Good Shepherd Peanut Brittle, Ube Jam, etc.
You know something is good when there are a lot of imitations… so there must be something really good about the Good Shepherd brand of delicacies in Baguio and other 
locations around the Philippines as the markets and other tourist traps are chock-full of Good Shepherd wannabees… I wasn’t consciously keeping track but noticed the same kind of plastic containers and similar labels with brands like Shepherd Shepherd, R&B Shepherd, Mother Shepherd, Little Shepherd and Sheep Shepherd (doesn’t a shepherd herd sheep or do sheep herd shepherds? Heeheehee). I made a special trip to the Good Shepherd base outside Baguio (beyond the Mines View site) to see what the original purveyor of peanut brittle and other goodies had to offer. I had not been there in over 30 years and was kicking myself as they really do have some of the yummiest peanut brittle I have ever tasted. Finely chopped peanuts in a delicious wafer thin caramel and flavored with just a touch of butter that is cut and expertly packed into cylindrical plastic bottles and sell for PHP95 for 500grams… what a deal!
Despite a clear notice on their simple label that they hold a Philippine Patent 59642 for their peanut brittle, there are legions of similar bottles and brands of peanut brittle. 
I always root for the original so I never buy any other brand (particularly if they have done nothing to differentiate themselves). I am actually surprised that the nuns don’t engage some wicked intellectual property rights lawyer to get all the competitors to at least change their packaging and make sure they haven’t used the same recipe! At any rate, this stuff is delicious and addictive. I cannot imagine a soul who has visited Baguio and who has not at least tasted (if not fallen in love with) this peanut brittle. The “store” at the convent or training center also had its famous ube jam on offer. This is some of the best jam I have tasted (and I have tasted a LOT considering my ancestors from the ube island of Bohol) – it is smooth, lighter than most, sweet but not overly so, and brilliantly lavender in color. They vehemently state that they use no artificial food coloring but I really am wondering about this (see future post on ube jam to follow soon). The jam is sold warm and the bottles still uncapped. Then they give you this spiel about waiting before you seal it and refrigerating it as soon as possible. Needless to say, there are hundreds of cars circling Baguio sightseeing with open jars of ube jam in their back seats!
Good Shepherd has broadened their product line and also offer guava 
and mango jams, cashew brittle, cashew nuts, peanuts, guyabano and sampaloc candies, pickles and pickle relishes, orange marmalade, strawberry juice, etc. The place is so simply appointed but so efficiently set-up. There are clear product postings and price lists out front, order forms, and an assembly line pick-up and cashier station inside. They must have the ultimate efficiency consultant…you know who I mean. They also have a great view of the mines view area without any of the hawkers. Skip Mines View the next time you are in Baguio and head straight to the Good Shepherd compound. And if you manage to leave without bags full of goodies then you have the self-control to join the convent or a nearby seminary!
I missed these delicacies. I always visit the Good Shepherd everytime I am in Baguio just before I get back home as my pasalubong. When someone made ube during Pinoy parties here we have be quick otherwise you snooze you loose.
June 24th, 2005I was actually just there over the weekend and bought orange marmalade, strawberry jams and waited for 2 hours so that i can buy the ube jam at 2pm. Of course, ubos lahat yun when I got home;didn’t even reach the next weekend. Do you know that Good Shepherd has a convent in Tagaytay that also sells jams(more on ube, no straberry), preserves, candies, soaps! On the way to DAP, you would have to make a right turn in one obscure “eskinita” but there’s a sign pointing to its direction.
June 24th, 2005Yes, the Tagaytay branch is accessible and the ube comes in easy to carry, non-breakable plastic containers. I do have an experience of sending ube with a friend to her family in Germany, we didn’t wait before it cooled and when it got there two days later, there was a nasty grey mold on the top. I guess the warning is justified.
June 24th, 2005Are the Good Shepherd sister pioneers of the peanut brittle or they simply marketed their products well?
And where, pray tell, can we get Good Shepherd peanut brittle without having to drive four hours up north to Baguio??
June 24th, 2005I missed that portion of the Philippine Patent…I guess answers my first question. ;o)
June 24th, 2005There’s a Good Shepherd convent at Aurora Blvd near
June 24th, 2005Katipunan, fronting PSBA and near St. Bridget’s, where you can buy the most popular product lines.
