Do you ever play games where you have to guess the name of a food that starts with a particular letter? Or attend potlucks where you have to bring a dish that starts with a specific letter? And if that letter is ‘U’, this is the right article for you.
Popular food that starts with U are Ube, Ugli Fruit, Umami Burger, Umbrella Fruit, Umble Pie, Umbricelli Pasta, Unagi, Uni, U-No Bar, Upma, Upside-Down Cake, Uszka, Utah Scones, and Uttapam.
Table of Contents
14 Food That Starts with U
Many people have trouble finding foods that start with U. Here’s a list of popular foods that begin with the letter U next time you’re feeling stumped.
1. Ube
A variety of names for the yam species Dioscorea alata include purple yam, ube, and larger yam. The tubers are typically a vibrant violet-purple to bright lavender color, while some are cream or plain white.
Despite having a similarly sweet, earthy flavor to purple sweet potatoes, ube has a distinctly nuttier, vanilla-like flavor. Ube and sweet potatoes have different tastes and textures, and ube is moister than sweet potatoes.
Ube has a similar nutritional profile to the traditional sweet potato, which means it is rich in fiber, vitamins, and healthy carbohydrates. Recently, it was discovered that the purple variant has exceptionally high quantities of antioxidants, which can improve general health.
It can be spread over toast, incorporated into cakes, ice cream, halo-halo, garnished with cheese slivers or latik (crisp coconut curds), or eaten by itself. In the Philippines, ube, a purple yam, is frequently used in sweet bread and pastries.
2. Ugli Fruit
The Jamaican tangelo is a citrus fruit that originated in Jamaica due to a natural cross between a tangerine or orange and grapefruit. It is also referred to by the trade names ugli fruit, ugli fruit, and unique fruit.
Juicy ugli fruit has a flavor that is frequently characterized as sweet, tangy, and a hint of bitterness. A grapefruit and an orange hybrid is an ugly fruit. It has orange flesh, thick, rough skin, and a sweet-tangy flavor.
The thick, loose, and leathery yellow-green skin of ugli fruit make it easy to identify. But don’t be fooled by its unsightly façade.
It’s absolutely tasty inside. Until it is fully ripe, it is largely green and wrinkled; after that, it turns orange.
3. Umami Burger
One of the primary five tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty, umami, usually referred to as monosodium glutamate, is present in all foods.
Umami, defined as the “essence of deliciousness” in Japanese, is frequently thought of as the savory, meaty deliciousness that enhances the flavor.
American restaurant chain Umami Burger is known for its gourmet hamburgers. Umami flavor is referenced in the name.
Adam Fleischman founded the eatery, a member of the Umami Restaurant Group. The majority of Umami Burger locations have a full bar and waiter service.
The restaurant uses 6-ounce (170 g) coarsely ground beef patties, primarily manufactured from American Wagyu cattle, to make its burgers.
Umami Sauce, which comprises soy sauce, and Umami Dust, which is made up of ground-up dried porcini mushrooms and dried fish heads, are used to season the meat.
Their burgers and a large portion of their cuisine are bursting with umami. It is frequently referred to as the “new fifth taste” (the other four tastes are sweet, sour, bitter, and salty), and it is present in foods like roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, truffles, and Parmesan cheese.
4. Umbrella Fruit
Monkey bread trees are another name for umbrella fruit. Several species of flowering plants in the Bombacaceae family, including Kigelia Africana and Salacca Zalaca, are known as umbrella fruit.
Mango and pineapple flavors are included in it. Because of the sour, hard, crunchy flesh is frequently eaten with salt, chili powder, honey, or shrimp paste.
Even though the fruit can be consumed raw, matured fruit has the finest flavor. Jams, jellies, and preserves made from umbrella fruit are consumed.
It is well known that umbrella fruits and leaves contain natural antioxidants. They also include substances that fight infection, treat thrombosis, and kill cancer cells, as well as antimicrobial agents and thrombosis-treating agents.
5. Umble Pie
In popular parlance, eating humble pie refers to being humiliated and apologizing for a significant error. A range of desserts modeled after medieval meat pies is called humble pie or umble pie.
The term is derived from umble pie, a pie made with minced or diced offal, mostly from deer but occasionally from other meats.
