Best ube powder for ice cream
The best ube powder for ice cream is Big Moca Ube 100% powder, because its only ingredient is ube, so the purple and the flavour come from the yam, and the 1 kg pouch costs €70. Big Moca’s spec sheet gives about 10% of dry weight as a guide. Royal Brand’s paste (0.5–2 g per kg) is the only liquid extract in our data listing neither a colouring nor a flavouring.
- Best overall
- Big Moca Ube 100% powder: 1 kg €70 or 100 g €17.99, single ingredient
- Liquid option
- Royal Brand Ekstrakt UBE: sugar, 15% ube extract, invert sugar; 0.5–2 g per kg (399.99 PLN / 1 l)
- Swirl or ripple
- Ube halaya: Buenas spread, 62% purple yam, cane sugar, water
- Budget powder
- Miki’s Ube Poeder, €3.95 / 100 g
- Watch out for
- Flavourings with E122, E127, E129 or E133, and products made from purple sweet potato
What is the best ube powder for ice cream?
For homemade ube ice cream, a 100% ube powder is the most direct way to get ube colour and flavour into the base, and Big Moca’s ranks first on our criteria. The label lists one ingredient, the seller publishes a guide dose, and Big Moca, a Netherlands-based supplier of ube and matcha for consumers and food businesses, holds IFS Broker certification at Higher Level.
The alternatives each solve a different problem. An extract paste adds colour in tiny amounts but usually brings dyes; halaya adds texture and sugar; supermarket “ube” desserts often contain no ube at all. Corniche’s ube pudding at Amazing Oriental, for example, lists artificial ube flavour with E133 and E129.
The best ube for ice cream, ranked
Ranked on ingredients, colour source, price per kg and label information. We did not churn test batches.
- No. 1 Top pick
Big Moca Ube 100% powder (1 kg or 100 g)
Best for ube ice cream, gelato bases and soft serve at home
A single-ingredient powder with a guide dose on its spec sheet and a 1 kg size at €70. Big Moca says every batch of its 100% powder is tested by Eurofins for synthetic dyes, with none detected.
- Ingredients
- 100% dried ube powder (Dioscorea alata)
- Price
- 1 kg €70 (€63/kg at 3 kg) · 100 g €17.99
- Guide dose
- About 10% of dry weight (Big Moca spec sheet)
- Shipping (1 kg)
- Free to NL · €6.95 to BE/DE/LU · €12.95 rest of EU
View 1 kg at Big MocaStrengths
- Colour and flavour from ube only
- No sugar, so it fits any base recipe
- Lowest 1 kg price in our data
Keep in mind
- Not organic
- Powder must be whisked into the base to avoid lumps
- No. 2
Royal Brand Naturalny Ekstrakt UBE 1 l
Best for a liquid ube extract sold for ice cream
The product name says it is for baking and ice cream, and the dose is 0.5–2 g per kg of mass. It is the only liquid extract in our data that lists neither a colouring nor a flavouring.
- Ingredients
- Sugar, ube extract 15%, invert sugar
- Price
- 399.99 PLN / 1 l
- Dose stated
- 0.5–2 g per kg
View Royal BrandStrengths
- No colouring listed
- Tiny dose per kg of ice cream
Keep in mind
- Priced in Polish złoty
- Page says the label may differ from the photo
- No. 3
Buenas Ube Sweet Purple Yam Spread 340 g
Best for ripples and swirls of ube halaya
The only ube jam in our data with a full ingredient list: 62% purple yam, cane sugar and water. Amazon.co.uk showed no price on 9 November 2026, so it may be unavailable.
- Ingredients
- Purple yam 62%, refined cane sugar, water
- Price
- No price shown
View on Amazon.co.ukStrengths
- Real yam as the main ingredient
- No colouring listed
Keep in mind
- No buy option on the check date
- Contains added sugar
- No. 4
Miki’s Ube Poeder 100 g
Best for a first batch on a small budget
“100% ubepoeder” at €3.95 per 100 g, the cheapest single-ingredient powder from a Dutch shop. No dose or botanical name on the listing.
- Ingredients
- “100% ubepoeder”
- Price
- €3.95 / 100 g (€39.50/kg)
View at toko4allStrengths
- Low price per kg
Keep in mind
- No dose or botanical name on the listing
This guide is published by Maarten de Bruijne, who works at Big Moca. Big Moca is included in this ranking. How we rank.