Personally, I still prefer the Romana’s Peanut Brittle brand. It was a given in our yearly summer vacation in Baguio during my childhood. The peanuts are chunkier and the caramel more flavorful. The caramel is not porous because they do not use baking soda. As a kid, I snitched all the butter caramel and left the peanuts behind :)
June 26th, 2005Yes, I agree. Good Shepherd products are of a superior quality but I also get some from Tamtamco’s at the marketplace. They’re relatives of Santos (Scent of Green Bananas).
Hmmm… was just in Baguio two weeks ago, now you want me to go back.
June 27th, 2005Please keep listing other manufacturers you like in Baguio and the next time I am up there I will try them all…
June 27th, 2005Thanks for your positive comments on our ube, brittle,etc.
July 15th, 2005Mt. Maid Training Center has sent to college over 3,000 youth youth from the Cordilleras, including 3 medical doctors serving their own indigeous peoples. Since July 1, we raise our prices, after two years! 12 oz. ube is P149, 24 oz. is P220, 400 grms brittle is P100, 500grms is P125. This year 19 students graduated from college, two passed the board for Socail Work last June. Yes, we do not put artificial color to the ube jam. Our raw materials enjoy farm to producti
on system. Did you know that the present site of Good Shepherd was the former residencwe of Gov. Cmeroon Forbes? He built the house in 1917! This is now the convent up the hill. God bless.
Thank you, thank you Sr. Guadalupe for those comments! Readers, take note, prices have risen only slightly, but it’s all still a bargain. And now, we have an authoritative comment from Good Shepherd that they DO NOT use food coloring and thus I just have to keep trying to find the secret to getting maximum purple when I make my jam.
July 15th, 2005Dear Marketman,
July 16th, 2005Be sure you thoroughly wash your ube before boiling with the skin. Otherwise lasang putik. Let me know if you succeedd i
in getting a deep purple color. The best ube comes from
Bohol! Ours come from Northern Luzon and are grown specially for us. Same with the ube of Good Shepherd in Tagaytay. Farmers in Cavite grow the ube for Good Shepherd. Farmers get a good price and we get quality ube. The nextr time you visit Baguio look for me. God bless.
you really have a good products but it could be better if you you will have a branch at sm baguio so that the customers will not need to travel in two hours just to buy the ube jam.
July 26th, 2005Delia, the Good Shepherd Seminary is a mere 15 minutes from SM Baguio by taxi. Not 2 hours. And it is a charming outlet indeed, just beside their kitchens. Frankly, I am rather anti-mall and I wouldn’t encourage Good Shepherd to re-locate. I agree it would be nice to get their products in the grocery too but I like the charm of their current set-up much more! Think how much more they would have to charge for ube jam if they were paying P1,200 per square meter in rent and had to give SM a percentage of sales as well!
July 26th, 2005can anyone give me a written/official proof that Good shepherd products (particularly ube jam) are d most popular and sought-after products in d country? im doing a study on ube jam and i need proof dat good shepherd ube jam is d best one.
by the way, to echo what avatar said, there is a Good shepherd convent in Aurora Blvd in Quezon City, just beside the MRT Katipunan station (and beside my old school), where they sell what they sell in Baguio.
March 22nd, 2006Jenna, I am not aware of a real objective taste test on ube jam that puts Good Shepherd on top of the heap. I think this is just a general view based on the commercially available jams. I am almost certain that some homes make a better jam, and besides, what would constitute better for some may not apply for others. I tend to prefer a jam with some texture so I know that it came from an actual ube as opposed to a smooth one that may have come from powder. Also, the level of sweetness is a highly personal preference thus the argument of what is best is a tough one…
March 22nd, 2006I have had the priviledge of having tasted your peanut brittle! Someone traveled there and brought it back for me. Only enough to make me wish for more. Do you sell your products online? I am very interested in ordering some. Others that I work with have been there and greatly enjoy your jams and would likely order as well. Please let me know. God Bless you all!
April 16th, 2006I work in the med field and have recently come across a bottle of Baguio peanut brittle; I think one of the docs here may have traveled there and brought it back for our suite. We are wondering how we can get in touch with this company to get our hands on this stuff…there’s a phone number on the bottle, but… we can’t find anything on the web about it, can you help.. the phone number is 445-7092.
Thanks,
May 3rd, 2006Pulmonology Team
I went home to the Philippines for the first time 2 years ago and the Romana Peanut Brittle brand was still the best for me! I think they are the pioneers in making peanut brittle and so far there are no other products that can compete with the taste.
