Right now, ube is having its moment, from specialty ice cream flavors to waffle mixes, donuts, and iced coffee beverages. Its soft, vanilla-esque flavor works well in various drinks and appeals to many palates.

Ube has been around for a while, especially in Southeast Asia, where it’s found in all kinds of desserts, snacks, and treats. It’s one of my favorite ways to change up a regular latte; its color makes everything pretty in purple.

So, here’s how you can create your own amazing ube coconut milk at home.

What is Ube?

Ube, also known as purple yam, is a sweet yam that is brown on the outside and vibrant purple on the inside. It’s similar to a sweet potato in texture but has a sweet, nutty, and vanilla flavor with a coconut-like aroma.

You can eat it like a sweet potato once cooked. Just peel the skin off and enjoy the sweet and creamy interior.

However, its strong color can dye your teeth, tongue, and even fabrics if you’re not careful. It also makes any dessert or drink purple as well, so it’s a great natural coloring agent.

You can find ube or purple yam all over Southeast Asia, but it’s most notably grown in the Philippines, where you’ll find most ube products. It’s a yam I grew up eating!

What Does Ube Taste Like?

Ube has a very mild, sweet flavor. It’s similar to vanilla but with a coconut aroma and a nutty taste. Ube is ideal in creamy desserts or drinks because its flavor is enhanced with other creamy ingredients.

Some say that it has a chestnut taste and aroma with earthy notes. Once cooked, it can take on a condensed milk or caramel flavor, which makes it perfect for desserts with condensed milk as a sweetener.

Because it has a low starch content, the yam is smooth and creamy without mouth dryness and has a great texture.

Ube vs. Purple Sweet Potato

Contrary to popular belief, ube is not the same as a purple sweet potato. Yams and sweet potatoes are different root vegetables with different appearances and flavors.

On the outside, the biggest difference is the skin. Yams have brown, uneven skin, while sweet potatoes have smooth, reddish skin.

Most cooked yams are not as sweet and soft as a cooked sweet potato. Cooked ube is an exception among yams but is not as succulent.

They also have different nutrients.

Ube vs. Taro

Ube is also not the same as taro, another root vegetable.

Taro is a firm tuber, earthy, nutty, and slightly sweet. You can steam it and eat it, or mash it up and sweeten it for a dessert paste.

It’s lightly white and purple in color and often used as a substitute for potatoes. In comparison, ube is bright purple in color.

People use taro in both savory and sweet dishes, such as fried taro, taro chips, or sweet taro balls in dessert soups.

However, people usually confuse ube and taro because you’ll find taro milk tea sold in many boba shops, and it’s bright light purple. However, that’s because of food coloring, haha.

Is Ube Healthy?

It depends on how the ube is prepared!

By itself, ube or purple yam is quite nutritious, with lots of vitamins and antioxidants. You can steam or boil ube and eat it with the skin! If you slow roast it, the inside becomes jam-like, and it’s so, so, so, good.

Ube is naturally sweet on its own, so it’s a healthy dessert alternative. I’m not too sure how diabetic-friendly it is, so check the glycemic index of ube before you eat it!

However, ube is also added to a lot of desserts and sweet drinks, which can have a lot of added sugars.

For example, ube halaya (which is ube jam) is a sweetened and thickened ube jam that is sweet and delicious. But it has condensed milk, butter, sugar, etc. Ube ice cream is also a delicious dessert but has a lot of added sugars as well.

So, generally, ube is pretty nutritious on its own, but not so much in desserts.

How to Use Ube

There are multiple ways you can use ube, and there are also multiple forms of ube.

The most affordable way to use ube is by using extract. It’s the most versatile as well since it’s just the flavoring. You can use this to flavor whipped creams, milk, rice, and virtually anything.

The next ube form you can use is ube paste or jam, which you’ll find marked as ube jam or halaya. These are great in cakes, pancakes, muffins, lattes, etc. They’re already presweetened as well.

You can use dried ube or ube powder, which many places use as an easy ube drink or milk.

Last, you can always use fresh ube. However, you’ll have to cook them before using them! They’re great on their own, sliced, or blended up as a puree.

Where to Find Ube

You can buy ube extract, jam, powder, or yam from any Filipino or Asian grocery store. You can find the actual yam in most Asian grocery stores (except when it’s out of season).

For ube extract, I’ve used the Butterfly brand before, and they have many Asian flavors like pandan, almond, etc.

You can get ube powder at the grocery store, which is usually the Giron Foods brand, but the particles are much bigger than a powder. There are more options for ube powder online, which are much finer.

What Flavors Go With Ube?

Ube pairs best with coconut, vanilla, or white chocolate. They have similar flavor profiles, so they naturally taste good together.

However, ube is also mild enough to pair great with tropical fruits like mango, jackfruit, durian, passion fruit, or guava.

Ube is found in desserts like leche flan, halo halo, and halaya in the Philippines. You can also put it in mochi, mochi muffins, or waffles (like the cult favorite Trader Joe’s ube mochi waffles).

This recipe brings out the best in ube with coconut!

Tips

Here are some tips on how to make an excellent ube coconut milk at home:

• If you’re using ube jam or fresh ube, blend it with milk for a smoother consistency. You can also strain it after to get out unblended chunks or larger grains.
• If you don’t have condensed milk, you can always use sugar or even leave it unsweetened.
• Ube extract is strong. A little goes a long way! You can always add more, but you can’t take it away, so use small 1/4 tsp amounts first if you’re unsure how strong you want your drink.