Ube Jam (Ube Halaya)- How to Make

Ube jam, also known as Ube Halaya or Filipino jam, is one of the traditional Filipino desserts made using purple yam.

It is typically eaten on its own as a pudding or added as a flavor to other ube desserts like cakes, cookies, ice cream, and just as the name suggests, is also eaten on toast just like jam.

Purple being my favorite color, ube first came to my attention because of its color. I loved the fact that yam could produce such a lovely natural color without any additional artificial food color.

I grew up eating lots of sweet potatoes and have seen them in cream, orange and purple colors. And when I came across ube online, my first thought was that ube is purple sweet potato. But after much research, I realized ube and sweet potatoes are not the same.

Purple Yam vs Purple Sweet Potato vs Taro

In my quest for learning more about ube, I came across the terms purple yam, purple sweet potato and taro being referred to when explaining what an ube is and which of these categories it belongs to.

So there seems to be a consensus (at least from my understanding) that ube is a yam. But how is yam different from taro? After much reading, I was somehow able to differentiate taro from the yam and the sweet potato.

Taro has a completely different outer skin (dark brown) and has an almost white interior with very light purple spots. In fact, it is what we call 'keladi' in Malay (in Malaysia) or 'yam' in English.

Purple yam (ube) and purple sweet potatoes have almost identical shapes, outer skin texture (some are dark brown and some lighter brown) and flesh color (both come in vivid purple flesh). And from what I read online, both are said to taste very much the same too.

While I have eaten a lot of purple sweet potatoes growing up, I am not sure if I have eaten purple yam or ube before. From the images I see online (even those originating from the Philippines), both the ube (yam) and purple sweet potatoes seem identical and difficult to differentiate.

I went around looking for purple yams in local stores here and what I got when I asked for yam is actually taro. And then of course there are lots of purple sweet potatoes but not purple yams. My wild guess is that purple yam could be an in-between vegetable breed between my local taros and purple sweet potatoes or they could be what purple sweet potatoes are called in the Philippines.

Ube treats

Either way, I was not going to give up on making my ube treats. I have a list of goodies I intend to make with ube like ube cake and ube cheesecake, and the ube jam in this post is the first. It is made using purple sweet potatoes as we call them here in Malaysia and the closest variant I can find of the ube. If you are unable to find ube that is specifically called ube, you can always use purple sweet potatoes to make this delicious recipe.

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How to Make the Jam

This recipe is for ube jam made using fresh ube and not grated ube or ube powder.

Ingredients

• Ube (Purple Yam/Purple Sweet Potatoes)
• Condensed milk
• Full fat coconut milk
• Butter
• Salt

Preparing the Ube

Since ube is grown underground, it is often covered in dirt (soil). Washing it thoroughly helps remove the dirt but I prefer to remove the skin completely before cooking it just to be sure.

1. Start by rinsing the ube to remove the dirt.
2. Next, chop into large peices.
3. Peel the skin by cutting it off using a sharp knife.
4. Once the skin the peeled, chop each piece into smaller pieces. This helps them cook faster.

1. Rinse the chopped ube in water. Place them in a medium-sized pot and fill the pot with water such that the ube is all submerged below the water level.
2. Boil the ube pieces over medium-low heat until they become soft.
3. To test, lift out a piece of ube onto a plate and use a fork to break it. If it breaks easily, the ube is cooked. Depending on the size of the ube pieces, this would take between 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Drain out all the water. You can do this by pouring out the ube along with the water into a colander and let the water drain off completely.

Making the ube jam

The next step is mashing the ube. While the cooked ube is soft and can be literally mashed with a fork, or a potato masher, you might not be able to achieve a completely smooth texture, and it can be laborious for your hands.

I find using the blender a better option. You can also use a food processor or an immersion blender.

1. Place the cooked ube pieces into the blender.
2. Add the coconut milk
3. Add the condensed milk.
4. Blend the ube until smooth. You may need to constantly use a long spoon or stirrer to stir the ube in the blender for it to operate smoothly. Or you can use the 'pulse' function.

1. Pour the smoothly blended ube paste into a saucepan.Turn on the stove to a low flame.
2. Add the butter and the salt.
3. Cook the ube jam over low heat for about 45 minutes. Stir the jam constantly, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan continuously to avoid the jam from sticking to the bottom of the pot or pan. Also, towards the end of the cooking process, as the jam starts to thicken, it will start spitting. Keep the lid on when you are not stirring.
4. The jam will thicken further (to a spreadable consistency) as it cools down so you need not cook it until it is completely thickened. You can test by using your spoon to scrape the jam across the pan. If it stays in place, the jam is done. Remove it from heat.

Storing the jam

• Let the jam cool down completely to room temperature before storing in a glass jar or a mason jar. Keep the lid of the pan on as you cool the jam to prevent skin from forming on it. Remove the lid every 30 minutes or so to wipe away the steam condensation on it.
• Keep the jam refrigerated. Consume it within one week. You can also freeze it for up to one month for a longer shelf life.

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Notes

Where can you find ube or purple yam?

• You can find ube in Asian market or Asian supermarkets.

What can you make with the jam?

• You can enjoy this jam on its own as a bread spread. You can also use it as ube flavor in ice creams and sweet breads.

Can you make the jam with frozen grated yam?

• Yes, you can. However, the grated ube has to be cooked first, similar to using fresh yam.

Like this delicious dessert recipe? Here are my other ube recipes and other treats you might want to check out:

• Small Batch Strawberry Jam - A Homemade Recipe without Pectin
• Pineapple Jam Recipe - How to Make Pineapple Jam without Pectin
• Mango Jam - 3 Ingredients Homemade Recipe
• Jam Filled Shortbread Cookies with Homemade Mango Jam
• Ube Ice Cream (Purple Yam Ice Cream)
• Ube Rolls - Soft and Fluffy Twisted Bread Rolls

Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full printable version of my ube halaya recipe (ube jam).

And that's that. My simple and easy ube jam (ube halaya) recipe for you.

Enjoy!