How to Make Ube Powder / Purple Sweet Potato Powder
How to make natural purple food powder as either ube powder or purple sweet potato powder/ purple yam powder. Once prepared, this powder can be stored for months and used as purple food coloring or rehydrated later!
The first step of creating this purple food powder is to cook the yam/potato. This is important so that it can be consumed within raw recipes.Wash all the yams/potatoes well, and then pat dry and prod each a few times with a fork.
Place them on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake them in the oven for between 40-60 minutes at 475ºF/240ºC or until tender.The time it takes to thoroughly bake them will depend on their size and exactly what you use (potato vs. ube).
Step 2: Peel and mash them
Once baked, allow the potatoes/yams to cool to the touch and then peel them. This should be fairly easy to do.
Mash the potatoes with a masher or fork and spread the mash in a thin layer across either a parchment-lined baking tray (for oven dehydrating) or on a liner on a dehydrator tray (to dehydrator method).I mashed it straight onto the tray and left it a little chunky. It will likely dehydrate sooner if you mash it more and spread it in an even thinner layer. Just note that this will affect how much time it takes to fully dry.
Step 3: Dehydrate the ube/ purple sweet potato
In a dehydrator: Dehydrate the mash at 113ºF/45ºC for between 8-12 hours until it snaps rather than bends. I recommend checking on it at 8 hours and increasing, as necessary.In the oven: If you have an oven that will go as low as 113ºF/45ºC, then perfect! You can follow the same times as above. Alternatively, select the lowest temperature that your oven will go to. Prop the door open slightly with a heat-proof wooden spoon or something similar. Dry for between 4-6 hours, checking on them and increasing as needed. Just be careful that the potato doesn't burn. If it does, then the heat is too high/ you need to open the over door more.
Step 4: grind the powder
Once fully dried (all of it snaps rather than bends), add the dried pieces to an electric coffee/spice grinder. You may need to do this in batches- and then grind it into a powder.It's essential to make sure that the potato/yam is 100% dry before grinding. Otherwise, you'll end up with a 'mash' rather than a powder.
Sieve the purple yam powder, making sure to regrind any of the larger pieces.
How to Store
Store the ube powder/ sweet potato powder in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Alternatively, store the powder in the freezer for up to 12 months.
Notes
Read the blog post for how to rehydrate the ube powder!