Ube or Purple Sweet Potato
Here's the subtlest mix-up. This time, both are truly purple, and truly natural. Yet ube and purple sweet potato remain two quite distinct plants.
Two purples, two plants
With taro, the purple was often added. Here, none of that: both ube and purple sweet potato get their colour from nature.
But make no mistake. Beneath that same purple hide two plants, two families, two tastes.
Ube or sweet potato: the match-up.
| Criterion | Ube | Sweet potato |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Purple yam (root) | Sweet potato root |
| Botanical name | Dioscorea alata | Ipomoea batatas |
| Family | Yams (Dioscoreaceae) | Bindweed (Convolvulaceae) |
| Colour | Natural purple (anthocyanins) | Natural purple (anthocyanins) |
| Taste | Sweet, vanilla, nutty | Very sweet, sweet-potato taste |
| Caffeine | None | None |
Ube
Sweet potato
The yam and the sweet potato
Ube (Dioscorea alata) is a yam, from the Dioscoreaceae family.
The purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) belongs to the bindweed family, the Convolvulaceae. Two unrelated plants, brought together only by their colour.
The sweet potato, even white- or orange-fleshed, has nothing to do with the potato. And its purple version isn't a cousin of ube: just a neighbour in colour.
A natural purple on both sides
Good news: unlike taro, the purple sweet potato is really purple. Its colour, like ube's, comes from anthocyanins.
Two ingredients, one same colour secret, entirely plant-based.
Ube or purple sweet potato: in both cases, the colour is natural. It's the taste that will make the difference in your recipes.
Taste: where it all plays out
The purple sweet potato is distinctly sweet, with that typical, more rustic sweet-potato taste.
Ube is softer and more refined: notes of vanilla and hazelnut, a creamy texture, without the "vegetable" side.
For a delicate, fragrant drink or dessert, ube wins. The purple sweet potato, sweeter, shines mainly roasted or mashed.
In the kitchen, two uses
Same purple, different territory.
The purple sweet potato is roasted, mashed, slipped into soft, sweet cakes. Ube, more delicate, excels in lattes, ice creams and fine desserts where you want colour and a vanilla aroma, not a vegetable taste.
For an ube latte or a dessert cream, choose ube. The purple sweet potato will be perfect in a more filling preparation.
So, which to choose?
Both lend themselves to colourful desserts. But ube brings finesse and fragrance, while the sweet potato brings sugar and body.
- Ube is a yam (Dioscorea alata); the purple sweet potato an Ipomoea batatas, two different families.
- Both are naturally purple (anthocyanins).
- Ube: soft, vanilla, refined. Sweet potato: very sweet, more rustic.
See also ube or matcha and ube or taro, or go back to what is ube?
Team purple?
Discover ube, the soft and refined purple, naturally caffeine-free. As a powder, or as a capsule ready in 30 seconds.
Your questions: ube or sweet potato.
Are ube and purple sweet potato the same?
No. They're two plants from different families: ube is a yam, the sweet potato an Ipomoea batatas.
Are both naturally purple?
Yes, both, thanks to anthocyanins. Unlike taro, whose purple is often added.
What taste sets them apart?
The purple sweet potato is very sweet, with a rustic taste; ube is softer, vanilla and refined.
Can you make a latte with purple sweet potato?
Yes, but the taste will be sweeter and more rustic. For a fine, vanilla latte, ube remains the best choice.
Can you replace one with the other?
In desserts, yes, but the result changes: the sweet potato is sweeter, ube more fragrant and delicate.
Ube or purple sweet potato for a colourful dessert?
Both colour naturally. Ube brings finesse and fragrance, the sweet potato sugar and body.
Does purple sweet potato contain caffeine?
No, like ube, it's naturally caffeine-free.
Which is rarer?
Ube is rarer and more sought-after; the sweet potato, even purple, is far more common.