Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 05:52:59 GMT Server: Apache/1.2.4 Connection: close Content-Type: text/html Punaluu Sweetbread
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Mauna Loa's Punalu`u Sweetbread

by Patrick Edie

Mauna Loa's Punalu`u Sweetbread is a Hawaiian tradition, a blend of Hawaiian and Portuguese cultures. During the 19th Century, a Portuguese sailor found himself in Hawai`i far from his native land. This poor soul, let's call him Manuel, longed for the delicious pan douce his mama baked every day. As he gazed hungrily out to sea, he caught the fragrance of mama's sweetbread wafting across the water and he jumped on a boat and cast off to retrieve her. Ever since Manuel sailed back across the globe to bring his sweet mama to Hawai`i to bake for him, Portuguese sweetbread has been a staple in Hawaiian kitchens.

While the Portuguese bake many breads, milk bread, potato bread and corn bread among them, sweetbread remains the favorite in the Islands. On the Big Island many bed and breakfasts serve Portuguese Sweetbread French Toast topped with tropical fruits and nuts. On Ni`ihau, the "Forbidden Island," Hawaiians savor sweetbread they buy at fund-raisers on Kaua`i. Hawai`i residents and visitors often carry Portuguese sweetbread on the planes as gifts for their hosts abroad. There have been many commercial sweetbreads produced in Hawai`i, including Buck's Sweetbread in Honolulu, and the round King's sweetbread from landmark King's Bakery. Other brands include Love's, Purity, and the popular Punalu`u Sweetbread that is so much talked about these days.

Punalu`u Sweetbread has surfaced on the island scene as the favorite brand of kama`ainas. Punalu`u Hawaiian Sweetbread was brought to life several years ago and has undergone several changes in a quest for perfection. C. Brewer Corp., parent company of Mauna Loa, built a resort at Punalu`u Black Sand Beach in Ka`u on the Big Island back in the seventies. The restaurant's sweetbread became very popular expanded production. Brewer transformed a nearby former sugar plantation manager's home into a commercial bakery in the sleepy town of Na`alehu. People from all over Hawai`i launched a tradition stopping by the bakery to haul ten-loaf cases back to their home islands.

Fame and a craving for Punalu`u Sweetbread grew quickly, Punalu`u sweetbread is now baked in Na`alehu at its visitor center and in Waipahu on O`ahu. At the Punalu`u bakery, you can even purchase the secret receipt bread in a mix for home baking by hand or bread machine.


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