This story was first published on June 24, 2021. With its eye-catching color and sweet-but-subtle flavor, ube has been on dessert menus everywhere over the past few years. A staple in Filipino cooking for generations, ube became Instagram-famous around 2016, crossing into full-on food trend status thanks to bakers showcasing bright purple ube doughnuts, cheesecakes, ice creams and more. Even if you’re late to the purple party, it’s still worth giving this vibrant vegetable a shot.
These are not interchangeable in most recipes; taro has a more neutral flavor that is similar to white potatoes, and is great for curries, stews and mashes, as well as for frying and roasting. Taro milk tea is a popular Taiwanese bubble tea flavor, with the taro serving as a thickener. In sweet applications like this, you can swap taro for ube, and you’ll just want to adjust the amount of additional sweetener accordingly.