This new ice cream is for those of you who want to try something different and mildly exotic. Up until recently, ube was one of those trendy foods I saw used in a desserts that you might be able to get in a hip and happening place - New York City, LA, Toronto, etc. What is it? I didn't know...I just knew it was purple and maybe exotic. Naturally, it was only a matter of time until Trader Joe's, purveyor of all things cool and different, got a hold of it for the masses. I ain't mad about that, not at all.
Full disclaimer: I've never had ube, so really I tried this product initially much like every other TJ's consumer. Why would I want a purple yam flavored ice cream? Because it could be delicious? Yes, because it COULD be delicious and it's good to try new things! (I'm saying that to my vanilla husband, A).
1. My first impression is that the TJ's ube is a very good ice cream. The ube has a slightly fleshy, subtly earthy taste that sort of reminds me of a Korean sweet yam cake (yes, like a birthday cake with a yam filling). But what you do taste is mostly cream and sugar, which as I've said before are the building blocks of a good ice cream. It's rich and creamy and pretty dreamy. It doesn't taste like vanilla, but it has that "different" taste without being too different.
2. Does ube taste like taro? To that I say yes and no. It is similar to taro (can't comment much on this because I've had an aversion to taro desserts since childhood) in color and the sort of "fleshiness" but it's also different...very helpful description, I know. :P
3. Ube is apparently quite popular in southeast Asia, namely the Philippines. So of course, a Filipino friend who LOVES LOVES ube railed on the TJ's product for its lack of ube, and it set me off to H-mart to pick up a Filipino brand of ube ice cream for "research." That is the only kind of research in my future y'all. God bless y'all scientists out there.
4. As you can see in the comparison photo above, the Filipino ube has a deeper purple color (which means at least more food coloring if not more ube). Ube is also listed as the number 2 ingredient on the ingredient list. If you eat them side by side, the ube flavor is way more pronounced in the Filipino version. It's much stronger, earthier, and slightly fleshier. Plus, this version has a bit of cheese (actually not bad and adds a bit of saltiness; I would not have known that it was cheese had I not seen the packaging).
5. Which one is more "authentic?" If by authentic you mean purer ube flavor, then duh no contest - it's the Filipino version.
6. Is the TJ's version not authentic? If you eat these two ice creams side by side, the TJ's one tastes sort of like vanilla in comparison. Think of it analogously with coffee - there's black coffee made as a pour-over with some nicely fair-trade organic beans from some exotic place (roasted maybe last week at a local roastery because if we're going to get hipster, might as well commit :P) and then there's "coffee" that's been drowned in so much milk and sugar that it doesn't really resemble the dark matter sold in hipster coffee shops. In fact, it might take on a tan color that some people are attempting to obtain by laying out at the beach. But at the end of the day, both ice creams do have ube flavor - it's just that one version has been drowned in cream and sugar.
7. Which one is better? That depends on your palate. If you have an "Asian palate," meaning you want the pure flavor of ube and you may or may not like super sweet things, you will like the "authentic" version better. If you have an Americanized palate or if you like sweet, rich desserts, the TJ's one is better, simply because it is creamier and better as an ice cream. Plus, it's $2.99 for a pint vs $6 or 7 for a massive tub.
8. For most people, I suspect that we prefer to try new things on our own terms. We interpret new things in our world based on our existing knowledge and experience. Maybe some of us actually are a lot more adventurous and are willing to try new things - things that are actually outside of what we know and things that force us to cross a cultural barrier to try a new thing from the other side. But for many of us, it's just easier to embrace diversity on convenient and comfortable terms - give me enough exoticism and diversity so I can feel a little more cultured without having to stray too far from my nest. That's fine and good, and I hope that it's just a starting point. I don't see this taste of ube as a bad thing - if it weren't for this, I would not have tried another ice cream with a stronger flavor. Everyone has to start somewhere, and if it helps us all have a greater appreciation for other cultures and flavors and realize that the world is a lot bigger than Mandarin Orange Chicken, I'm all for it. :P
TL;DR: Trader Joe's Ube Ice Cream. A little ube, a lot of ice cream. Consider this a cold intro. 8 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Sign me up, yes.
Comments
Post a Comment