The purple scoop pictured above isn’t something you’re likely to find at your local grocery store or even your local ice cream shop. It’s called Ube Ice Cream and it’s a very popular flavor in the Philippines. The sweet treat gets its unique color from the ube (“ooo-bee” or “ooo-bay”), an incredibly vibrant, sweet, purple yam used in a variety of Filipino desserts (like ube cake, ube buns, and ube macaroons ). Since we’ve never had Ube Ice Cream, we can’t attest to its flavor, but it sure does look good, especially with that oh-so-tempting drip about to fall off the right side!
Tags: ice cream, Philippines, ube
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If you’ve got a technical question about the ice cream making process or some other inquiry about the nuances of America’s favorite treat, chances are Ernie has the answer. He might not be able to answer all questions, but he’ll try his best and some may be featured on the Ice Cream Journal.
Purple yam ice cream—HMMMMMMMMMMM
Makes me want some raspberry ice cream!
I want some purple ice cream!!
Spring has sprung and summer is almost on its way, could it arrive more pleasantly than with a purple ice cream today!
Spring is here and summer is on its way, what could be more delicious than purple yam ice cream to eat today!
I have not heard of that before…looks like black raspberry…one of my favorites!!!
I was watching an old rerun of Raymond last night and Deborah was trying to console herself following hearing of her parents divorce. What a smart girl. She was scooping ice cream out of a 1/2 gallon with a cookie…Turkey Hill ice cream was very prominently shown as the ice cream!!
Last night sat and ate half of the container of MOOSE TRACKS. What a pig I am but OOOOOO so good.
Just goes to show you that you can’t judge a book by its cover……..although that ice cream looks pretty, it’s nasty tasting.
I heard of this treat, my cousin is married to a Philippino lady. But I would have to pass on this, just give me my Turkey Hill, Hmmmmm must go get some Raspberry, made me hungry for this flavor today. Linda
Ube Ice Cream? What A Name! lol….Anyway, I have to say …”I Love The Color Purple”! But, “I will and am Going To Keep My Belly & My Taste Buds Where They Are Safe And Where I Love Them Yo Be”!!!; “TURKEY HILL”!!!
I have a friend, Rick, who now lives in the Phillipines. I am going to e-mail him and ask if he and his family have enjoyed this treat. Will let you know his thoughts on the taste, it sure is a beautiful color.
The site of Ube makes my mouth water but when you told us it is from yams the brain did an about face. My brain tells me its like eating mashed potato ice cream. It is sometimes better not to know where it comes from.
It sure looks like your Turkey Hill favorite – Black Raspberry which we love. Unfortunately, none of the stores in our (MD) neighborhood carry it.
Well they say if you eat something and don’t know what it is you might like it. I think that pertains to Ube ice cream.
Hey JMike,
Check Food Lion’s and Bloom Grocery stores–they have different stuff!
CAN YOU PLEASE STOP maki9ng all odd flavors, with so much STUFF in it. Is real problem with peaniuts, and at times cannot tell if ice cream has it in it, is dangerous. so why just not stick to normal flavors, too many choices lead to higher costs for you and then to us too. who needs pretzel ones and those with what i call junk in it, enough is enough. Is very ahrd to find normal flavors anymore. You need to also make more low fat, sugar free ones in normal flavors as do other companies as this is what is needed as many of us cannot or shouldn ot eat all the full fat and sugar ones. think about us too.
Looks so so appealing. Lilacs, wisteria, hydrangeas, lavender and now Ube. What can be more spring like.
Ube ice cream looks delicious and that drip on the right is tempting. Anyone planning a trip to the Philippines will have this yummy treat to try.
Looks really great, almost the same color as my bedroom! Here’s a short Junior Mint story.. my daughter lives in NJ I live in NY. They do not sell Junior Mint where I live. So she bought me a half gal., but it never made it to my house, they ate it! and this happened twice. Will I ever get my JM!!!
Mmmmm. It looks good. At first I thought it was raspberry or something. That drip makes me hungry for strawberry ice cream (One of my many favorites) with fresh strawberries. But I’d be okay with that! It looks really good!
Hmmm… I LOVE trying new things. I wonder if this particular flavor might be available at a specialty Filipino store for sampling???
Looks wonderfully good, that’s cause it looks like our favorite, Black Raspberry,
It might be fantastic! Then again, maybe not. I’ll stick with my faves.
Sometimes purple colored things are actually blueberry. Does it taste like that? It also looks like the black raspberry (whick I LOVE)!
Thank you for the information! Have to admit it looks really good!
I just saw two of your iced tea commercials on a channel in Winston-Salem, NC. Was that a fluke or is the long-awaited and hoped for invasion of the Piedmont Triad about to begin?
The picture looks like Black Raspberry Ice Cream (made by one of your competitors) Would be very willing to try UBE ice cream.
It’s a pretty berry color. I’d try it!!!
Ube for me!!!
