''Ube halaya'' or ''halayang ube'' (also spelled ''halea'', ''haleya''; ) is a Filipino

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

made from boiled and mashed purple yam ('' Dioscorea alata'', locally known as ''ube''). Ube halaya is the main base in ube/ purple yam flavored-pastries and

ube ice cream Ube ice cream is a Filipino cuisine, Filipino ice cream flavor prepared using Dioscorea alata, 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 h ...

. It can also be incorporated in other desserts such as '' halo-halo''. It is also commonly

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as ube jam, or called by its original native name, ''nilupak na ube''.

History

The

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

shows the highest

phenotypic In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (physical form and structure), its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological propert ...

diversity of ube ('' Dioscorea alata''), making it one of the likely centers of origin of ube

domestication Domestication is a multi-generational Mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship in which an animal species, such as humans or leafcutter ants, takes over control and care of another species, such as sheep or fungi, to obtain from them a st ...

. Remains of ube have been recovered from the Ille Cave archaeological site of Palawan (c. 11,000 BP).

Preparation

The main ingredient is peeled and boiled purple yam which is grated and mashed. The mashed yam, with

condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...

(originally sweetened

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

), are added to a saucepan where butter or

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The ...

had been melted. The mixture is stirred until thickened. Once thickened, the mixture is cooled down and placed on a platter or into containers of various shapes. ''Ube halaya'' is typically served cold, after refrigeration. Optional toppings include browned grated coconut,

latik ''Latík'' () refers to two different coconut-based ingredients in Filipino cuisine. In the Visayan region it refers to a syrupy caramelized coconut cream (coconut caramel) used as a dessert sauce. In the northern Philippines, it refers to ...

, or condensed milk.

Variations

''Ube halaya'' is a type of '' nilupak'' (mashed/pounded starchy food with coconut milk and sugar) which has several variants that use other types of starchy root crops or fruits. Generally, the term ''halaya'' is reserved for ''nilupak'' made with ube and

calabaza Calabaza is the generic name in the Spanish language for any type of winter squash. Within an English-language context it specifically refers to the West Indian pumpkin, a winter squash typically grown in the West Indies, tropical America, and t ...

, while ''nilupak'' is more commonly used for variants made with mashed

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

or saba bananas. Variants made from

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...

and

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

can be known as either ''halaya'' or ''nilupak''. ''Ube halaya'' also superficially resembles '' kalamay ube'', but differs in that ''kalamay ube'' additionally uses ground glutinous rice ('' galapong'') and has smoother more viscous texture.

Ube macapuno

''Ube halaya'' served with macapuno (coconut sport) is a notable combination known as '' ube macapuno''. The combination is also used in other ube recipes, like in ube cakes and ube ice cream.

Camote halaya

''Camote halaya'', sometimes known as "camote delight" or "sweet potato jam", is a variant that uses mashed

(''camote'') instead of ube. It is prepared identically to ube halaya. It has a light yellow color to bright orange to purple color, depending on the cultivar of sweet potato used. It is traditionally known as ''nilupak na kamote'', especially when served on banana leaves. Purple versions of ''camote halaya'' can sometimes be confused with or used as a substitute for ube halaya.

Halayang kalabasa

''Halayang kalabasa'', also known as "squash ''halaya''" or "pumpkin jam", is a variant that uses mashed

(''kalabasa''). It is prepared identically to ube halaya. It is typically orange to light brown in color.

Binagol

'' Binagol'' is a unique version from the

Eastern Visayas Eastern Visayas (; ; ; ) is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands: Samar, Leyte, and Biliran. The region has six provinces: Biliran, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Easte ...

which use mashed giant taro

corm Corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen, underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ''c ...

s. It is distinctively sold in halved coconut shells. It can range in color from creamy white to brown.

Nilupak na ube at gabi

''Nilupak na ube at gabi'' is a Tagalog version that combines ube with taro corms.

References

* OnAlejandro, R., & Tettoni, L. (2012). ''Authentic Recipes from the Philippines.'' New York: Tuttle Pub. {{Filipino food Philippine desserts Halaya