Only about 2 fingertips with dark crust, bitter bitter taste, but when the palm is ripe, it turns into a “mouth-to-mouth” snack that makes the office sisters crave.
In recent years, at the end of October, the beginning of November on the lunar calendar, online markets have been bustling with people buying and selling palm fruit. Originally a typical country fruit in the regions of Phu Tho, Nghe An and Ha Tinh, now the palm fruit is brought to the street, becoming a “specialty” that diners buy a lot because of its rich, strange taste.
According to local people, the palm trees begin to flower, bearing fruit in the middle of the seventh lunar month. 3-4 months later is the time when the palm starts to ripen, the skin is dark green and gradually turns to blue. Depending on weather conditions, the palm ripe season can last up to several months.
At the time of the season, people start to harvest palm trees. The palm tree is tall and thorny, people often use the industrious indie (tie the sickle to the pole) to pick. If not well, the fruit will be rubbed, scarred, and reduced in taste.
The palm is oval in shape, only as small as an adult’s thumb, and larger than 2 fingers. When ripe, the palm is dark blue or slightly dark brown. Brush after picking will be washed, remove dust.
Because the palm is quite acrid, people are often “mellow” (cooked) to make it softer, less acrid and has a texture, sweet, and fat. However, in order to make a delicious batch of “um” palm, it requires skillful and sophisticated workers.
The palms are washed, mixed with pieces of old bamboo to peel off. Then pour boiling water about 85-90 degrees C into a bucket or brush basin, for about 15-20 minutes, the brush is soft ripe. If the water is too hot, the fruit will shrink, hard and acrid. If it lasts too long, it makes the brush soft, reduce the taste and feel.
People need to calibrate the water temperature and reasonable time, when the water surface becomes yellowish, the fruit turns from dark green to yellow. If the necessary factors are balanced, a delicious batch of brush, thick pulp, and pulp, soft and sweet taste will be eaten.
Ms. Nguyen Huong (from Phu Tho, currently living in Hanoi) has practiced selling palm fruit since 2018, when she saw many office workers looking to buy this countryside fruit for snacks.
“In my hometown, the palm fruit is a rustic snack, when brought to the city, many people see it as a specialty. Seeing that my colleagues buy it as a snack, I have a lot of praise, so I asked my family to send it to me. At first, I only sold a little bit, many people ordered too much, so I increased the quantity. Last year, I sold a whole bunch of palm weights, and this person introduced them to others to buy, “she said.
Having been with palm trees for many years, Huong knows very well her experience in choosing quality brushes. According to her, a good brush must be a sticky brush. To make a standard and delicious brush, you must choose an old one. In particular, the process of brushing requires dexterity and feat. Just “overhand” is to throw out the brush immediately.
“Many people do not know, it is wrong to always put the brush in a pot of boiling water. It is wrong to boil the water, not to boil, and then pour it into a bucket or basin to soak the brush. Leave the brush in warm water for a while, when you see it. If you soak, you can not see the scum, the palm will not be delicious. After you finish, try to find the quality to dare to sell, you don’t have to sell cheap or accept to remove the whole batch of palm “, Ms. Huong shared.
Anh Hung – a small agricultural trader in Hanoi, said that when the palm season comes, he imports goods to the capital to serve customers “gourmet”. There were delicious brushes, customers ordered a lot but he could not sell. Some people who are “addicted” to palm still deposit a deposit, just wait for the delicious sticky rice to buy and eat.
“Usually palms are about 60,000 VND / kg but delicious sticky palms have higher prices, sometimes nearly 100,000 VND / kg, customers still compete to buy. We sell both fresh and ripe palms. Add 5,000 – 10,000 VND for wages. Many customers like to eat palm, just buy a few pounds to enjoy for their food, “he said.
Also according to this small trader, the best palms are harvested from the trees that have not been pruned, tall and not coming. Harvesting is also difficult, especially in rainy and windy weather. Not to mention, if you unfortunately buy many deep palm trees, the fruit is not fully ripe, it will be bitter and can not eat.
Not only is the snack that “thrills” the office world, but the palm is also the ingredient to make many delicious dishes. In some places, a glutinous brush is used to make thick cake. After being smeared, the pulp of yellow sticky rice like honey and fragrant aroma is peeled off and pounded into baking ingredients.
In addition, this fruit can also be processed into a New Year’s palm melon dish or fish and meat stewed with delicious meat. The sticky, rich taste of the palm makes diners remember to eat once. Enjoy a piece of brush, feel the plasticity, are buried in your mouth to see a childhood sky rushing back.
Dân trí