How to distinguish 9 types of Chinese fruits that are often mistaken as Vietnamese goods
(Baonghean.vn) - With cheap prices and beautiful designs, many types of Chinese fruits disguised as Vietnamese products are being sold widely in the market, confusing consumers...; below are tips to easily distinguish Chinese fruits to ensure the health of the whole family.
1. Tangerine
*Chinese tangerines:The fruit is flat, uniform in size, not crushed; has a smooth, shiny skin, and an attractive bright yellow color. When peeled, the tips of the segments are often dry, spongy, and not juicy; very sweet, even bitter and with a pungent smell from the chemicals...* Vietnamese tangerines: small, uneven fruit; thin skin, often blotchy, has faint spots, chicken fat yellow color, not as eye-catching as Chinese tangerines; has a light, mildly sour taste, natural aroma...
2. Label
* Chinese label: qhuhBigger, thinner skin, leaves are also bigger and thicker than Hung Yen longan leaves.Thick flesh, large seeds, sweet taste, not fragrant.Chinese longan often uses preservatives so the skin is clean, pale in color, thinner, and quickly turns black and rotten... *Hung Yen longan: qBig fruit, thorny skin, looks thick; skin is darker yellow, fresh longer because picked and transported, consumed immediately.The longan pulp is thick and dry, the seeds are small but juicy. The taste is sweet like rock sugar. The bottom of the fruit has two tightly packed pulp compartments (unlike other longans)...
3. Pomegranate
* Chinese pomegranate:The fruit is large in size, with a smooth, round, pinkish-white skin. When cut open, the fruit often has bright red, eye-catching seeds, the seeds are even, soft, and runny; usually odorless or have a chemical smell. When purchased, it cannot be stored for long, and spoils very quickly... *Vietnamese pomegranate:The fruit is usually smaller, the skin is rough or mottled, the skin is often green, gradually turning red when ripe. Although the fruit is small, it has many seeds, the seeds are lighter in color, juicy, and have a cool taste. Use your nose to smell the seeds inside, it has a fresh smell.
4. Grapes
*Chinese red grapes:The fruit is twice as big as Ninh Thuan grapes. When ripe, the fruit is light red, with white spots on the skin, and has a strong sweet taste. The grapes on the same bunch are separate from each other, and each bunch weighs about 500g-700g/bunch. When bought, it looks very fresh and delicious, with a dense core, but if kept in the refrigerator, after being taken out, the core will become loose and mushy...*Ninh Thuan red grapes:The fruit is about the size of a thumb, the skin is very thin, the ripe fruit is bright red to dark red, has a harmonious sweet taste with a slight sour taste. The grape bunches are long and slender and the fruits are almost close together on a bunch, not very separate; Ninh Thuan grapes are very easy to recognize because the fruit is only half the size of Chinese grapes...*
5. Cantaloupe
* Chinese melon:The fruit is large, usually weighing 3 - 4 kg/fruit, oval, weighing over 3 kg, with white mesh marks interwoven with each other, clearly visible on the melon skin; the flesh is slightly soft and very sweet. If the melon is injected with chemical sugars to add sweetness or chemicals to keep it fresh for a long time, when the melon is cut open after a few hours, the fruit's flesh will quickly become mushy. The storage time is long due to the use of preservatives...* Vietnamese melon:The fruit is usually small, round, with an average weight of about 1 kg/fruit, the largest is only 1.5 kg/fruit; when ripe, the net is more intricate; the flesh is thick, the melon flesh is orange, sweet, and crunchy. Short shelf life...
6. Plum
* Chinese plum:has a dull yellow or purple-black color (hybrid plum), large, beautiful fruit, sweet taste, softer, more mushy flesh, when refrigerated often rotten flesh, bland and not tasty. Domestic plums all bloom at the beginning of the year, bear fruit around May - June and are out of season around the end of July; therefore, the plums on the market after that time are all Chinese goods...* Vietnamese Plum:usually has a white powdery layer on the outside, especially when just picked, small in size, uneven; when ripe it is dark red, the late plum has green skin, soft to the touch, yellow flesh, sour to taste. Another type of plum harvested in Bac Ha district has light purple color, red flesh, fruit as big as an apple, sour taste...
7. Pink
* Chinese egg yolk (left):The skin is shiny, beautiful, bright orange-red, dark in color and usually has no scratches on the skin; the size is even but bigger than Da Lat persimmon. This type of persimmon is sweet but not fragrant, a bit dry and not juicy...* Dalat egg persimmon (right):Orange-yellow in color, round in shape, flat and smooth like a chicken egg, the stem has many black spots, no grooves, has bruises, uneven color, when peeled off the core near the knob is a bit hard, has a sweet and fatty taste, very chewy and fragrant...
8. Pear
* Le Trung Quoc (left):Sold all year round, the fruit is round, wrapped in a styrofoam net, has a smooth, shiny outer shell, green or bright yellow; has a strong sweet taste, no characteristic aroma; the fruit flesh is black or has many dark cracks, holes like needles. Contains preservatives so it can be kept for 15 - 20 days and still shiny; if refrigerated, it can be kept for up to 3 - 4 months...* Le Viet Nam (right):Only available around August - September, the fruit is long and slender, firm to the touch, rough outer skin, dark yellow color, not shiny and eye-catching; sweet, slightly sour taste, mild aroma; white flesh, not dry and spongy...
9. Strawberries
* Chinese strawberries (left):The leaves cover the long petiole, are highly uniform, have a darker red color and are smooth, without white interspersed; have no aroma, feel crumbly when eaten, and have no sour taste; can be kept for 7-10 days in a temperature environment of 25-32 degrees Celsius without wilting or rotting the fruit...* Dalat strawberries (right):leaves cover short stalks; fruit is uneven, not too big, soft, not smooth; dark on the stem, the stalk is slightly white; thin and short, partially covering the strawberry, light green; characteristic aroma, soft and chewy when eaten, with a slightly sour taste; Dalat strawberries can only be kept for a maximum of 2 days...