Why Ube Is Way Beyond a Food Fad
Recipe for this spectacular ube queso loaf is found below
I am an oddball when it comes to local delicacies. I find them too exotic despite their deep traditional roots. Even when traveling, I hardly go out of my way to find them.
In the Philippines where I am from, that is not a badge of honor.
Our country boasts a wide array of nick-knacks in rainbow colors, sticky or sweet, but not always nice. There is a rice cake dessert called suman I automatically desert. I am instantly diminished by the stench of durian that savoring its taste, which many find delicious, remains elusive. Strangest of all, I hardly find ube or purple yam enticing, even its ice cream form.
That is, until I mixed homemade halaya (ube jam) with sourdough, to discover for myself whether the Western world’s sudden hankering for it is a fad or the future of Filipino cuisine. The pairing worked, far beyond what I expected, so I decided to dive deeper into what makes it so.
HISTORY
Purple yam (or dioscorea alata), or ube in Tagalog, is a species of yam known for its bright violet color and mildly sweet, earthy taste. Similar yams include the sweet potato and taro, with which it is sometimes confused.