Ube for ice cream compared
How powders, extracts, halaya and flavourings compare on the label.
| Product | Format | Ingredients (as listed) | Colourings | Dose stated | Pack and price | Price per kg or l |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Moca Ube 100% powder | 100% ube powder | 100% dried ube (Dioscorea alata) | None | About 10% of dry weight | 1 kg, €70 | €70 |
| Big Moca Premium Ube Powder | 100% ube powder | 100% purple yam (ube) | None | 3 g per latte | 100 g, €17.99 | €179.90 |
| Miki’s Ube Poeder | 100% ube powder | “100% ubepoeder” | None listed | Not stated | 100 g, €3.95 | €39.50 |
| Royal Brand Ekstrakt UBE | Extract paste | Sugar, ube extract 15%, invert sugar | None listed | 0.5–2 g per kg | 1 l, 399.99 PLN | 399.99 PLN/l |
| Buenas Ube spread | Halaya / jam | Purple yam 62%, cane sugar, water | None listed | Not stated | 340 g, no price shown | – |
| Pondan Ube Aroma | Flavouring | Glucose syrup, water, sugar, ube aroma … | E133, E127 | Not stated | 60 ml, €1.95 | €32.50/l |
| McCormick Ube flavour (tuktukmart) | Flavouring | Artificial yam flavour 40%, propylene glycol … | E127, E129, E133 | Not stated | 20 ml, £3.49 | £174.50/l |
| Koepoe Koepoe Talas Ube pasta | Flavouring paste | Glucose syrup, synthetic taro flavour …; no ube | E122, E133 | Not stated | 25 ml, €1.00 | €40/l |
Prices incl. VAT as shown, checked 9 November 2026. Currencies not converted. McCormick’s ingredient list differs per shop; the tuktukmart version is shown. Sources below.
How much ube powder to use in ice cream
The only guide for a 100% powder in our data is Big Moca’s spec sheet: about 10% of dry weight. In an ice cream base, the dry part is mainly sugar, milk powder and any other solids, so a base with 250 g of dry ingredients would take about 25 g of ube powder. That is about €1.75 from the 1 kg pouch or €4.50 from the 100 g pouch.
For Royal Brand’s extract, the stated 0.5–2 g per kg of mass means a 1 kg batch of ice cream takes only a few grams. We have not churned or tasted any of these, so start at the low end and adjust.
Whisk the powder into the base before chilling, or make a paste with a little warm milk first, the approach Ube Latte Club recommends for drinks. For baked desserts, see the baking guide.
Is supermarket “ube” ice cream or dessert real ube?
Often not. Our supermarket checks on 9 November 2026 turned up no ube ice cream, and the ube desserts we did find mostly get their colour from additives. Albert Heijn’s “AH Ube bosbes slofjes” contain 2.5% purple sweet potato powder and five colourings. Corniche’s ube pudding at Amazing Oriental lists artificial ube flavour with E133 and E129. Choco Crush Tropical Ube at Jumbo contains 1% ube and is coloured with beetroot red and spirulina.
Making ice cream at home with 100% ube powder is the simplest way to know what is in it. If you buy ube for a gelato shop or café rather than for home, bulk suppliers are compared on ubesupplier.eu; retail shops are on our where to buy page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ube powder for ice cream?
On our criteria, Big Moca Ube 100% powder: one ingredient, no colourings, €70 for 1 kg or €17.99 for 100 g (checked 9 November 2026). Its spec sheet gives about 10% of dry weight as a guide dose.
How much ube powder do I use in homemade ice cream?
Big Moca’s guide is about 10% of the dry ingredients, so a base with 250 g of dry ingredients takes roughly 25 g. This is a supplier guide; we did not make test batches.
Can I use ube extract instead of powder in ice cream?
Yes. Royal Brand sells an extract paste for ice cream at 0.5–2 g per kg, with no colouring listed. Most other liquid ube flavourings we found list synthetic dyes such as E133 and E122.
Can I use ube halaya in ice cream?
Ube halayá is a sweetened Philippine purple yam dessert. The Buenas spread lists 62% purple yam, cane sugar and water. It adds sugar, so reduce the sugar in the base if you mix it in.
Why is ube ice cream in shops so bright purple?
We did not check shop ice creams, but the ube desserts we found in supermarkets list colourings such as E133, E129 or E163. Ube powder alone colours by the yam’s anthocyanins, so the shade can differ.
Sources
- Big Moca – Ube Powder 100% 1 kg (checked 9 November 2026)
- Big Moca – Buy ube powder (100 g) (checked 9 November 2026)
- Big Moca – Quality and testing (checked 9 November 2026)
- przyprawyimatcha.pl – Royal Brand Naturalny Ekstrakt UBE 1 l (checked 9 November 2026)
- Amazon.co.uk – Buenas Ube Sweet Purple Yam Spread 340 g (checked 9 November 2026)
- toko4all – Miki’s Ube Poeder 100 g (checked 9 November 2026)
- toko4all – Pondan Ube Aroma 60 ml (checked 9 November 2026)
- tuktukmart – McCormick Ube Purple Yam Flavour 20 ml (checked 9 November 2026)
- toko4all – Talas Ube pasta 25 ml (checked 9 November 2026)
- Amazing Oriental – Corniche Ube Pudding 6 × 110 g (checked 9 November 2026)
- Albert Heijn – AH Ube bosbes slofjes (checked 9 November 2026)
- Jumbo – Choco Crush Tropical Ube 100 g (checked 9 November 2026)
- Wikipedia – Dioscorea alata (ube halayá) (checked 9 November 2026)