Ube as a Global Trend - Food Philippines (2024)

FAQs

Why is ube so popular in the Philippines? ›

In Filipino culture, ube is not just a food but also a symbol of Filipino resilience and adaptability. Even during challenging times, the ube plant thrives, much like the Filipino spirit.

Hasegawa USA declared in its 2024 Food and Beverage Flavor Trends Report that ube will be the flavor of the year. The bright, purple tuberous root hailing from the Philippines has enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years.

Ube (Dioscorea alata) is a purple yam that is native to Southeast Asia and predominantly used in Filipino cuisine. This starchy tuber has a distinct purple-colored flesh that varies in shade and features a nutty, vanilla flavor. It is often used in desserts, from cakes to ice creams, to provide sweetness and color.

The center of origin of purple yam is in the Philippines, but archaeological evidence suggests that it was exploited in Island Southeast Asia and New Guinea before the Austronesian expansion. Purple yam is believed to be a true cultigen, only known from its cultivated forms.

This vibrant root vegetable is a good source of vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant crucial for immune function and collagen production. Ube also boasts a significant amount of potassium, a mineral essential for maintaining healthy blood pressure and muscle function.

Ube, meaning tuber in Tagalog, is a purple yam originally from the Philippines. Different than the purple sweet potato, it has an even sweeter, more mellow taste than its orange relative.

Due to dwindling local production and the need to meet export demands, ube flavoring and color has become common in the Asian country. Scarcity in supply of the crop has also resulted in high prices.

Although traditionally grown in the Philippines, the ube has found a new home in Florida's zone 9b. In our trial and error, we've learned that growing ube in Florida is relatively easy with a bit of know-how!

Dioscorea alata is a species of yam commonly referred to as purple yam, ube, violet yam, or water yam. This tuberous root vegetable originates from Southeast Asia and is often confused with taro root.

For the uninitiated, ube (pronounced ooh-bae) is a starchy vegetable also as known as a purple yam. But it is not the same as purple sweet potatoes, though they are similar and can be substituted in recipes.

What is the difference between ube and purple yam? ›

Since they come from different plant families, yams and sweet potatoes are different. Ube has a thicker, tougher skin that's bark-like and is largely considered inedible — while purple sweet potatoes have a thin, smooth skin that's easier to eat.

Folk medicine has used ube to treat the symptoms of menopause, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and infertility. In traditional Chinese medicine, diosgenin (the tuber storage protein of ube) is extracted from wild yam and used to treat kidney and liver problems.

Fresh ube. Ube is rarely imported as a fresh tuber in North America, but can sometimes be found fresh in the produce sections of Asian grocery stores.

Taro Nutrition. In terms of calories, taro and ube are very similar, with around 140 to 180 calories per serving. Ube is higher in sugar and has lots of antioxidants. Because it has a low glycemic index, meaning the carbohydrates and sugars get metabolized by your body very slowly, it can also help regulate blood sugar ...

Yams are a global staple, particularly in Africa, where 95% are produced, but ube is a rare species that's native to the Philippines. And that's where most ube stays, too; due to immense difficulties farming ube and transporting it fresh, most of us in the States make do with frozen ube or ube extract.