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Ways to use ube, and where it comes from.

Real ube is only as good as what you make with it. Here are a few starting points, and why the real, farm-grown yam beats a synthetic stand-in.

Vivid violet ube poured from a ceramic jug into a striped cup, with an iced ube latte alongside on a marble kitchen counter.
An iced ube latte, mixed at home.
Ways to use it

From the counter to the kitchen.

Earthy, gently sweet, almost vanilla-like: Ube Kinampay tastes the way its colour looks. It folds into milk, doughs and bases for an earthy-sweet note and a vivid violet that’s the yam’s own, not a dye.

  • Iced & hot lattes

    Whisk into milk for a vivid violet latte, hot or over ice.

  • Ube matcha

    Violet ube milk under a green matcha shot: two layers, two colours, built for iced menus.

  • Milk tea & bubble tea

    Shake into milk tea with tapioca pearls for an ube boba.

  • Soft-serve & ice cream

    Folds into bases for colour and an earthy-sweet note.

  • Pastry cream & fillings

    Colours crème pâtissière, buttercream and tart fillings.

  • Breads & pandesal

    Tints enriched doughs: ube pandesal, brioche, milk bread.

  • Halaya

    The classic slow-cooked ube jam, the heart of many desserts.

  • Cakes & cookies

    Sponge, basque cheesecake, cookies and financiers.

Mixing guide

Getting the colour you want.

Ube Kinampay is a fine, pure powder that mixes into water and milk. Three habits make the difference between a smooth, vivid cup and a patchy one.

  1. Make a paste first

    Whisk the powder with a splash of warm water or milk until it’s smooth, then pour in the rest. Tipped straight into a full glass, it can clump.

  2. Start small, then build

    Begin with the amounts below and add more for a deeper colour and a stronger, earthier flavour.

  3. Steer the colour

    The shade follows the acidity of whatever it’s mixed into, so the same spoonful can land blue, violet or pink.

Starting amounts

Latte, hot or iced 2 tsp (about 5 g) per 250 ml milk Up to 1 tbsp for a deeper violet. Sweeten to taste.
Ube matcha, layered About 5 g ube per 250 ml milk, matcha on top Whisk the ube into the milk, pour it over ice, then float the matcha shot on top so the layers hold.
Milk tea & bubble tea About 5 g per 250 ml milk Scale with the milk in the cup, not the ice.
Soft-serve & ice cream 25–40 g per litre of base Blend it into the base before churning.
Pastry cream & buttercream 1 tbsp (about 8 g) per 250 g Loosen with a splash of milk if it stiffens.
Breads & cakes Swap 5–10% of the flour That’s 25–50 g in a dough made with 500 g of flour.
Halaya Rehydrate it first Soak in warm water to a thick paste, then cook it down slowly with coconut milk and condensed milk.

Steering the colour

  • Bluer Alkaline

    Bicarbonate of soda and hard tap water push it towards blue.

  • Violet Neutral

    Water and most milks keep it close to its natural violet.

  • Pinker Acidic

    Lemon or lime juice, yoghurt, buttermilk, cream cheese and fruit purées pull it towards pink.

Baking? Bicarbonate of soda can turn a bake blue-grey. For a violet crumb, use baking powder instead or balance the soda with a little yoghurt or buttermilk. Heat and light soften the colour over time, so expect a bake to come out a shade paler than its batter.

Storage

Keep the pouch sealed in a cool, dry place (15–25°C), out of direct sunlight. Reseal it straight after each use and finish it within 3 months of opening. If the powder smells off or has caked, don’t use it.

Five small glass dishes in a row, each holding a mound of vivid violet Ube Kinampay powder, on a pale background.
The colour is the yam, not a dye.
Real vs synthetic

Real ube, not an imitation.

A lot of what’s sold as “ube” never saw a yam. It’s purple sweet potato (a different plant) or ube flavouring topped up with purple colouring. The vivid shade is usually a dye.

Ours is the actual yam: Ube Kinampay, a heritage Filipino purple yam (Dioscorea alata) grown in the Philippines. It’s a pure powder with no fillers, flavourings or colourings. The violet is the yam’s own pigment, which is why it drifts bluer in alkaline mixes and pinker in acidic ones. A dye can’t do that.

One heritage variety, with nothing added.

Nutrition

What’s in it.

Typical values per 100 g of powder. A serving is small, so a cup gets a fraction of these figures.

  • High in fibre 9.6 g per 100 g
  • No added sugars 100% ube, nothing added
  • Low in fat 0.5 g per 100 g
  • Low in salt 0.22 g per 100 g
Typical values Per 100 g
Energy 1488 kJ / 351 kcal
Fat 0.5 g
of which saturates 0.1 g
Carbohydrate 77 g
of which sugars 13 g
Fibre 9.6 g
Protein 5.3 g
Salt 0.22 g

Start with the powder.

The same Ube Kinampay, in sizes for home or service.

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