You might have noticed more and more people at the grocery store buying bright purple potatoes. The trendy Willy Wonka-hued veggie is actually called ube.
“Trying new foods is one of the best ways to keep boredom at bay and make healthy eating a regular part of your day-to-day lifestyle,” she adds.Pronounced “ooh-bae,” ube is a purple spud related to the orange sweet potatoes you probably already eat regularly. Though similar to sweet taters in shape and size, ube has darker skin and deep purple flesh.
Though ube is originally native to the Philippines, it’s recently become an international sensation for its unique color and sweet, starchy flavor. “Ube’s dark purple hue is definitely a fun and playful color to use in cooking and baking,” says dietitianSo ube is healthy, right? Nutritionally, ube is pretty similar to other sweet potatoes. Both are great sources of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and rich in antioxidants, which help protect against cellular damage in the body, says McKercher.