Olongapo mom's ice candy recipe goes viral with over 10 million views on TikTok

A recipe for ice candy, a favorite cold treat of the Filipinos during the summer, just became viral on TikTok!

According to Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras Weekend," Sunday, Mommy Janina of Olongapo City shared a video of her making ice candy on the video-sharing platform.

It blew up because instead of the usual homemade ice candy, hers is coated with chocolate, like ice cream that you can buy at the grocery!

"Hindi ko naman po inasahan na magbo-boom po siya," Mommy Janina said. "Gusto ko po talaga 'yong content ko is informative."

So what's the origin story of ice candy?

Chester Cabalza, an anthropologist, said the ice candy originated from the American colonial period.

"Sila ang nag-introduce ng refrigerator, frigider," he said. "At sa konsepto ng sari-sari, naisip natin na magbenta rin ng yelo at ng ice candy."

Kuya Kim said that some believe that ice candy is based on the ice pop introduced to the country by Americans.

Ice pop itself was accidentally created by 11-year-old Frank Epperson back in 1905. He left a glass of water with soda powder outdoors, where it froze due to the low temperature. The stirrer remained inside.

Frank called it the epsicle. 

Meanwhile, the first ice cream shop in the Philippines was founded by Metcalfe A. Clarke in 1899. It was located in Plaza Moraga in Escolta.

Ice cream became a status symbol in the 1920s, as only rich people can afford refrigerators.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News