Numble, which means “deer’s innards,” evolved into Umble, following the nombles of Middle French. The pie was frequently served to lower-class individuals in medieval times.
The flavor of humble pie is simultaneously acidic and sweet; it’s more of an acquired taste. It doesn’t have to be on the menu daily, but it’s crucial to pick up a few lessons on humility.
5. Umbricelli Pasta
An Italian strand pasta made in the Umbria region is frequently compared to a thicker variant of spaghetti.
Traditional umbricelli pasta is thick and chewy, formed from a dough mostly made of water and durum wheat flour, making it more compacted and difficult to knead.
It is a type of pasta with a heavier consistency that pairs well with sauces with more substance, like a hearty tomato sauce, a cream sauce with mushrooms, or an earthy truffle sauce.
Short pasta lengths that have been rolled across their width, with each side rolling in the opposing direction, are also known as umbricelli.
The length is then gently twisted after rolling. This pasta has an “S” form when viewed from the end.
6. Unagi
Freshwater eels, particularly the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica, are known as unagi in Japanese. In Japanese cuisine, unagi is frequently used as kabayaki. It should not be mistaken with the Japanese word for saltwater eel, anago.
Unagi has a mild, sweet flavor that is quite palatable and not overbearing. The flesh has a porous texture and is soft and chewy, making it perfect for saucy dishes because it soaks up all the fluids, keeping the food wet and tasty.
Unagi’s omega-3 fatty acids may aid in decreasing cholesterol, preserve bone health, control blood pressure, and even ease menstrual pain. This, together with vitamin A, is thought to keep the skin supple and minimize wrinkles.
Anguilla japonica, sometimes known as the Japanese eel, is widespread throughout East Asia, but overfishing and shifting habitats have significantly reduced eel numbers.
The global eel catch has decreased by more than 75% since 1980, which has significantly impacted price.
7. Uni
Sea urchin roe is what uni, pronounced oo-nee, is made of. Some people regard the brilliant yellow to bright orange lobes as a delicacy.
They are frequently put in butter over pasta and sushi. Uni is typically taken in the wild with draggers or diver hand harvesting.
Uni, also known as the gonads or corals, is the sex organ that produces roe despite commonly being dubbed sea urchin roe.
The structure of an urchin is home to five strips, or “tongues,” of uni. They have the consistency of a hard custard and are typically orange or yellowish. They do resemble tongues.
Uni has a distinct umami, salty, and savory flavor and a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Additionally, you can detect metallic or sweet flavors depending on the uni you’re tasting.
In reality, college is incredibly healthy. Sea urchins provide 172 calories and relatively little fat per 100g serving.
Additionally, approximately all of the fat is unsaturated. Only 1.75 grams of polyunsaturated fat are present in every 100 grams of sea urchin.
8. U-No Bar
The Cardinet Candy Company created the U-NO candy bar in the 1920s. The well-known candy bar was bought by Annabelle Candy Company in 1978 and had been producing it since.
The U-NO is a bar in the shape of a truffle with almond nibbles and is covered in a thin layer of chocolate that looks like silver foil. In terms of look, it resembles a 3 Musketeers bar. However, it has more fat per gram.
With a creamy, thick milk chocolate coating and a smooth, rich interior resembling a chocolate truffle, U-NO is sure to melt in your mouth. When frozen, this food item tastes warm and tastes like an ice cream bar.
9. Upma
Upma, Uppumavu, or Uppittu, is an Indian morning meal made from thick porridge from dry-roasted semolina or coarse rice flour.
It is especially popular in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, and Sri Lankan Tamil communities.
Semolina is often delicately dry-roasted before being used to make Upma (called Rava or sooji in India).
As spices, lentils, onion, ginger, and other ingredients are sautéed in oil or ghee, the semolina is then removed from the heat and set aside. The semolina is then completely combined in the pan after being added back.
Your go-to breakfast option to reduce weight quickly should be Upma, which contains fiber, vitamins, and good fats.
It is a nutritious dish that supports a balanced diet because it is low in calories and cholesterol. Semolina is used to make Upma, which is rich in iron.
The finest way to have Upma is as a snack with some coconut chutney on the side and a cup of hot, freshly brewed coffee from South India.
