FACTORS AFFECTING THE LEVEL OF

PREFERENCE OF EASTERN SAGADA’S

WAY OF PRESERVING MEAT

The study specifically seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What are the factors that affects the people’s preference in their
way of preserving meat?
2. Which type of meat preservation is commonly used in accordance
to the factors given?

A. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

As a result of human’s love for meat, they have devised many
different ways to make more meat delicious and pleasing to the taste of
everyone.

The specific process for meat to be preserved is largely determined by

what the meat will be used for when it is consumed. Some of the ways in
preserving meat are smoking, salting, and sun drying. Some vendors of
meat choose to preserve left over meats from their stalls so that these will
not be a wasted or spoiled. The advantage of this makes the meat last longer
even if displayed in the market every day. Preserved meat also has a higher
selling price compared to fresh meat.

Preserving of meat comes in different ways. In the city where

technology is more advanced, refrigerating and using synthetics is their way
of preserving meat. In the provinces where only few can afford
refrigerators, curing is their key to preserve. Curing refers to the use of salt
to preserve meat. The Sumerians around 3000BC were the first to preserve
meat and fish using salt. Dead sea salt was also used by the Palestine in
early 1600BC. The Chinese and Greeks also used rock salt to preserve meat
and later then passed to the Romans, who included pickled meat in their diet
(LEDWARD, 2003). The practice of curing meat spread around the world
as years passed.

Without salt, and before mechanical refrigeration was invented, man

could have not preserved meats. (Livingston)

In the Philippines, the pigs were said to be indigenous to the people

before. It was said to be an existing food before colonization (Prudente,
2006). As time passed, they learned how to preserve pork from the
knowledge gained from colonizers.

Cordillera, a mountainous region in the Philippines known for curing

meat aside from its tourist destinations. Due to the availability of meat, pork
specifically, the Cordilleras learned to preserve meat using salt with the
combination of smoke or sunlight. The cured meat is called “etag” by the
Igorots, the people in Cordillera.

East of Sagada, they practice the making of “etag” as a tradition.

Their ways of preserving meat are smoking, sun-drying and salting. Salting,
the most common way, is done by spreading salt on the meat that were
sliced into thin pieces, then placed into a dry, air tight container for at least a
week.

Sun-drying on the other hand, is done by spread salt in to the meat

and then put it under the sun to be dried out which takes time to fully dry.
The meat then can be cooked or stored in boxes, wrapped in newspapers.

Lastly, in smoking, meat is smoked above the fire and the ideal wood
to be used in this is the allus glutinosa or most commonly known as “alnus”.
The meat is smoked for at least two to three days or until it is totally dried.
Meat preservation is not new to the people of Sagada. They each have
their own unique ways in doing it. This study will help us go through the
factors that affect the preference of the way of making Etag- (the
Cordilleran’s way of preserving meat) in Eastern Sagada.

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 B.Scope and Limitation

The study will be conducted in the three barangays of Eastern Sagada,

namely Kilong, Tetep an Norte and Tetep-an Sur. Ten adults from each of
the said places with high experience in making etag will be the respondents
of the study. It will focus on the factors affecting the people’s preference in
their way of making etag.