Christmas of last year I received a container of ube halaya from a friend working at the state airline company. Apparently, this ube has long been famous among PAL ground and air crew, and when I had a spoonful of it I realized it had every reason for being so.
It is not as smooth as Good Shepherd ube, but chunky. Not chunky with big cuts of unmashed ube, but with uniformly diced bits, chewy and unctuous in its own right. I was actually surprised to find I prefer this kind of ube texture. It is a mouthful, and doesn’t feel like it approximates infant food.
I have never been one with the chunky camp – I avoid rocky road ice cream, and I dislike nuts in the chocolate bars I eat. I don’t like chunky peanut butter, because I eat it mainly as spread, and I like a smooth spread on bread.
But as for ube – you can’t help but eat it on its own. It’s good incorporated in other things, yes, like in ensaymada, or hopia, or in ice cream, and even in siopao. But generally it is served as halaya or haleya, to be spooned like pudding for a sweet recap after a meal.
And ube this good deserves to be relished on its own, undiluted. Creamy, rich, not overly sweet, every fiber of the purple yam announces itself. And once you've popped a mouthful you're not going to stop anytime soon. The lumpiness of this ube makes sure of that.
Ube this good needs to be eaten alone, because I can’t help but close my eyes and moan while taking every spoonful. Sinful.
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It is not as smooth as Good Shepherd ube, but chunky. Not chunky with big cuts of unmashed ube, but with uniformly diced bits, chewy and unctuous in its own right. I was actually surprised to find I prefer this kind of ube texture. It is a mouthful, and doesn’t feel like it approximates infant food.
I have never been one with the chunky camp – I avoid rocky road ice cream, and I dislike nuts in the chocolate bars I eat. I don’t like chunky peanut butter, because I eat it mainly as spread, and I like a smooth spread on bread.
But as for ube – you can’t help but eat it on its own. It’s good incorporated in other things, yes, like in ensaymada, or hopia, or in ice cream, and even in siopao. But generally it is served as halaya or haleya, to be spooned like pudding for a sweet recap after a meal.
And ube this good deserves to be relished on its own, undiluted. Creamy, rich, not overly sweet, every fiber of the purple yam announces itself. And once you've popped a mouthful you're not going to stop anytime soon. The lumpiness of this ube makes sure of that.
Ube this good needs to be eaten alone, because I can’t help but close my eyes and moan while taking every spoonful. Sinful.
Cakes, Pastries and Beyond
by Leslie Umali
(63) 916-3631631
(63-2) 6815745
Related Posts
Good Shepherd Products
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Crema de Fruta
3 comments:
yummm.. i loooove ube so much
very nice for merienda at christmas time!
-lou
Yes don't we all love ube? And it's great any time of the day!
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