Ube Vs Taro – Ube, what is ube? When you look for ice cream with a new flavor at the local ice cream shop, sometimes you find something purple, but not raspberry or huckleberry, the new variant of ice cream turns out to be Ube flavored ice cream.
However, the research doesn’t stop there, you will soon find out a lot of information about ube. Ube also includes root vegetables such as sweet potatoes or taro, but these are not them but purple tuber vegetables called ube. Here we will review a lot about Ube Vs Taro. Stay tuned for this interesting article about Ube.
Ube Vs Taro, both are similar vegetables and grow in the same place and have the same general benefits. So, at first glance we see that both are the same, but because of the difference in color, of course there is a difference between the two.
They are root vegetables that have many benefits and are sometimes used in certain foods or in ice cream like ube. So, what is the difference between the two? Ube vs taro, at first glance they are similar but here we will look for the differences between these two root vegetables. From the outside, they both look the same, from the inside there will be a striking difference between the two. If the taro is pale cream with purple spots on the inside, while the ube has a contra color, it is purple, and this is very different from the taro.
Meanwhile, in terms of taste, ube vs taro also has its own taste. Taro tastes savory and is often used as a substitute for potatoes in cooking. While Ube has a much sweeter taste and is widely used in making desserts.
So far, we have seen the difference between the two. But actually, there are many other differences between these two root vegetables. So, keep reading this “ube vs taro” article to the end.
What is Ube?
What is Ube? Ube is a root vegetable like yam but purple in color, it comes from the Philippines. So ube is a root vegetable similar to other tubers. This tuber is a large or enlarged root part in the soil or above the soil surface, the use of this large part is to store plant nutrients during the dry season or until the normal growing season comes.
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The enlarged part of the root of this plant is then known by humans to have a delicious taste and rich in nutrients. Then humans make it as a healthy plant or a source of food rich in nutrients.
Maybe you are not familiar with this root vegetable, and when you explain it may be confusing. Ok, you often see potatoes, carrots, radishes and sweet potatoes, so the tubers of the Ube plant are more or less like that. It’s just that you side the difference in taste, color and nutrition. But the place of growth is the same and equally in the soil from plant roots.
Filipinos have long consumed ube as their staple food. It is even used to color foods such as puddings, flans, cakes, or you can say almost the same as using dragon fruit in giving food color. One of the most famous dishes from ube is Ube Halaya, this is a dessert that is typical of Filipinos.
Even though this vegetable is originally from the Philippines, it is very famous all over the world as a healthy food, especially among vegetarians. Fans of whole grain diets, such as nuts or plant foods, of course ube is a vegetable they often hear or even consume.
Food from ube is not only a favorite of Filipinos but outside the country it is also a dish that has many fans. Usually it is made as a dessert on many occasions.
What Does Ube Taste like?
As we mentioned above that ube has a sweeter taste than taro. But the level of taste is also influenced by the size of the ube and where it grows.
Besides being sweet, the taste of ube is also sometimes a bit spicy and earthy, or you can say it tastes like vanilla and pistachio. So, this root food is often added to ice cream to give it a more striking taste.
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In some places, ube is very difficult to find in its entirety, as an alternative you can consume ube which is extracted into ube powder or frozen ube. Ube in this form is widely available in stores. A whole ube is very limited because it doesn’t last long in storage.
How to Use Ube in a Recipe
Ube has many uses in a variety of sweet foods, it’s absolutely delicious, and make sure you try as much as you can in a variety of sweet foods.
Here are a few recipes that add ube and taste great, with a smooth and earthy texture.
Ube Ice Cream
Now a dish that uses a lot of ube is ice cream, it tastes sweet and is perfect for frozen meals or snacks. In addition, the purple color is also something that really attracts customers’ tastes.
Add the ube powder and freeze, you can also pound the ube in the cream mixture, then you proceed to the stirring process and immediately after that you can enjoy the ube frozen ice cream.
Ube Halaya
Another food that is very popular with ube ingredients is Ube Halaya. This is one of the traditional ways to present ube in desserts.
The Ube is jam-shaped, but it tastes more like a pudding, or as a chilled cake than many of the raspberries you’ll find.
How to make UBe Halaya is to add or mix mashed ube with condensed milk in a pan which is warmed with melted butter.
Now, after these three ingredients are mixed, stir until thickened, and cool before eating. So, you enjoy this ube halaya as a delicious cold food.
Traditionally, this mixture of ingredients is usually topped with grated coconut, caramelized coconut cream and can also be topped with sweetened condensed milk.
Ube Cookies
Then there are the so-called ube cookies. This is a recipe for food from ube by making it as a cookie. If you always use vanilla or cocoa powder in making cakes, try using ube powder every now and then. This will add delicacy to your food or cake, and your cake will also be purple in color. Interesting right!
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Ube Pancakes
Ube pancakes are also wrong with the ube recipe and taste different from regular pancakes. Just like making cookies with ube, it’s also very easy to include ube in your pancakes.
