Suman

Suman is a famous kakanin made from glutinous rice and usually wrapped tightly in leaves.  The leaf wrapper - banana, palm, buri or pandan - varies according to locality.  Filipinos have been making suman since pre-colonial times.  Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian scholar and explorer who travelled with Ferdinand Magellan, provides the first description of suman in historical records which he observed "were wrapped in leaves and were made in somewhat longish pieces".