{{short description|Filipino ice cream made with purple yam}} {{Use Philippine English|date=February 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox food | name = Ube ice cream | image = Ube Ice Cream (Philippines) 02.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Ube ice cream in the Philippines | alternate_name = Purple yam ice cream | country = The Philippines | region = | creator = | type = Ice cream | served = Cold | main_ingredient = | variations = | calories = | other = }}
'''Ube ice cream''' is a Filipino ice cream flavor prepared using ube (purple yam, not to be confused with taro/purple sweet potato) as the main ingredient. The ice cream is often used in the making of the dessert halo-halo.
==History== [[File:Ube Macapuno.jpg|thumb|left|Ube–macapuno ice cream, served in Hawaii]] Due to its vivid and vibrant violet colour and a moderately sweet and nutty taste, ube has been a staple of Filipino desserts, most notably ube halaya. The earliest recorded use of ube in ice cream was in a recipe from 1922,<ref name=YamHistory>{{cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/ube-the-philippine-purple-yam-more-popular-than-vanilla/|title=Ube: The Philippine Purple Yam (More Popular Than Vanilla!)|last=Valdeavilla|first=Ronica|date=June 8, 2018|publisher=The Culture Trip|access-date=May 28, 2019|archive-date=May 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518192419/https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/ube-the-philippine-purple-yam-more-popular-than-vanilla/|url-status=dead}}</ref> when ice cream's introduction to Filipino culture during the American occupation (as the local adaptation sorbetes) led to new flavors like mango, pinipig, and melon. The recipe called for mashed ube, milk, sugar, and crushed ice.<ref name=YamHistory /> During that time, ice cream was also hand-churned in a ''garapinyera'', a manually operated ice cream mixer.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cnnphilippines.com/life/leisure/food/2016/10/14/ube-cover-story.html|title=All hail ube, the culinary gem we took for granted|last=Bueno|first=Anna|date=October 14, 2016|website=CNN Philippines|access-date=May 28, 2019|archive-date=September 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906041411/http://www.cnnphilippines.com/life/leisure/food/2016/10/14/ube-cover-story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Ube ice cream<ref>{{cite web |title=Ube Ice Cream Recipe |url=https://www.pinoyrecipe.net/ube-ice-cream-recipe/ |website=Pinoy Recipe At Iba Pa|access-date=June 16, 2017}}</ref> has risen in popularity outside the Philippines, due to its use by Filipino immigrants in restaurants (often with halo-halo) and Trader Joe's line of ube products,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Ube Craze at Trader Joe's Doesn't Have to End at the Grocery Chain |url=https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/trader-joes-ube-products|website=Thrillist|date=July 2021 |access-date=April 4, 2022}}</ref> its vivid violet color and the spread of its pictures on social media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grubstreet.com/amp/2017/08/ube-ice-cream.html|title=Is Ube the New Matcha?|last=Crowley|first=Chris|date=August 10, 2017|publisher=Grub Street|access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/p/ube-ice-cream-is-the-flavor-of-summer-2019-but-heres-what-filipinx-folks-want-you-to-know-18162285|last=Bumatay|first=Christine|title=Ube Ice Cream Is The Flavor Of Summer 2019, But Here's What Filipino Folks Want You To Know|date=July 2, 2019|publisher=Bustle|access-date=July 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/popular-ingredients/what-is-ube|last=Fisher|first=Laura|title=What Is an Ube and Why Is It So Trendy Right Now?|date=July 16, 2019|publisher=Real Simple|access-date=March 28, 2020}}</ref>
==Use in halo-halo== [[File:6078Baliuag_Bulacan_Landmarks_during_the_2020_coronavirus_pandemic_09.jpg|200px|thumb|Ube ice cream in halo-halo, alongside ube halaya (darker purple).]] Ube ice cream is a common but not essential ingredient in halo-halo, a popular Filipino dessert consisting of a mix of various ingredients, such as coconut, sago, sweetened beans, slices of fruit such as jackfruit or mango, leche flan and nata de coco, and ube itself in halaya form. Ube is seen as an essential ingredient of halo-halo due to lending the dessert its distinctive flavor and violet color. Thus, ube ice cream may be used in place of or together with ube halaya. Since evaporated milk is another essential ingredient of halo-halo, using ube ice cream as well makes for a creamier recipe. On the other hand, many halo-halo recipes avoid using ube ice cream (and fruit-flavored ice cream in general) for this very reason, as the creaminess and sweetness of the ice cream may overpower or throw off the balance of the halo-halo's other ingredients, and so these versions use ube halaya instead.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bon-appetit-halo-halo-wrong_n_58139a0ee4b0990edc3100db/amp|title=Bon Appétit Whitewashed Halo Halo and Filipinos Are Pissed|date=October 28, 2016|website=Huffington Post|access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-halo-halo-vegetable-root-ice-cream-made-mamasons-philippines-2018-10|title=We tried a popular Filipino dessert called halo-halo that has ube ice cream in it|date=December 26, 2018|website=Business Insider|access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://filipino.kitchen/article/great-halo-halo-secret-filipino-dessert|title=The Secret To Great Halo-Halo|last=Pablo|first=Sarahlynn|date=October 5, 2014|publisher=Filipino Kitchen|access-date=May 28, 2019|archive-date=April 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424192439/http://filipino.kitchen/article/great-halo-halo-secret-filipino-dessert|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== * Queso ice cream * Sili ice cream * Ube cake * Ube crinkles * Ube latte
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{commonscat-inline}}
{{Philippine cuisine}} {{Ice cream}}
Category:Philippine desserts Category:Flavors of ice cream Ice cream