Ube, taro or purple sweet potato: how to tell them apart
Three root vegetables, similar shades and plenty of confusion: on bubble tea menus, in desserts and sometimes on labels, ube, taro and purple sweet potato are often mistaken for one another. Yet they are neither the same plants nor the same flavours. Here is how to tell them apart, and what real ube powder actually contains.
In short
- Ube is a purple yam (Dioscorea alata): deep purple flesh and a gentle, vanilla-like taste.
- Taro (Colocasia esculenta) has creamy-white flesh flecked with lilac and a nutty, starchier taste.
- Purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) has denser purple flesh with a sweet, earthy taste.
| Criterion | Ube | Taro | Purple sweet potato |
|---|---|---|---|
| Botanical name | Dioscorea alata | Colocasia esculenta | Ipomoea batatas |
| Family | Dioscoreaceae (yams) | Araceae (arum family) | Convolvulaceae (morning glory family) |
| Part eaten | Tuber | Corm, an underground stem | Storage root |
| Flesh | Purple, from lavender to deep violet | Creamy white, flecked with lilac | Purple, sometimes marbled with white |
| Taste | Light vanilla sweetness, roasted nuts | Nutty, barely sweet | Sweet and earthy |
| Cooked texture | Soft and moist | Starchy, slightly sticky | Dense and drier |
| Typical uses | Filipino desserts (ube halaya, halo-halo), lattes | Bubble tea, Asian desserts and savoury dishes | Mash, baking, Japanese sweets (beni imo) |
Ube, the purple yam of the Philippines
Ube is the Filipino name for Dioscorea alata, a yam that grows on a climbing vine and forms tubers with purple flesh. Its colour comes from anthocyanins, natural pigments: they are what tint desserts, with no added colouring. In the Philippines, ube is the base of ube halaya, a thick jam, and goes into halo-halo, cakes and ice cream.
Its taste is gentle and lightly sweet, with vanilla and nutty notes; cooked, the flesh is soft. UBÉRA powder is finely ground purple yam, packed in Switzerland: in a latte, it offers a light vanilla sweetness that opens onto notes of roasted hazelnut, almond and pistachio.
Taro, a completely different plant
Taro (Colocasia esculenta) belongs to another family altogether, the arum family. What we eat is the corm, a swollen underground stem with brown, fibrous skin. Its flesh is creamy white, dotted with small lilac flecks; the taste is nutty, with a starchier texture than ube.
Taro is always eaten cooked: raw, it contains calcium oxalate crystals that irritate the mouth. Across Asia it is cooked into desserts, savoury dishes and bubble tea. The bright purple of some “taro” drinks comes from added colouring or a blend with ube or purple sweet potato: taro flesh itself stays pale.
Purple sweet potato, a distant cousin
The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is neither a yam nor a taro: it belongs to the morning glory family. Some varieties have purple flesh, coloured by the same pigments as ube, such as Okinawa's beni imo. Hence the confusion, reinforced by North American usage, where sweet potatoes are sometimes called “yams”.
On the palate, the difference is clear: purple sweet potato is sweeter and earthier, and its cooked flesh denser and drier. It colours baking well, but lacks ube's vanilla-like aroma.
How to recognise real ube powder
On a pouch, the ingredient list tells you everything. Pure ube powder lists purple yam (Dioscorea alata, or ube) as its only ingredient. “Ube latte” mixes often add sugar, milk powder, flavourings or colouring, and a powder labelled “taro” or “sweet potato” is not ube.
UBÉRA powder is 100% purple yam: no added sugar, no colouring, no caffeine. Its colour and taste come from ube alone. See the sizes.
Frequently asked questions
Is ube the same as taro?
No. Ube is a yam (Dioscorea alata); taro is a plant from another family (Colocasia esculenta). Both are used in desserts, hence the confusion, but their flesh, taste and texture differ.
Is taro purple?
Not really: its flesh is creamy white, flecked with lilac. The bright purple of some taro drinks comes from added colouring or a blend with ube or purple sweet potato.
Can you replace ube with purple sweet potato?
For colour, partly. The taste changes: purple sweet potato is sweeter and earthier, without ube's vanilla notes, and its texture is denser.
What does ube taste like?
Gentle and lightly sweet, with no bitterness. In a latte, UBÉRA powder offers a light vanilla sweetness that opens onto notes of roasted hazelnut, almond and pistachio.