The ube trend is exploiting the local flavor

From pancit to spam musubi, every single food dish is forcibly ube-flavored.

Ever since ube became an international trend, the purple yam flavor has been forcefully added to every single dish, whether it makes sense or not. What started out as innovation turned into an over-the-top exploitation.

Aesthetics over authenticity

At a Filipino food festival in New York City, unseen ube variations like ube spam musubi, pancit, and smash burgers were offered. In an online discussion, others share that these innovations are uncreative, with their only appeal being the vibrant purple color. “Now [ube is] practically just food coloring,” one user said. “You’re tasting purple-tinted sugar and vanilla extract.”

The erasure of roots

Beyond the lack of creativity, people also raise concerns that these ube dishes are becoming more detached from their Filipino roots. Ube no longer becomes associated with the local halo-halo dessert but simply becomes a purple flavor mixed into foreign food.

Much like the controversy over sinigang broth rice made of seasoning mix, the misuse of ube erases the cultural nomenclature that connects the food to the land and the people who cultivate it.

When global chains like Starbucks introduce Iced Ube Coconut Macchiatos that taste more like birthday cake than yam, the public’s palate is retrained to ignore the essence of the real crop.

Essentially, when these dishes are created from flavor extracts rather than authentic purple yam, people stop recognizing the essence and actual taste of ube.

 

 

Ube spam musubi and pancit ube? Critics weigh in on how the global purple yam trend is detaching the Filipino staple from its roots and turning it into mere food coloring.

 

 

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