As anyone with Filipino relatives knows, the best part about a trip to the Philippines is all the yummy stuff they bring back for you! I have many a fond memory of diving into the delicious treasure troves of treats my grandma used to pack away in her balikbayan boxes. (I also have fond memories of stuffing my younger sister into the balikbayan boxes and telling her I was going to mail her to the Philippines. Her memories of this are not quite so fond.)
Most common amongst the culinary treasures were Filipino candies, yema egg yolk candies, pastillas de leche, polvorones as well as dried fruit, most notably juicy dried mangoes and sweet tart tamarind. I remember one visit when my Grandma successfully snuck lanzones past customs. What a delicious little fruit it was — I wish that these were available fresh in the US. I was so excited to have found them frozen at the nearby Seafood City but was disappointed to find them nearly inedible after thawing.
My parents recently returned back from a trip to the Philippines. Amongst their balikbayan boxes, they set aside some treats for us to enjoy.
Filipino treats
To be quite honest, I was expecting more of a haul; I think they may be holding out on us! But nevertheless, what they got for us was still pretty yummy. In the foreground are some butter macaroons from Goldilocks. Of course, butter is more like “butter flavored” as the ingredients plainly say that it is margarine, not butter, in these babies. No matter, they’re delicious with a cup of strong coffee. These were a hit with The Little Empress.
To the upper left is a small package of polvorones, also from Goldilocks. I’m not much of a fan of this candy which is essentially a dried milk cookie — very powdery. This package of polvoron was cookies and cream flavored which was different and interesting but not different enough to make me love it.
To the right is a promo pack of Cebu brand dried mangoes, manufactured by Profood International. I’m quite a fan of Philippine brand dried mangoes having grown up with them. Apparently Profood International makes several different brands of dried mangoes, Philippine and Cebu brands among them. Maybe it is just me but these Cebu brand dried mangoes seem plumper and juicier than the Philippine brand ones. Whether or not I’m imagining the difference, the truth is that they are yummy!
The the upper right is the real star of the collection — artisan quality mango jam by Castillejos Agrifarms. This is a real piece of heaven if you love mangoes and believe me, we do!! This jam is just perfect — not too sweet like some jams can be with a delicious burst of sun ripened mango flavor. My sister insists that we have to eat it quick because it contains no preservatives. No problem here — not a day after I opened the (too small) jar, it is already half gone! I did a search online for the makers of this jam and while I don’t see that they have a storefront, I did find a newspaper article that says that they make kalamansi (Philippine native lemon) marmalade as well as a host of other Filipino jams, jellies and other sweets. Hopefully I will find out more on where to get more!
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