Add the ube in the pancake batter, that’s all you have to do, and you’re good to go. So it’s like when you add blue berries, cinnamon or voila. Now you can enjoy purple pancakes, sweet and spicy and of course healthy.
What is Taro?
To be clear about our explanation of Ube Vs Taro, then we also have to review about what Taro is like, what taro is, the uses of taro, and some recipes and later we will mention about the nutritional comparison between Ube and Taro.
Ok, the first thing we have to know about Taro is that he is not a tuber, unlike ube. The part of the taro that becomes food or is often eaten is the corm. Corm is part of the root which has the same function as tuber fungi but there is a difference in the additional side of the basal plate.
The difference between ube vs taor also lies in the leaves, where the taor leaves are much larger than the ube plant. Where the leaves grow on the corm that is often eaten. The leaves shade the roots but the leaves can also be consumed as well as spinach.
Confusing? Ok, indeed these underground vegetables are similar but biologically they are different from one type to another.
Taro has the largest distribution area in the world in the Pacific Ocean. It grows from China to Hawaii. But if you ask where it came from, it’s not certain. But what he believes is a plant from Southeast Asia.
What Does Taro Taste Like?
Since we also discussed what ube tastes like, so now we also need to discuss what taro tastes like?
Taro, as we mentioned above, is not as sweet as ube, but this corm is savory and a bit like vanilla.
The structure of the taro remains intact even when cooked, it does not melt or crumble like other root vegetables. Sometimes people use it as a substitute for potatoes because of its savory and earthy taste.
This tuber tastes a bit spicy and savory, the spicy taste is subtle and it absorbs flavors in other foods. This makes us who consume taro in dishes sometimes confused about the original taste.
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How to Use Taro in a Recipe
The use of taro also varies in daily meals or in traditional recipes. If we look at the types of Taro, there are so many around the world, sometimes it is difficult for us to explain about Taro perfectly. This sometimes confuses a lot of people because some of them see a different taro.
Ok, here are some ways to use Taro in cooking or as food.
Taro Chips
Maybe you often make potato chips, that’s how to make taro chips. Start by slicing the taro root as thinly as you can slice a potato, using a sharp knife or a special slicer.
This taro piece can be cooked in a fried way like french fries or it can also be roasted using a microwave. How to bake taro chips is to place them on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, set the temperature at 400 degrees and bake for 20 minutes.
The chef suggests that the taro be washed before frying to reduce the starch content so that it is crispy when grilled or fried.
Taro Latkes
Taro is also a creative food called latkes. Use a cheese grater but set to the largest size, use it to slice the taro into small pieces.
Just like when making taro chips, wash them thoroughly after cutting to reduce the starch content so that the results are crispy. Fry in vegetable oil and season with a little kosher salt and this crunchy treat is ready to eat.
Ube Vs Taro – Nutritional Content
We have read a review on how to use Taro vs Ube. Sometimes you ask what about the nutritional content of both. Does Ube have nutrition like Taro or vice versa. Check out the following reviews
Just like other foods, actually taro or ube is a healthy food. But if you put the ube in ice cream or fry the taro in peanut oil, it will be less healthy to eat. However, if the root itself is rich in nutrients, it’s just that the processing to food sometimes makes it less healthy.
What are the health benefits of consuming ube or taro. Let’s look at the nutritional content, from here we will know how they are, whether they are beneficial for health or vice versa.
Ube Nutrition Facts
In terms of texture, ube is similar to other sweet potatoes which are rich in carbohydrates and fiber. Fiber-rich foods such as ube are very good for health and experts say that consuming ube is important to fulfill fiber. In addition to fiber, it is rich in B vitamins, thiamine, niacin as antioxidants.
Ube has its own characteristics, its purple color often grabs a lot of attention. The purple color is similar to the purple color found in some types of sweet potato and this has the added benefit of the ube.
If the orange color of the sweet potato indicates the carotenoid content, the purple color of the sweet potato indicates that this root vegetable contains anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are anti-inflammatory substances and this is the reason why you should eat Ube.
Taro Nutrition Facts
Taro also has the same texture as ube. This shows that taro also contains most of the same nutrients as ube, especially in its carbohydrate and fiber content.
Fiber has important health benefits because it helps remove toxins from the body through the elimination of waste or food waste. While the carbohydrate content provides our body with energy.
Another nutrient from Taro is manganese, the benefit of manganese is that it helps the body’s metabolic system, is also good for bones, and keeps blood flowing smoothly without clotting.
Taro is also rich in potassium and the benefit of potassium is to keep blood pressure stable, it helps the breakdown of salt in the body.
Ok, that’s the explanation of Ube Vs taro, which one is the tastiest, the most preferred or the one with the most nutritional content. We have discussed everything, hopefully this review adds to our knowledge about the benefits of root vegetables, especially the benefits of ube and taro and we know the comparison between them or Ube vs Taro.
