How To Make Ube

The first thing I ask for as soon as I land in the Philippines is Ube Ice Cream on Halo-Halo. Once when my plane landed at midnight in Manila I went to the nearest restaurant still open at the late hour to satisfy my Ube Ice Cream longing. Soon as my family and I sat down, I excitedly asked for double scoops of Ube Ice Cream on a glass of Halo-Halo (fruits in syrup served in a parfait glass). I love flying home to the Philippines and Asia. After leaving chilly temperatures here in the States and landing in a sultry hot country with temperatures hovering in the high 90’s Fahrenheit, then you will long for ice cream soon as you arrive. In my case, I reach for ube, a flavor most Filipinos grew up with. Ube is purple yam. It is pronounced ‘oooh-beh’.

I’ve mentioned before it is a tuber that grows above ground, abundant in the Philippines, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. Ube is in season towards the end of the year, which explains why a lot of holiday sweets, desserts and ‘kakanin’ (rice-coconut sweet cakes in the Philippines) are made with sweet tasting ube. My relationship with ube is complex. I can’t live without it. It is one of our family ‘s favorite flavors. It is a starchy ingredient and I use either boiled purple yams or if none are available (especially in the States) I use ube flour. Something magical happens after you have had ube. You get hooked by the sweet, almost almond, nearly hazelnut flavor and get mesmerized by its soft purple color. When you buy ube in the markets, you can easily walk past them because they look like ordinary large sweet yams.

They even have the same rough, thick, dark outer skin, but inside the purple yam’s flesh has a soft pink tinge. One thing is for sure. Ube or purple yam has one of the best flavors in the world. And in ice cream it is simply hard to resist. The sweet, creamy dairy-like flavor makes it one of the best, undiscovered flavors in the western world. This is why I got so excited as I was leafing through the ice cream cookbook “Scoop Adventures.” Just as I was about to put it down, I found the recipe for ‘Ube Ice Cream’ at the very end. I happily played with this recipe and added coconut milk with the ingredients.

From my experience of baking with ube or purple yam, the added flavor of coconut milk enhances the entire concoction even more. Be adventurous and plunge the scoop into this creamy, dreamy ube ice cream. It will be unforgettable. Trust me, you’ll be craving for ube ice cream over and over again after this. Ube or Purple Yam ice cream is a favorite of Filipinos. It is made from ube, a tuber, starchy ingredient that grows in Southeast Asian countries. Ube is often added to desserts, cakes, snacks or sweet treats. It has a creamy almond-like flavor and a gentle nearly floral aroma. The purple color of ube makes it one of the most gorgeous ingredients anywhere. Use boiled ube or the powdered ube flour when baking sweets and it will be unforgettable.