Expensive and causing a fever on the 'online market', the selling price is twice as expensive

Enjoying the last mac kham fruits she just bought from a street vendor, Ms. Phuong Minh Chau in Huynh Thuc Khang (Dong Da, Hanoi) shared that in the past few days, surfing social networks, she saw wild mac kham fruits being sold everywhere. The appearance is not eye-catching, the skin is rough, the fruit is small like a plum. However, people describe the flavor of this fruit as extremely special.

This morning, on the way from home to work, she saw a street vendor selling expensive food so she stopped by to buy some. Initially, she only intended to buy 2-3 taels to try it out. Unexpectedly, after tasting one fruit, she was so fascinated by its flavor that she bought 1kg for 80,000 VND.

Ms. Chau is a person who loves to eat fresh fruit. Normally, the outer skin of fruits is usually tasteless, but the skin of the mac kham fruit is sweet. The fruit is crispy, the initial taste is slightly sour, the final taste is sweet. Just eat one mac kham fruit, 10 minutes later you can still feel the sweetness in your throat. Dipping it with salt will enhance the flavor of the mac kham fruit even more.

“Eating mac kham feels like eating a piece of dried fruit. However, mac kham is crispy and fresh, so it tastes better,” Ms. Chau shared.

In the past few days, mac kham has suddenly become a hot topic on the “online market”. Accordingly, mac kham (also known as wild tamarind) is being sold in all large and small online markets with the advertisement that the outer shell is sweet, and when bitten, it will taste slightly sour and have a sweet aftertaste.

This wild fruit costs from 60,000-80,000 VND/kg.

Ms. Dinh Thi Ngan - an online fruit seller in Thanh Xuan (Hanoi) - admitted that in the past few days, the amount of mac kham sold has increased sharply. She said that mac kham is a wild fruit that is abundant in the mountainous areas of Lang Son, Cao Bang, and Ha Giang. From September every year, people often go into the forest to pick mac kham to sell. Because this fruit is delicious and has many health benefits.

“At the beginning of the season, I sold green mac kham for only 30,000-35,000 VND/kg. Now in the middle of the season, dried mac kham costs 70,000 VND/kg, twice as expensive,” she said. However, she still sells 80-90kg of mac kham every day.

According to Ms. Ngan, most customers only order 1-2 kg to try out out of curiosity. Regular customers usually order 3-5 kg ​​because this fruit can be preserved in the refrigerator for quite a long time. In addition to being eaten fresh, mac kham can also be processed into many different dishes such as: mac kham marinated, shaken with salt and chili, soaked in sugar... "I have been selling mac kham for 4 years now, but this is the first time I see mac kham fruit selling so well," she said.

Mr. Bui Trung Hieu, a wholesaler of Mac Kham in Lang Son, shared that there were days when he sold nearly 1 ton of goods.

In Lang Son, people go to the mountains to pick mac kham and Mr. Hieu's family buys it. In previous years, he did not sell much fresh mac kham because few people ate it. Therefore, the goods he bought from his people were often used to make mac kham marinade, similar to pickled eggplant.

The longer the fruit is marinated, the better it tastes. It can be kept in the refrigerator for several months. However, once marinated, he sells it wholesale to customers in the provinces, with Hanoi accounting for the majority.

This year, the amount of fresh mac kham sold wholesale has increased. In particular, from the end of November until now, he has sold 2/3 of the collected goods to wholesale customers, the rest is marinated and canned for sale.

“The wholesaler said that mac kham is causing a fever, many people buy it fresh, so the amount of goods they import has increased compared to before,” said Mr. Hieu. According to him, when eating fresh, you should choose mac kham fruits with brown skin. These are ripe fruits, when eaten, they ensure crunchiness, a slightly sour taste and a sweet aftertaste. Mac kham fruits with brown skin also have a special sweet taste. Fruits with green skin have a more sour taste, suitable for marinating.