Food Ingredients Vegetables Sweet Potato 5 Vibrant Ways to Use Ube Prepare a purple beverage, burger, cake, or pie with the colorful tuber. By Food & Wine Editors Food & Wine Editors This is collaborative content from Food & Wine's team of experts, including staff, recipe developers, chefs, and contributors. Many of our galleries curate recipes or guides from a variety of sources which we credit throughout the content and at each link. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on January 2, 2024 Trending Videos Photo: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Kay E. Clarke Ube is a purple tuber native to the Philippines and it's been called a cultural phenomenon. The plant — which is considered a yam or sweet potato — is a natural source of food coloring, and you may have seen it having a moment on social media and in viral dishes like Paolo Dungca and Tom Cunanan's Tocino Burger at Pogiboy in Washington, D.C. California flavor maker T. Hasegawa USA named ube its 2024 Flavor of the Year in its annual food and beverage trend report in December. Here's everything you need to know about the ingredient, including where to find it, how to store it, various ube products, plus a few recipes for working with ube this year, including that purple burger, a cocktail, and two desserts. 01 of 05 Halo-Halo Cocktail Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Ube milk gives this concoction its vivid purple hue. At The Baldwin Bar in Woburn, Massachusetts, Justin Ang blends it with silver rum, cacaçha, lime juice, and pineapple juice, and tops the drink with an array of garnishes that echo its namesake dessert. Get the Recipe 02 of 05 Ube Basque Cakes Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Kay E. Clarke These buttery cakes are filled with a creamy and mildly sweet ube pastry cream and tart huckleberries and then finished with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. They're from 2022 F&W Best New Chefs Timothy Flores and Genie Kwon of Kasama, a modern Filipino bakery and restaurant in Chicago. Get the Recipe 03 of 05 Ube Buns Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Kay E. Clarke These vibrant purple buns — which serve as hamburger buns for the famous Tocino Burger at PogiBoy in Washington, D.C. — are soft and bouncy with a tight, fluffy crumb, making them a great base for a burger. Get the Recipe 04 of 05 Tocino Burgers Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Kay E. Clarke Each layer of this show-stopping Pogiboy burger is delicious on its own, and combined, they come together to create a craveable bite with just enough sweet to balance the savory. Get the Recipe 05 of 05 Purple Sweet Potato Pie with Coconut and Five-Spice Christopher Testani This ube pie is seasoned with five-spice seasoning and topped with toasted oats, pecans, and coconut. Filipino Americans, Taiwanese, and Southeast Asian populations who make up a vital part of Baltimore’s culture influenced the dessert from Krystal Mack's much beloved and now-shuttered BLK//SUGAR bakery. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit