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What Is Ube? How Healthy Are They?

Dec 6th 2022 - Monica Cunanan

What Is Ube? How Healthy Are They?

Even the most skeptical ice cream aficionado can be charmed by ube ice cream just by looking at it; yet, it only takes one sip to become addicted. This vibrant purple vegetable has probably been spotted on social media. If you wish to sample this viral food, read on as we break down its nutritional information and its origins. 

What Is Ube?

The purple yam known as ube, or "tuber" in Tagalog, is a native of the Philippines. Ube is a popular ingredient in Filipino desserts and is frequently boiled before being mashed with condensed milk. It has a mildly nutty, vanilla flavor. It has slight differences from the orange version of this yam. The purple sweet potato has a much sweeter, mellower taste. According to the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Frieda's Branded Produce, ube is a purple root vegetable that was first cultivated in Southeast Asia. It is frequently referred to as a purple yam, which is distinct from a purple sweet potato. The gorgeous purple hue of ube may be a factor in its popularity.

Rising Popularity of Ube

Ube appears like the perfect "aesthetically pleasing" vegetable for social media with its vivid purple flesh and multifaceted use. The two-syllable tuber (pronounced "oo-beh") is attracting attention there for good reason: On TikTok, #ube has received more than 246 million views, and on

Read More: You Might Want To Try (Or Skip) These 2022 Tiktok Food Trends

What is the flavor of ube?

Some individuals, describe ube as being sweet, creamy, and has nutty flavor with vanilla undertones.

Explaining the Health Benefits of Ube

Ube is healthy since it is full of nutrients, just like other vegetables. In reality, anthocyanin, a class of potent sources of antioxidants, may help lower inflammation and the risk of some malignancies, which are what give ube its vivid purple hue.

Even though taro and ube are comparable root vegetables, they are not the same. While ube can be prepared with savory spices, it is more frequently used in sweet recipes than in savory ones. Taro is frequently used in savory meals.

Ube has a similar nutritional profile to the traditional sweet potato. It is rich in fiber, vitamins, and healthy carbohydrates. Recently, it was discovered that the purple variant has exceptionally high quantities of powerful antioxidants, which can improve general health. But it doesn't mean you should overindulge in desserts made with ube. Ube's health advantages frequently fall short of other foods that are frequently included in desserts, such as substantial amounts of sugar and fat. Thus, like with any other sweet delight, consume ube-flavored desserts in moderation.

Ube Desserts

Ube is a well-liked ice cream flavor in the United States, and as it gains popularity, it is appearing increasingly frequently in other sweets. In the Philippines, purple yam jam, also known as ube halaya or Halayang Ube, is a popular treat. To make this, cooked ube is first grates. It is then combined with butter, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut milk to create this dessert. After simmering and straining, it is transformed into a spreadable jam that resembles pumpkin butter. 

It can then be consumed on its own or added to other desserts like ice cream or halo-halo, which is a stacked ice cream dish.

Comparison to Different Roots

Purple Yams vs. Purple Sweet Potatoes

The ube and purple sweet potatoes have different skins and various botanical characteristics. However, they are nutritionally comparable.

Yam vs Ube

Red yams and ube are frequently mistaken for sweet potatoes. The hue is the main distinction between the two, which both resemble roots and are thinner than sweet potatoes. Ube's flesh is a light purple color while raw, turning dark purple when cooked, and it has creamy, off-white skin. A red yam's meat is a vivid orange, while its skin is crimson.

Ube vs. Taro

Both taro and ube, which are both widely used in Southeast Asian cuisine and share some similarities but are actually distinct, are also frequently misunderstood. Both taro, a corm, and ube, a tuber, grow underground and serve as food store for the plants that develop from them. Their methods of doing so are where the two diverge most.

The taro, however, is larger than the purple yam. It has hairy brown skin with white meat and tiny purple flecks.

When cooked, taro resembles potatoes in both texture and flavor, with the exception that it is a little gooey and has a little nutty and sweet flavor. Finally, while ube is more frequently used in savory foods, taro may be utilized in both sweet and savory dishes.

Nutritional Facts

Ube is a very nutrient-dense tuber. Just like many other varieties of yams and sweet potatoes, this starchy vegetable fits perfectly into a well-balanced, healthy diet (whether it is consumed as a meal, snack, or dessert).

Ube, in a 3.5-ounce serving, gives you:

  • 120 calories
  • 27g carbohydrates
  • 4g fiber
  • 1g protein
  • 0g fat
  • 20mg calcium (2% daily value [DV])
  • 0.36mg iron (2% DV)
  • 12mg vitamin C (13% DV)
  • 100IU vitamin A (11% DV)

The Viral Root Vegetable

The ube, which is used in cakes, puddings, flan, cheesecake, and other dishes. It has long been a staple in Filipino cuisine, but it has only recently gained popularity in mainstream American society. In 2016, Manila Social Club became one of the first restaurants in New York that incorporated ube into their dishes. They used this amazing ingredient to make ube doughnuts. Many bakeries and restaurants soon followed suit. Soon many of them all over the nation started coming up with inventive ways to include this technicolor and tuberous root vegetable in their desserts.

Although it's quite safe to assume that the ube's appeal is largely owing to its photographic qualities, especially in a culture dependent on social media, don't disregard this component as something that is only there for the eyes to enjoy. You have many opportunities to test ube because it is unexpectedly tasty and because ube-flavored products are still being produced in large quantities. Ube ice cream is even available at your favorite grocery stores so this flavor isn't going anywhere anytime soon.