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How to Make Halaya (Ube Jam)

Hi everyone! It’s April from Relax Lang Mom here. I hope you’re all having a great week so far. Today I want to share with you a delicious Ube Jam recipe that our family loves. It’s the ube season here in Marinduque so today I’m sharing how to make ube jam – it’s the perfect way to enjoy the delicious flavor of ube all year long!

While ube chips, rolls, and ice cream have delighted my ube-obsessed friends, I wanted to create a spreadable snack perfect for toast, crackers, or just eating straight from the jar with a spoon.

via GIPHY

And thus, I began my foray into ube jam-making thanks to some inner knowledge that flows from my veins (lol) ok, with a little bit of help from Youtube.

Let’s get our aprons on and into the kitchen for a step-by-step tutorial on how to spread the purple love with homemade ube jam! I promise this serotonin-boosting snack is easier than coloring inside the lines of the little one’s unicorn project.

Ube Jam Recipe

Ingredients:

• 454g grated purple yam
• 395g condensed milk
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Coconut milk (approx. 480g or 2 cups)
• Butter (42g or 3 tablespoons)
• Ube flavoring (5g or 1 teaspoon)
• 1 tsp Vanilla (optional)
• 1 cup Eden cheese (optional, for toppings)

Step 1) Prepping the ube: Wash and peel the ube, being careful to remove all the purply skin. Be careful when handling. For some people like me, touching the skin causes me a bit of redness and itching. The skin and flesh of ube contain anthocyanins, which are natural plant pigments that give ube its striking purple color. It’s gone in a few hours but best wear gloves while peeling or grating large amounts of ube tubers.

Step 2) Blanching or grate the Ube: There are two options for the next step. You can either grate it or blanch it. For grating the ube, you can use any grater and grate it before cooking. For blanching, just bring a pot of water to a boil and add the ube cubes. Boil for 2-3 minutes until the ube is soft but not mushy. Drain and transfer ube to a bowl.

Pros and Cons of Blanching vs Grating

Blanching and mashing ube:

• Pro: The bleeding process from boiling helps draw out more of the vibrant purple pigments, intensifying the color of the finished dish.
• Pro: Mashng breaks down the fibers for a super smooth, velvety texture. Good for dishes like halaya that need an ulta-creamy consistency.
• Con: More time-consuming process than just grating. Requires peeling, boiling, mashing by hand.

Just grating ube:

• Pro: Very quick and easy prep. Simply peel and grate the raw tubers. Saves a lot of steps over blanching.
• Pro: Retains a bit more texture without mashing. Could be preferable for some recipes like pancit or ube ice cream.
• Con: Won’t bleed as much color as the blanched version. Finished dish may be slightly paler purple.

Overall, if you have the time, blanching then mashing ube ensures the richest color and silkiest texture. But grating raw ube is perfectly suitable when you want a faster prep. For the ultimate smoothness in desserts like halaya, blanching first is my recommendation. But both methods yield delicious results!

Step 3) Cooking the jam: In a large non-stick skillet or wok on medium heat, combine the condensed milk and coconut milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Once boiling, add prepared ube then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring continously to prevent burning, until the jam has thickened. Once thickened, add butter and salt. You’ll know it’s ready when a spoon dragged through the jam leaves a trail.

Step 4) Add flavor and adjust consistency: Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. For a thinner spread, you can add more water, 1 Tbsp at a time, and return to heat until thickened to your preference. I like my ube jam on the thicker side so it stays atop toast and crackers nicely.

Step 5) Jar it up! Ladle the hot jam into clean, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Wipe rims and cap with sterilized lids. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes to seal. Let cool completely before storing. I like to label my jars with the recipe and date so I know what magic is inside!

And just like that, you’re the proud parent of a batch of yummy and utterly compulsive ube jam. I promise your whole family will go gaga for this crowd-pleasing spread—the kids for its vibrancy and you for having an easy homemade snack always on hand.

Top suggestions for the jam include:

• Toast (obviously!)
• Crackers like Triscuits or wheat thins
• Ube Waffles or Ube pancakes -Mix it with your pancake mixture for purply pancakes.
• Yogurt – mix it with your yogurt drink
• Ice cream -add to ice cream for a yummy finish
• Ube Pandesal – Mix ube jam on a pan de sal mixture (Filipino bread rolls) pre for a colorful breakfast or merienda (snack).
• Ube Empanadas – Use ube jam as a filling for empanada dough or lumpia wrappers for a sweet or savory snack.
• Ube Cheese Danish – Layer ube jam and slices of cheese like queso de bola inside Danish or croissant dough for a unique snack or merienda.
• Ube Butter Cookies – Add a dollop of ube jam to the center of butter cookies before or after baking.
• Ube Leche Flan – Swirl ube jam into the caramel before baking flan custard for pretty purple flecks.
• Ube Pastries – Try ube jam as a filling inside mooncakes, pineapple tarts or hopia pastry triangles.
• Ube Glaze for Baked Goods – Brush quick breads, cinnamon rolls or pan de sal with melted ube jam before baking for a pretty finish.

So grab your ube, condensed milk, and coconut milk—it’s time to embrace your inner ube jam queen! Leave a comment below and let me know if you give this recipe a whirl. And be sure to snap a pic of your creations to share on Instagram with the hashtag #RelaxLangMom. I look forward to seeing all the purple masterpieces!

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