Jose Mier has learned that when it comes to frozen desserts, there is a very big difference between making something cold and making something interesting. Living in Sun Valley, California, I spend plenty of time looking for frozen dessert ideas, and every once in a while I find something that makes me stop and say, “Now that’s different.” Halo-halo is one of those desserts. This Filipino specialty is colorful, complicated, refreshing and, most importantly, fun. The name itself means “mix-mix,” which is a pretty accurate description because halo-halo combines a remarkable assortment of ingredients in one glass. The version I’m exploring comes from BBC Good Food and includes evaporated milk ice, tapioca pearls, pandan jelly, jackfruit, nata de coco, palm seeds, red mung beans and ube halaya. As a chef, I appreciate a dessert that gives me plenty to investigate. As a person who occasionally wants dessert without needing a map, I also appreciate the fact that I can eat it with a spoon.
What Exactly Is Halo-Halo?
Halo-halo is a traditional Filipino dessert made by combining multiple ingredients in a tall glass and topping them with something cold and creamy or icy.
The word “halo-halo” essentially means “mix-mix.”
That is not a complicated name.
There is no mystery here.
You are supposed to mix it.
And you are supposed to enjoy the fact that almost every spoonful can be different.
One bite might contain sweet beans, another might have chewy tapioca, and the next might contain jackfruit, jelly and icy milk.
It’s dessert roulette.
Fortunately, the prize is usually delicious.
The BBC Good Food Recipe
The recipe I’m using as my starting point is the BBC Good Food version of halo-halo.
The original recipe is available here:
BBC Good Food — Halo-Halo Recipe
The recipe serves four and includes evaporated milk, large and small tapioca pearls, brown sugar syrup, pandan-flavored jelly, nata de coco, jackfruit, kaong or palm seeds, red mung beans and ube halaya.
There is also a frozen component made from evaporated milk and water that is scraped periodically to create a granita-like texture.
That is where things get particularly interesting.
A Dessert That Is Really Several Desserts
Most frozen desserts have one primary identity.
Ice cream is ice cream.
Sorbet is sorbet.
Gelato is gelato.
Halo-halo essentially says, “Why choose?”
It combines different textures and flavors in one serving.
You get creamy.
You get icy.
You get chewy.
You get fruity.
You get jelly-like.
You get sweet.
You get earthy flavors from beans.
You get the distinctive flavor of ube.
This is not a dessert for people who believe food should be predictable.
And I say that as a compliment.
The Icy Milk Component
One of the most interesting parts of the BBC Good Food version is the frozen evaporated milk.
Rather than simply pouring cold milk over the ingredients, the recipe combines evaporated milk with water and freezes it gradually.
Every so often, the partially frozen mixture is scraped with a fork.
The process creates fluffy ice crystals with a granita-like texture.
This is important because the texture becomes much lighter than a solid block of frozen milk.
It also means you don’t need an ice cream machine.
That’s always good news.
I own cooking equipment that has more buttons than some automobiles, but I’m still delighted when a recipe doesn’t require me to use all of it.
What Is Ube Halaya?
If you’re unfamiliar with Filipino desserts, ube may be one of the most interesting ingredients you’ll encounter.
Ube is a purple yam.
Ube halaya is a sweetened preparation made from purple yam and is commonly used in Filipino desserts.
It has a striking purple color and a distinctive flavor that is earthy, nutty and sweet.
Today, ube has become enormously popular outside Filipino cuisine as well.
You can find ube-flavored cakes, cookies, ice creams, pastries and drinks.
But halo-halo is one of the classic places where ube really gets to show off.
And it certainly knows how to make an entrance.
The Role of Jackfruit
The BBC Good Food recipe includes drained jackfruit sliced into pieces.
Jackfruit has a tropical fruit flavor that works beautifully in desserts.
When ripe, it can be sweet, fragrant and surprisingly complex.
It is also an ingredient that adds another texture to the dessert.
That’s important with halo-halo.
Texture is almost as important as flavor.
A dessert consisting of twelve ingredients that all have the same consistency would not be nearly as interesting.
Nata de Coco
Nata de coco is another fascinating ingredient.
It consists of chewy cubes made through the fermentation of coconut water.
In halo-halo, it contributes a pleasant, slightly bouncy texture.
This is one of the things that makes halo-halo different from most American frozen desserts.
You don’t simply scoop it.
You explore it.
Tapioca Pearls
The recipe uses both large and small tapioca pearls.
Tapioca is another ingredient prized for texture.
Cooked tapioca pearls become soft and chewy.
They are particularly fun in cold desserts because they provide a contrast to the ice.
The BBC Good Food recipe cooks the pearls and then places them in brown sugar syrup.
The syrup adds sweetness while also allowing the pearls to absorb additional flavor.
Pandan Jelly
Pandan is an aromatic plant widely used in Southeast Asian cooking.
Its flavor is difficult to describe precisely if you have never tasted it.
It has been compared to vanilla, coconut, floral notes and even freshly cut grass.
But comparisons don’t really do it justice.
Pandan has its own personality.
In the BBC Good Food halo-halo recipe, pandan extract is incorporated into an agar-agar jelly, which is then cut into cubes.
Those jelly cubes become another textural component.
Red Mung Beans
Beans in dessert may sound strange to someone unfamiliar with Asian cuisines.
But sweetened beans are used in many traditional desserts throughout Asia.
Red mung beans provide a slightly earthy contrast to the sweeter components.
This is one of the reasons halo-halo is so interesting.
