With summer fast approaching, it’s only proper that we tackle one of the nation’s nation’s all-time fave ice cream flavors: ube. Enjoyed by Filipinos of all ages (even prior to its on-trend revival) in milkshakes, atop crepes, on halo-halo, or just by itself. With a number of affordable brands of ube ice cream in the supermarket, how do they compare?
Note: Food laws in other countries (e.g., the States) make a distinction between (real) “ice cream” and their cheaper counterparts, “dairy desserts”, the latter containing fillers such as vegetable oil (in place of part of the dairy) and/or overrun (AKA air). As we have not found information on the existence of similar laws in the Philippines, and for convenience, we simply refer to the products below as “ice cream”.
Arce Dairy
Known for producing ice cream out of a carabao milk base, this local brand churns out an especially dairy-focused take on ube ice cream with a grayish-mauve hue. Barely sweet, it has the closest-to-natural flavor, which is to say the ube here comes very subtly—i.e., as an especially mellow, earthy, nutty hum, just like that of real purple yam. This transitions beautifully into an especially creamy, milky-tasting finish that lingers long and makes it hard to put the tub down. And though Arce’s way airy and icy for our preferences, what we especially love are the bits of cooked purple yam running through its feather-light body.
