Mature coconuts are becoming increasingly popular for making Tet jam.
(Baonghean.vn) - The trend of making homemade jam for the Lunar New Year is increasing, making stalls selling this product always bustling. Walking through the markets in Vinh City, people are rushing to buy coconuts to make jam as the Lunar New Year is only a little over a month away.
Following warnings about the food safety risks posed by jams made with food coloring of unknown origin, many housewives are now making their own jams for their families during Tet (Lunar New Year).
Some simple and readily available ingredients for making jam today include carrots, ginger, sweet potatoes, kumquats, and apples. However, coconut jam remains far more popular because it's not too difficult to make; with a little skill and creativity, you can create different flavors and colors of coconut jam, such as coffee, passion fruit, pandan leaf, and gac fruit coconut jam.
 Many establishments have imported large quantities of coconuts to supply the market. Photo: Nam Phuc |
The surge in demand during the Lunar New Year holiday has led to a rapid increase in the supply of coconuts.Although Tet Mau Tuat is still more than a month away, in some areas such as near Ben Thuy Market, Vinh Market, and Quan Lau Market (Vinh City)... the buying and selling of coconuts is quite lively; shops selling fresh coconuts in the markets all offer to grate coconuts for customers to make jam.
Despite increased demand, the price of this item has not risen compared to last year, currently selling at markets for 20,000 - 25,000 VND per coconut. Customers can buy pre-shredded coconut (sold by the kilogram) or buy it and shred it themselves.
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| Coconuts are pre-cut to serve customers' needs. Photo: Nam Phuc |
Ms. Thanh, the owner of a coconut shop near Ben Thuy market, said that for almost a week, many customers have been buying coconuts to make coconut jam, but her shop is not worried about shortages because the supply of coconuts from Ben Tre is continuous. Every day, she has to hire people to peel nearly 500 coconuts to supply to retail shops at the market and some online coconut jam makers.
At Mr. Tran Van Kien's coconut shop near Quan Lau market, there are always many customers. Besides selling whole, peeled coconuts, he also sells shredded coconut for those who don't have time to prepare it themselves. "Coconut prices are still stable this year, and my shop sells more than 100 coconuts a day to customers making coconut jam," Mr. Kien said.
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| Coconuts, after being peeled and shelled, sell for 18,000 - 25,000 VND per fruit. Photo: Nam Phuc |
After selecting five cleaned coconuts, Ms. Vu Thi Yen, residing in Truong Thi ward, Vinh City, said: "Every Tet holiday, I buy coconuts to make jam because it's very easy to make. The cost of ingredients for 1 kg of jam is only 60,000 - 70,000 VND, still cheaper than buying it from outside. Moreover, it's safer to eat and especially makes the family atmosphere during Tet more meaningful."
People are buying coconuts to make jam for Tet (Lunar New Year) because they are worried about contaminated and low-quality food, and also to save on Tet shopping costs. Besides people buying them for family consumption, this year the demand for coconuts is high as many people are preparing to make coconut jam to sell online.