What Is an Ube and Why Is It So Trendy Right Now?

Violet-colored delicacies appear to be all the rage on Instagram right now. So, what is it? You will see many food photoshoots featuring purple ice cream, brownies, and macarons (and sometimes all three!), nowadays. Well, the beautiful color comes from a single ingredient: ube.

So, what actually is an ube, why has it become so popular, and why Indonesian Food Distributors are running for the product made with ube? This blog will teach you everything about the purple vegetable that is sweeping the hipster food scene. Ube is helpful in producing a wide range of products, from Ube Condensed Milk to cakes, brownies, and more.

What is an ube?

The ube, or purple yam, is a Philippine delicacy. It’s a bright purple sweet potato variety with a comparatively sweeter, mellower taste than its orange relative and offers a bit nutty vanilla taste. It’s popularly used in desserts and often boiled and further mashed with condensed milk to form Ube Condensed Milk.

Ube is frequently confused with Taro, another root vegetable with a similar appearance, but the two are not the same. Taro is commonly used in savory dishes, whereas ube is more commonly used in sweets, despite being cooked with savory spices.

Is ube healthy?

Ube’s nutritional profile is similar to that of a sweet potato, which means it is high in healthy vitamins, fiber, and carbs. It was recently discovered that the purple variety contains unusually high levels of antioxidants, which can help improve overall health. But due to the high sugar content, you need to consider eating ube-flavored desserts in moderate amounts, just like you would eat any other sweet treat.

The ube in popular culture

While in other regions of the world, ube has long been appearing in flan, cakes, puddings, cheesecake, as well as other dishes, it has only recently made its way into mainstream American culture. From there on, bakeshops and restaurants across the country started coming up with creative ways like Ube Condensed Milk, cakes, and more to incorporate the technicolor root vegetable into their treats.

Conclusion

It’s fair to say that the ube’s popularity stems largely from its photographic nature, especially in a culture obsessed with social media. Ube is surprisingly tasty, and with the increasing availability of ube-flavored products, you’ll have plenty of options. Give ube-based products from Indonesian Food Distributors a try. Surely, this trend isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.