Recently, “green dessert” trend has continued, ranging from matcha latte, matcha ice cream and matcha cake. A new color is emerging recently, as matcha has been sold out in overseas cafes and dessert markets. It is “UBE,” which is characterized by vivid purple colors.
Originating in Southeast Asia, the food is now rapidly spreading to cafes, dessert brands, and bubble tea stores in the U.S. and Europe, making it a new trend. What is Uber?
Ube is a purple yam commonly eaten in the Philippines. It is a root vegetable widely grown in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region. It is nutritionally similar to ordinary sweet potatoes, but has slightly different texture and flavor. It is particularly popular as an ingredient for dessert as it has a creamier and more natural sweetness when boiled.
In the Philippines, a typical dessert is Ube halaya, which is made by boiling and mashing Ube. It is usually used in ice cream, cakes, candies, and shaved ice. Ube is often confused with taro or purple sweet potatoes because it is a purple ingredient. However, the three are different plants.
Ube is characterized by a natural sweetness and creamy texture, while tarot has an earthy scent and savory taste. Purple sweet potatoes, which we eat a lot, have different sweetness.
One of the reasons Ube is gaining attention worldwide is its intense purple color. Ube is visually vibrant when used in ice cream, latte, and cake, as it has bright purple color even without artificial coloring. For this reason, it has rapidly spread to become a “dessert that is good for taking pictures” through social media such as Instagram and TikTok. In the U.S., several cafes and food brands are already releasing Ube menus, showing signs of trend.
Some analysts say that the Ube craze is more than just a fad. This is because Asian food ingredients have been emerging as a new trend in the global dessert market in recent years.
Asian dessert ingredients such as matcha, black sesame, taro, and mango sago are steadily spreading in the global market, and Ube is also a star ingredient that has emerged in the trend.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