July 13th, 2006I do wonder who made it first…but it wasn’t invented here…so I suspect it was first made by someone with links to the Spaniards…
July 13th, 2006I’ve been reading a blog for a while now. I’m in the medical field in Manila but proudly calls Baguio as my hometown. Every time I go home, a pile high of Good Shepherds’ ALFAJOR orders would come from my collogues. Yes, Good Shepherd makes Good Ube Jam. However, the first ube jam I tasted was the one from Tantamco. If one wants the smooth ube, it would be the one from Good Shepherd, if one want’s to have some texture, Tantamco’s the one. I think the version of Good Shepherd Tagaytay’s have a slightly different taste than the one in Baguio.
July 19th, 2006I too have tried Romana Peanut Brittle and it is far superior to any other peanut brittles i have tasted yet in my 30 years living in America. where can i buy it in San Francisco? also, can i find the Good Shepherd version in San Francisco? i would like to taste it so i can compare.
July 25th, 2006yes, i know romana’s was making peanut brittle in pangasinan long before good shepherd. and although i love good shepherd’s products, i also swear by tantamco’s peanut brittle - they’re available in the market. most of the other baguio stuff is good, too - lenguas de gato, choc flakes, etc.
August 15th, 2006i prefer Tantamco’s ube jam over Good Shepherd but I love their Strawberry Jam with whole strawberries
July 21st, 2007i love Good Shepherd! we never leave baguio w/o buying ube jam, peanut brittle and strawberry jam!
good thing they have na daw in tagaytay?
August 16th, 2007Hi to everyone,I need a Good Shepherd Ube Jam very badly my wife is 4 months pregnant and its what shes craving for tagaytay is very far and so is baguio does anybody here know where i can buy
February 2nd, 2008the ube jam here in manila??
good day to all! i really love good shepherd ube! im craving for it eversince i tasted their product, the ube. it’s superb! actually it was just recently that i came to taste their ube, and it was only given to me as a pasalubong by my boyfriend who went to baguio for a trip.and oh my, i fell inlove with the ube! for many times i went to baguio with my bf, we always bought the Tamtancos ube and other products such as peanut brittle, strawberry preserves, lengua, etc. so it was the only product i’ve been patronizing because it was also good anyway. But when my bf went to Bagiuo( i wasn’t able to come to come) for penagbenga festival and mountain climbing to Mt.Pulag, they had a one night stop to baguio before going home, so he got the chance to buy me some pasalubong, and im so glad that he bought the Good shepherd ube, it’s really yummier, smoothier and creamier far from Tamtancos ube(though tamtancos ube is really good too i may say). so now im really craving for some more! coz he only bought one 16oz. jar of ube hehe and it only last for a day for me, and i want moooore!
March 3rd, 2008anyone here who can tell me if the Good shepherd ube in baguio is also the same as the one in the aurora blvd in katipunan? i just read that they selling products there. because if its really the same in taste and texture and quality, i might go to that place just to buy their ube, if its really the same taste as the one in baguio! help guys, i need to know badly. thanks!
my siblings at canada wants us to bring them ube jam from good sheperd but where can i find the nearest store here in rizal.
April 16th, 2008Where in Arizona, USA or wherever in united states can these products be bought? please advice. thank you.
June 4th, 2008hi to everyone!! it’s me jenny P.hope that everyone is in God’s hand,now its my chance to express my feeling. Goodshepherd was really amazing on how they extend their arms to needy poeple and i’m thankfull that i experience their love, generousity and comfort.It is the most amazing experince that i had that once in thousand days of my life i was mold and i became a great one.thank you to all stuff,student,and most specially to all goodshepherd sisters who always hav the great passion.i hope that i can hav the email adress of sister Path,sister guada,and all the sisters of goodsherpherd if it is pleases them to share,and it will be my pleasure to hav them in my mail coz i really want to know news about them,about everything what was going on there, coz ryt now i’m here in dubai and i really miss where i was before.Thank you so much, More power and God bless you all!!!…
July 7th, 2008hi, do you know where in Tagaytay exactly is the Good Shepherd? I live in Dasmarinas Cavite and when we went ther im looking for that place but unfortunately didnt find it. If you could send me a map, that would be cool. Thanks in advance
July 10th, 2008