fun facts and historical truths in this looking back book :)

[jeow]

super interesting bite-sized mini essays about philippine history. love love love that they’re based on material culture woohoo i need more

[Monzenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll miss this series once this completes. Yet another great series of stories that has surely inspired me to look up more history.

[Maia S. Obedicen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good light reading. We should all be reading more Ambeth Ocampo!

Also, I think this is an effective way of encouraging more Pinoys to up their regular intake of Philippine history. These bite-sized crumbs of literature are enticing and digestible enough that you can read them while waiting in line, on your commute, and even on the toilet! (Oo, dinala ko to sa CR walang makakapigil sakin.)

Years of ingesting a seemingly endless stream of dopamine-inducing, short-form media has unfortunately tampered with my ability to focus for the worse. I've come to treasure these books as an alternative to constantly looking at my phone.

Overall, enjoyed it! Not so much a history of Filipino food, but still a history of the Filipino.

[Annamarie San Diego · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me appreciate my roots as a Filipina living in Pandi, Bulacan.