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Go to the highlands to see people turn wild fruits into 'white gems' of the forest

Khanh Ly-Quynh An• April 29, 2024 10:30

(Baonghean.vn) - Originally a wild plant growing in the forest, recently, the palmyra palm has become a tree species sought after by many people in Xieng My commune (Tuong Duong). After going through many elaborate stages, the finished palmyra palm seeds are a dish chosen by many housewives to cool off this summer.

The palm tree is a wild tree with a trunk and leaves similar to a coconut tree, and the fruit grows in long clusters from the top down. Previously, palm fruit fell all over the forest, but in recent years, thanks to learning online, people in Xieng My commune as well as some neighboring areas of Tuong Duong district have learned to harvest and process palm fruit to create a product that many people love. Photo: CSCC

From early morning, people from Cha Hia, Dinh Tai and Phay villages, Xieng My commune went into the forest to cut down palm fruits and bring them home. Photo: Khanh Ly

The family of Ms. Vi Thi Tham and Mr. Luong Van My in Phay village, Xieng My commune, started harvesting palm seeds for sale last summer. Every day, the couple had to go deep into the forest early in the morning to harvest. Ms. Tham said: the men climbed up to cut the fruit, the women picked it up below and carried the palm seeds back. On average, the couple cut 4 baskets each day. According to the villagers, it takes about 10 years for a palm tree to mature and bear fruit. However, the palm fruit can stay on the tree for 2-3 years without falling off. Around April, people start harvesting palm seeds because this is the season for young palm fruits, just "ripe" and in time to serve the demand of the summer beverage market. Photo: An Quynh

Newly harvested palm fruits are covered with many fine hairs, which can easily cause itching when in contact. Therefore, after picking, the palm fruit bunches are boiled for about 30 minutes to remove the fine hairs and itchy sap. At the same time, cooking the fruit helps soften the body, making it easier to get the seeds inside. Photo: Khanh Ly

Clip of people harvesting and processing palm fruit to get seeds. Clip: Khanh Ly

After being boiled, the jackfruit is no longer itchy, the shell is soft and easy to cut. Each fruit is cut at an angle to make it easier to get the seeds. Photo: An Quynh

When cut open, the jackfruit has 3 soft, white seeds inside that look like pearls, so the locals often call it "white pearls". Photo: Khanh Ly

Ms. Kha Thi Bich - Party Secretary of Phay village, Xieng My commune said: To separate the seeds from the shell, people have "made" a specialized seed-separating tool consisting of two wooden sticks tied together at one end. After placing the jackfruit seeds between the two wooden sticks, people press down to flatten the seeds, and the seeds inside slip out. This method helps people save more time than using a knife. Photo: An Quynh

The separated jackfruit seeds will be soaked in a basin of clean water. After many changes of water, the jackfruit seeds will be white and clean. The finished jackfruit seeds are opaque white, soft, odorless, and have a rather bland taste. It is known that jackfruit seeds have many uses, are low in fat and calories, but are rich in minerals, vitamins... good for health. After being pre-processed, jackfruit seeds can be used to make many delicious dishes such as braised meat, cooked sweet soup, made jam... and are often used as ingredients for summer heat-relieving dishes. Photo: Khanh Ly - Quynh An

Although the processing of jackfruit seeds is a laborious process, they are wild plants that grow abundantly in the forest. The harvesting of jackfruit seeds has helped many households in Xieng My commune (Tuong Duong) have more jobs as well as increase their income. The price of jackfruit seeds that people import wholesale to some local households ranges from 18-20 thousand VND/kg, on average, each day the jackfruit seeds bring income to households from 400-600 thousand VND. After purchasing from the people, jackfruit seeds are sold wholesale by households in Thach Giam town (Tuong Duong), neighboring districts and Vinh city at prices from 25-30 thousand VND/kg. According to Mr. Tinh Van Hong - head of Phay village, Xieng My commune, the purchasing households have advertised on social networks so they are known by many people and sell quite well, some households import wholesale to Vinh city, on average, 50 kg of jackfruit seeds per day. Photo: Khanh Ly

According to the reporter's research, the price of jackfruit seeds in Vinh city ranges from 130,000 to 150,000 VND/kg, and is popular among housewives for processing into many refreshing summer dishes. Photo: An Quynh

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Go to the highlands to see people turn wild fruits into 'white gems' of the forest

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