Ube is be in my future be.
looks great hope it tastes as good as it looks i am thinking it would taste like black rasberry its a mind thing I guess
Please, please, please……more sugar free flavors. The ones you have are sooo good but a little variety would be nice. Thanks
Oh Boy, we thought that picture was of Raspberry flavor ice cream . That got our taste buds working over time. What a joke on us.
That’s one good looking ice cream cone!!
Well, it looks like black raspberry to me so I wouldn’t have known it was ube if you hadn’t told us. I wonder if it is as yummy as it looks.
PURPLE IS MY FAVORITE COLOR.DOES IT STAIN YOUR TEETH AND MAKE YOUR TONGUE CHANGE COLOR?
Ive had the pleasure of trying Ube with sweet beans, a type of sunday. Great flavor, and it did not stain.
doesn’t look like it would be good
Bi-Lo is too far away from Burlington! WE REALLY WANT YOUR ICE CREAM AND SWEET TEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, that’s Burlington, North Carolina
I live in Idaho and travel to the Philippines each year for about 3 months. Ube ice cream is always my first taste treat when I get there. It is great, wonderful, and extraordinary. Americans would gobble it up if they ever had access to it. I have always wondered why it is not in the States. If you ever get to experience the taste, you will find it is a cross between hazlenut, vanilla, and chocolate type flavor profiles. Actually, it has a taste of its own It is truly addicting. The purple color does not stain anything. Ube is basicaly a yam type root and the dried powder of the ube is used in baking cakes, ice cream, candies, etc.
[...] little while ago I posted a photo of ube ice cream here on the Ice Cream Journal. Many of you said it looked like blueberry ice cream, to which I [...]
It looks pretty good and yummy. do u think that it’ll be in China, since i’m going there soon? Purple is an awesome color!!
We go to Geneva Ohio every year for the annual grape festival. great wines too.
we get their grape ice cream and pies,
and they look like these but are all grape. yummy.
I use to enjoy ube ice cream when we lived on Okinawa. I’d like to know if you have a recipe for it.
Thank You,
Patti
We lived in the Philippine a short time & would LOVE to buy some Ube Ice Cream. It was one of ouur favorites while there. We have been missing it since. Where can i buy some near Brighton Michigan?!
Where can I buy some near brighton Michigan?
i just came back from the Phlippines last month from my first trip there and my now all time favorite dessert is called Halo halo it is made of fruits and Ube ice cream.. Ube ice cream is totally amazing and i crave it so much.. when i return to the Phils this will be my first request… mmmm!!!
To those of you who say “no thanks” to any dessert made with real, proper ube, I say, “Tsk.” Ube flavor is subtle, complex, earthy, starchy and completely distinct. There’s a reason why my fellow Filipinos use this exotic yam on nearly every dessert. (Best example: French opera cake done with ube instead of coffee and chocolate.) After a while, chocolate and berry flavors are overwhelming. Ube never cloys the senses; it’s a must-try. When trying out ube for the first time, go out of your way to get a dessert made with real mashed ube in it — and not just artificial ube flavoring.
My husband and I went to San Francisco 2 years ago and there’s a small ice cream store called Mitchell’s Ice cream which is in business since the 1950′s. They have tropical flavors, most of which are from the Philippines. I think they have the best Ube flavor, way better than the Philippines’ Magnolia and Selecta brands. My husband is white and he can attest that it has become one of his favorite flavors. Since then we have to stop by the store every time we go visit the Bay Area.
loved ube since i was a child! that’s how i received the name… If i didn’t come from a Filipino decent i might have missed out on this delicious flavor as a kid. Everything that I’ve tried – that has an ube base has been lovely. Once i had the soup… i almost fainted!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ubes-icecream-shop-san-francisco
Hello!
My husband and I just returned from a family vacation in the Phillippines and I tried Halo Halo. It is delicious!
The people there are polite and kind as well.
Bea
I love the unique flavor of ube ice cream. You can find it in most Asian supermarkets that sell Filipino products. I’ve made one when I was in culinary school using a simple Pumpkin ice cream recipe and substituting purple yam for pumpkin. You can also use powdered ube if you can’t find a frozen/fresh yams. There are also plenty of ube ice cream recipes online that you can try.
i just got back from a 2 week missions trip to the Philippines, and having many ube desserts, me and my team decided that it tastes exactly like the butter popcorn flavored jellybellies.
So is this a flavor that Turkey Hill is going to add? i Live in Lancaster and would love to know where to get it from
i have had the pleasure of eating ube ice cream since the 1960,s i was stationed in the philippines for 2 years and i lived in guam for 12 more years (yes they have ube ice cream there too. since the local population of guam is 60% philippino. and i love it on halo-halo i always say ummmm masarap
i was stationed in the Philippines for 2 years but had visited the islands for about 18 years or more and i lived in guam for 12 years %60 of guam are philippino so naturally they have ube ice cream and halo-halo loved it for years and all i can say is uuummmm maraming masarap
Traveling in australia, tried Ube, YUCK! bad aftertaste. Please do not add it to our Lancaster county flavors!. Yams are for Thanksgiving not ice cream! Tim from Denver
[...] subtle graininess of the parsnips complemented its earthy sweetness. It reminded me a little bit of Filipino purple ube ice cream. (Ube–pronounced ooo-bee–is a root vegetable common to the Philippines). A week later, [...]
