Ube: Ang Lila na Kamote
If you've seen purple ice cream, purple lattes, or purple cookies on social media — you've seen the influence of ube, the Filipino purple yam.
What Is Ube?
Ube (pronounced OO-beh) is Dioscorea alata, a species of yam native to Southeast Asia. It has a stunning natural purple color and a subtle, sweet flavor often described as a cross between vanilla and pistachio.
A Filipino Staple for Centuries
Long before ube went viral on Instagram, it was a cornerstone of Filipino desserts: - Ube halaya — a thick, sweet jam made by cooking mashed ube with condensed milk - Ube ice cream — arguably the most popular ice cream flavor in the Philippines - Halo-halo — the iconic shaved ice dessert, almost always includes ube - Ube crinkles — chewy cookies with that signature purple color
Our Ube Crinkle Cookies
At Benito's Kitchen, we use real ube extract — not artificial food coloring. Our ube crinkle cookies are: - Chewy on the inside, slightly crispy outside - Rolled in powdered sugar for that classic crinkle pattern - Made with real purple yam for authentic flavor and color
The purple color you see? That's nature, not a lab.