It can, however, be served with additional chutneys, pickles, yogurt, and occasionally even sambar. Some individuals prefer to consume it alongside a bit of sugar.
10. Upside-Down Cake
A cake baked “upside-down” in a single pan with the toppings on the bottom is an upside-down cake.
The finished upside-down dish is “righted” and served right-side up by flipping it over and de-panning it onto a serving plate after being taken out of the oven.
When people used to cook on cast-iron skillets over open flames, the pineapple upside-down cake first appeared hundreds of years ago.
They would layer fruit in the bottom of the pans and pour batter on top when they desired a sweet treat.
Why is it so popular?
After the Dole Pineapple Company sponsored a recipe competition, pineapple upside-down cakes gained popularity in the United States in the middle of the 1920s.
They had nearly 2,500 different submissions for the inverted pineapple cake, and they ran an advertisement about it, which raised awareness of the cake.
12. Uszka
Small dumplings or pierogies called Uszka or vushka are typically filled with flavorful wild forest mushrooms and/or minced meat.
Although they can be eaten with only melted butter and some herbs sprinkled on top, they are typically served with Barszcz.
On Christmas Eve, Poland’s “Uszka” mushroom pierogi are customarily served with borscht.
Dried and fresh mushrooms are made with a straightforward pierogi dough composed of flour, water, milk, and butter. They’re gorgeous and simpler to construct than you may imagine.
Pierogi are also well-known for their simplicity, ease of preparation, and tendency to be made in large quantities rather than just one.
If you don’t finish them, you may freeze the remainder and eat them the following day without losing flavor.
Pierogies are a dish that is generally considered healthy because it provides a balance of all three macronutrients and has an appropriate number of calories.
13. Utah Scones
Although this sweet has several names, fried bread or frybread is the most common in North America. Whatever term you’re familiar with, they all consist essentially of the same thing: plain dough that has been stretched or rolled flat before being deep-fried till golden.
“Scone” is a cookie- or biscuit-like dessert served with tea. However, scones are fried dough pieces served hot and topped with various sweet ingredients in Utah.
The plain scones are really buttery and have a slight sweet tanginess. You may add numerous flavors to the dough or serve it alongside jam or flavored butter.
The top is a golden brown color, exceptionally sensitive, flaky, and light in texture.
14. Uttapam
Classic and traditional South Indian breakfast pancakes, uttapam, are created from fermented rice and lentil batter.
South Indian dosas come in the form of uttapams. An uttapam is a fatter dosa with toppings as opposed to a regular dosa, which is crisp and crepe-like.
Due to its minimal fat and calorie content, uttapam is a fantastic dietary option for people attempting to reduce weight. The batter’s beneficial carbs provide a consistent source of clean energy that aids in maintaining your mental clarity throughout the day.
Onions’ sweet, somewhat caramelized flavor complements Uttapam’s flavor extremely well. The onions can also have some sambar powder sprinkled on them.
Despite having toppings, uttapam is extremely distinct from naan bread in its composition. Legumes like lentils, peas, and beans that have been dried and split are used to make uttapam.
Typically, it is topped with various ingredients, including onion, tomatoes, chilies, and even coconut.
Related: Popular Food That Starts with N
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a food or drink that starts with U?
The Jamaican tangelo, sometimes known as the ugly fruit, is a citrus fruit. You can consume it straight or make different jams, jellies, and fruit preserves.
2. What is a fruit that starts with U?
Fruit that starts with U is an ugly fruit, which is Grapefruit and a mandarin hybrid. Its size is similar to that of a grapefruit, but its flavor is a little sweeter, and its wrinkled skin is simple to peel.
3. What’s a vegetable that starts with U?
Urad Bean is the first vegetable whose initial letter is U. This bean, widely farmed in South Asia, is also known as black gram, minapa pappu, and mungo bean.
4. What food begins with Z?
Foods that start with Z are zoodles, zucchini, zuppa toscana, zuccotto, ziti, and zeppole.
Related: Popular Food That Starts with X
Conclusion
After an exhaustive list of foods that start with U, have you felt more knowledgeable? Or did you crave some food after reading this article?
No matter, as this article is purely for informational purposes, if you want to try these foods, try them.