I would love for Turkey Hill to add it to their roster. The closest flavor I can compare it to is pumpkin, but you just have to taste it to understand. I had it at a Filipino friend’s birthday party. I’ve been grabbing it at Asian grocery stores when I can (I live in New York City, after all). The only problem is that it’s mellorine rather than real ice cream and it usually costs $7 for 1.7 liters, whereas a container of Turkey Hill can often be had on sale for $2!
[...] Ube ice cream I know it’s a bit naughty to have ice cream, but at least this is made of purple yam. This starchy food ishigh in vitamins C and B6, so the ice cream is only a bit of a weekend treat! To wash all this down I’d recommend a glass of iced chai tea. Cheers! [...]
I’ve actually had this flavor before when I was stationed in Okinawa. It’s fantastic. And I don’t even like yams. I can’t really think of another flavor to try to describe what it tastes like, but it was definately my favorite flavor.
Ube ice cream is amazing, my favorite ice cream(: its creamy and sweet.. I really dont know how to describe it. but it doesnt taste like yams really… i have no idea, but its sooo delicious<3
Mitchell’s in San Francisco makes Ube, amongst many other Filipino flavors. It’s fantastic. The taste is more unique than the color. The purple yam was made for ice cream.
The tropical flavors from Mitchells:
http://www.mitchellsicecream.com/html/tropical_flavors.htm
i also recommend Macapuno…
I can’t forget an american who stayed in our apartment, here in Bohol Philippines, his name is Peter Geiger. He is a peace corps volunteer. He brought his parents here and they tried the ube ice cream, he said they were so amazed and loved the Ube ice cream that had them buy another gallon of it.(They were only three).
Ube ice cream is a very light ice cream (like every ice cream in the philippines) compared to US heavy flavor. I suggest you guys give this ice cream a chance.
I’ve had this, it’s so good! They are popular in China too.
I tried it yesterday. Now I’m all over the net trying to find out how to make this delicious desert! It comes from heaven!
We were on Molokai and had the UBE ice cream. I was wonderful. Went back to the same hotel for 3 night to have it for dessert. Could not find it on any other island tho.
All of you people who aren’t willing to try this are totally missing out. Ube is such an amazing flavor, but because it’s so unique its hard to describe. It’s not fruity. It has a sort of smooth sweetness, I suppose. It’s not at all overwhelming. You have to try it to understand. Find an Asian market, they’ll have Ube ice cream!
You totally CAN get it in the US! Like I said in my other post, find an Asian market! Of course, Mitchell’s in SF is top notch, but store bought is great, too. Btw, it’s pronounced Oo-Beh, not ooo-bee.
Had it in Singapore. It’s delicious.
Go on, be adventurous and try it if you can get it!
You can’t go better than a delicious ice cream in a fabulous colour!
Of course an alternative is the sweet corn ice cream that my husband tried in Singapore…
I am eating some right now! It is so delicious. It has a pleasant nutty taste. I got a gallon tub at the commissary on our base here in Washington state.
I have had ube ice cream on a number of occasions and it is a little scoop of heaven. A bit sweet, but very tasty. It is popular here in Hawaii and I have also had it in the Philippines. I’m not absolutely sure if it really is a yam, or actually a sweet potato. (Like the Okinawan sweet potato which is white on the outside and purple inside.)
Hi There Icecreamjournal,
Neat Post What is stopping you setting up an entrepreneurial job?
Great Job!
Ube Ice cream is very sweet and very addicting. That is the only way I can decribe the flavor when I tried it in the Philippines in 2010 is sweet. If you ever want to try it here in the US, I DO know that several Filipino Stores in Queens, New York DO carry that flavor of ice cream… especially around Astoria. Also check local asian markets and stores, if the do not carry it, I am sure they would NOT have a problem ordering it for you. But be forewarned… once you have tasted Ube Ice Cream… you are going to want MORE
This dessert is my fondest memory from the Philippines
I had Ube Ice Cream finally the second time I was in the Philippines, and I loved it! Delicious!!
to Chip Hardy if you check this! No idea where there is any near Brighton. We are looking around for Asian stores now my sister-in-law lives here and she’s from the Philippines. I didn’t see any in Lansing at the store we went to, or Ann Arbor. We have to head out towards Detroit soon to find more stuff.
Lived there for two years. Ube was a good cheap treat, but it definitely got old and I eventually started to dislike it. I can still taste it in my mouth and that was more than 15 years ago, lol. But, it was refreshing in the 115+ degree weather, that’s for sure. Everyone should try this