Not every ingredient is simply trying to make the dessert sweeter.
Some ingredients provide balance.
Others provide texture.
Some provide aroma.
It’s a complete flavor system.
Kaong or Palm Seeds
The BBC Good Food version also calls for kaong, or palm seeds.
These provide another chewy element.
At this point, you may be realizing that halo-halo is less like eating ice cream and more like conducting an edible archaeological excavation.
You never quite know what you’re going to uncover.
Why the Dessert Is So Colorful
Halo-halo is visually spectacular.
Purple ube.
Green pandan jelly.
Golden jackfruit.
White coconut.
Dark beans.
Brown sugar syrup.
Icy milk.
When assembled in a clear glass, the layers create a miniature dessert landscape.
And that matters.
We eat with our eyes before we eat with our mouths.
A dessert that looks interesting makes people curious.
Halo-halo practically demands attention.
Why It Is Perfect for Hot Weather
The Philippines has a tropical climate, so a cold dessert featuring ice, fruit and refreshing ingredients makes perfect sense.
Halo-halo is particularly appealing on a hot day because it combines cold textures with fruit and chewy components.
It isn’t as heavy as some rich ice cream desserts.
It also doesn’t have to be overwhelmingly sweet.
The individual ingredients create different sensations.
That’s why I could easily imagine serving halo-halo after a backyard meal here in Sun Valley.
Southern California knows something about hot weather.
We can appreciate a dessert designed to fight it.
The “Mix-Mix” Moment
Eventually, you have to mix the dessert.
That’s part of the experience.
Before mixing, the glass is beautiful.
After mixing, it becomes something entirely different.
The various components combine.
The icy milk melts slightly.
The syrups move through the glass.
The colors blend.
The textures become unpredictable.
This is the culinary equivalent of taking the engine apart and hoping you can put it back together.
Fortunately, with halo-halo, you don’t have to put anything back together.
You just eat it.
Variations on Halo-Halo
There isn’t necessarily one universal version of halo-halo.
Different families and restaurants can use different ingredients.
You might encounter sweetened bananas.
Coconut.
Sweet potato.
Different beans.
Various jellies.
Ice cream.
Leche flan.
Evaporated milk.
Condensed milk.
The possibilities are enormous.
In fact, the basic concept invites creativity.
If you have ingredients that work well together, there is room to experiment.
Adding Ice Cream
Many versions of halo-halo include a scoop of ice cream.
Ube ice cream is a particularly logical choice.
You can also use vanilla or other flavors.
The ice cream adds creaminess and richness.
It also creates another temperature and texture contrast.
Of course, once you add ice cream, you have officially entered the territory where dessert becomes difficult to resist.
I don’t make the rules.
Why Ube Became a Global Trend
Ube has experienced a major surge in popularity internationally.
Part of the appeal is visual.
That vivid purple color photographs beautifully.
But the flavor is the real reason the ingredient has staying power.
Ube is sweet but not simply sugary.
It has a nutty, earthy quality that pairs well with coconut, vanilla, condensed milk and dairy.
That makes it extremely versatile.
Making Halo-Halo at Home
The BBC Good Food recipe is more involved than simply opening a container of ice cream.
You have several components to prepare.
But none of the individual steps is particularly intimidating.
The milk ice requires repeated scraping.
The tapioca requires cooking.
The syrup requires heating.
The jelly requires setting.
Then comes assembly.
The reward is a dessert that looks like something you’d expect to find in a specialty restaurant.
A Chef’s Perspective
What I particularly appreciate about halo-halo is that it teaches an important culinary lesson:
Texture matters.
You can have the best flavors in the world, but if everything feels the same in your mouth, the dish can become monotonous.
Halo-halo avoids that problem completely.
Every spoonful offers a little surprise.
That is something I try to remember whenever I’m creating desserts myself.
A Sun Valley Dessert With a Filipino Passport
Living in Sun Valley doesn’t mean I have to cook only California-style food.
One of the greatest things about being interested in cooking is the ability to explore other cultures through food.
Halo-halo is an excellent example.
It’s distinctly Filipino.
It has history.
It has regional ingredients.
It has a unique presentation.
And it has an approach to texture that is different from many familiar American desserts.
That’s exactly the sort of dessert I enjoy investigating.
My Favorite Part
My favorite part may actually be the fact that the dessert is interactive.
You mix it.
You dig through it.
You discover ingredients.
It’s not just something you eat.
It’s something you experience.
That makes it especially appropriate for entertaining.
Put several glasses on the table and suddenly everyone is talking about what they found in theirs.
Dessert has become a conversation starter.
That’s pretty impressive.
Final Thoughts
Halo-halo is a wonderful reminder that frozen desserts don’t have to be limited to ice cream, popsicles and sorbet.
It is a complex combination of ice, fruit, beans, jelly, tapioca, coconut and sweetened ingredients that somehow comes together into one cohesive dessert.
The BBC Good Food recipe provides an excellent introduction to the concept and includes detailed instructions for preparing the various components.
For the complete recipe, visit:
BBC Good Food — Halo-Halo Recipe
As someone who lives in Sun Valley and spends an unreasonable amount of time thinking about frozen desserts, I can say that halo-halo has earned a spot on my list of treats worth exploring.
It’s colorful.
It’s cold.
It’s chewy.
It’s creamy.
It’s fruity.
It’s unusual.
And it’s fun.
In other words, it’s almost impossible to describe without eventually saying, “You really just need to try it.”
So mix it up.
That’s the whole idea.