It's becoming the most instagrammable food, the hot new flavor, the hip trend, and a favorite Fillipino dessert. Ube, a purple yam, has made it's way to the US and is taking over by storm. Never heard of it? Well, you're in for a treat.
What Is It?
Ube is purple yam. Not your typical dessert delicacy, but it is all the rage. Ube flavored ice cream, more commonly referred to as just purple ice cream, is making its way into the people's foodstagram feeds.
After adopting other Asian desserts such as boba tea, bubble egg cones, and rolled ice cream, of course America would acquire ube as well. Ube is from the Phillipines and they have been using it in their desserts forever now making ube cake, ube macaroons, and ube buns. It is also used in jam to create a lavender purple colored spread. The U.S. has just begun to follow the international trend.
The chilled and mashed pudding form of ube is referred to as ube halaya. As you could have probably guessed, ube ice cream does not actually taste like typical ice cream. It doesn't give you the classic "ice cream hangover" after devouring, needing ample amounts of water and leaving your stomach with a thick lump of dairy in it. Ube ice cream is light and nutty and does not resemble the normal soft serve texture.
How Else Can You Eat Ube?
But ice cream is obviously not the only delicious dessert that ube can manufacture. Ube can be eaten for every meal now considering it's been made into pancakes, waffles, rice cakes, pies, cookies, coffee, cupcakes, donuts, lattes, milkshakes, cheesecakes, the list goes on!
Where can I get this?
Two of places where you can find ube treats are Soft Swerve NYC and the Manila Social Club in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where ube made its country-wide debut. Home of the "Golden Cristal Ube Donut" a delicacy iced with Cristal champagne and filled with ube mousse, champagne jelly, and speckled with gold....costing $100.
If I were you, I'd run out and get my hands on some form of ube asap. Trust me, you won't regret it (plus you can get a great food insta at the same time).