Ube: The purple food taking over your feed - What in the World podcast, BBC World Service

Ube - a vibrant purple yam indigenous to the Philippines - has been a staple of Filipino cuisine for thousands of years. But only recently has it surged in popularity abroad. Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM It is now appearing as an ingredient and flavouring in many recipes, from desserts, pastries, coffees and ice creams. You can now find it in both small independent cafés to the bigger global chains. BBC reporter Becca Johns explains how social media is helping drive the trend and turning ube into the new matcha. She also discusses the consequences it could have for farmers in the Philippines. We also hear from members of the Filipino diaspora about their concerns, from cultural appropriation to the trivialisation of an important symbol of Filipino culture. 00:00 Intro - What is ube? 02:08 How ube is traditionally used 02:47 Why ube became a global trend 03:40 The impact on the Philippines 05:02 Sustainability, farming and climate pressures 06:07 Who’s benefiting most from ube’s popularity 06:41 The “gentrification” of ube explained 07:49 The struggle to meet global demand 08:41 Quality vs quantity as demand spikes 09:20 What could be the next viral food trend? Watch more episodes from What in the World here 👉🏽    • What in the World   Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Chelsea Coates, William Lee Adams and Ash Mohamed Video producer: Baldeep Chahal Editor: Verity Wilde and Harriet Oliver ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Twitter 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   Facebook 👉🏽   / bbcworldservice   BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #ube #filipino #coffee