Specialty of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the banyan tree is an ancient tree on this large island, how can you pick it up and make it delicious?

Con Dao archipelago (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) has many ancient banyan trees that are 130-150 years old. In October and November, when visiting Con Dao, visitors will be given gifts from the banyan trees, which are fallen banyan fruits. The banyan seeds can be dried to make delicious jams and cakes.

Con Dao has many ancient banyan trees that are 130-150 years old. In October and November, when visiting Con Dao, visitors will be given gifts from the banyan trees, which are fallen banyan fruits. The banyan seeds can be dried and made into delicious jams and cakes.

Arriving in Con Dao (Ba Ria-Vung Tau), the first impression that catches the eye of visitors is the large, strong banyan trees.

The Con Dao Banyan tree is a type of forest tree with larger leaves and fruits than other banyan trees. The banyan tree on the island is very tall, with a trunk so big that two or three people cannot hug it.

After a season on the tree, the almond fruit has absorbed the air from the distant sea, gathering all the minerals absorbed from the island's soil. Over the months, the fruit hides in the leaves, blends with the sunlight, and finally falls to the roadside, given to visitors from far away to take back to another region to grow.

The areca nut has long been a characteristic when mentioning Con Dao. From the dried areca nut, fallen on the street, seemingly discarded but bringing high nutritional value.

Con Dao people collect, dry and then use knives to chop to get the small brown seeds inside and process them into candied areca nuts.

People on Con Dao Island (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) go to collect sea cucumbers from early morning.

Made from the fruit of ancient, hundred-year-old Indian almond trees found everywhere on the island, the specialty of Indian almond jam has long become a source of pride for the people of Con Dao when introducing it to domestic and foreign tourists.

Picking up the almonds must start very early, around 3 or 4 a.m. At that time, after the bats have eaten them, the ripe almonds will have fallen and no one has yet cleaned them up.

The picked areca nut must be dried and then chopped to get the kernel. Because of the habit of chopping with moderate force, the areca nut seeds do not break. In one session, 1kg of areca nut seeds can be chopped.

At first, areca nuts were just a snack in the family, but because of life, they made them to sell, especially after tourists came to the island, areca nuts became known to everyone and the locals here found ways to process areca nuts more diversely to suit the taste of visitors.

Areca nuts are picked and dried by people in Con Dao (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province).

Then the Con Dao areca nut is cut in half by the people to get the seed inside.

This dish is divided into two types according to the way it is prepared: salty areca jam roasted with salt and sweet areca jam with sugar and ginger.

All mixed with the rich, fatty taste of the seeds makes it unforgettable for anyone who eats it once. After processing, the areca nuts are packaged in vacuum bags for long-term preservation.

Processing candied areca nuts by hand in Con Dao island, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

To have delicious and beautiful batches of Con Dao areca nut jam, the people here also have their own secret.

Besides ensuring the correct ratio of sugar and salt, the processor also needs to pay attention to keeping the heat high enough and stirring constantly so that the salt or sugar does not penetrate the seeds, retaining the characteristic nutty flavor of the areca nut.

Recently, Con Dao also has areca nut cookies, which is also the first 3-star OCOP product.

Areca nuts are ground with butter, eggs, flour and other spices to make cakes. The cake surface is decorated with whole areca nuts.

Con Dao areca nut cookies (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) are delicious and unique.

The special recipe combined with the light buttery aroma, blended with ground areca nuts in each cake and moderate sweetness has created a wonderful flavor for Con Dao areca nut cookies.

Source: https://danviet.vn/dac-san-ba-ria-vung-tau-cay-bang-la-cay-co-thu-o-hon-dao-to-lon-nay-nhat-ve-lam-kieu-gi-ma-ngon-20250126231821848.htm