Tay Ninh custard apple: Famous specialty of the Southern region

There is a sunny and windy land nestled at the foot of Ba Den Mountain - a sacred mountain associated with many legends of Tay Ninh land, where the sun is like fire but the land is still green, where the wind blows all four seasons but people's hearts are still gentle like rice fields; where there are custard apple gardens full of fruit for the sweet fruit season, making up the soul of the Southern land.

Soursop – or custard apple as it is commonly called in the North – is a tree that originates from the tropical regions of America but has taken root, grown and is firmly attached to the land and sky of Tay Ninh.

The soursops here are usually quite uniform in shape, round and thin-skinned. The average size is usually larger than soursops grown in many other places, with a diameter of about 7-8cm and an average weight of about 180g.

Not as colorful as dragon fruit, nor as fragrant as durian, this rustic fruit has a beautiful moldy green skin, which turns slightly yellow when ripe, covered with soft thorns - like a simple, coarse cloth shirt, carefully and lovingly covering the smooth, fragrant and sweet white flesh inside.

Not only attractive for its pure flavor, soursop is also a natural “treasure” of nutrition. Each segment of the fruit contains glucose, sucrose, starch, protein, and many essential minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and vitamins – very good for health, especially suitable for the elderly and children.

Currently, Tay Ninh is the locality with the largest custard apple growing area in the country. The vast green custard apple gardens are mainly concentrated in the communes of Suoi Da, Phan, Bau Nang (Duong Minh Chau district); Tan Hung (Tan Chau district); and the communes of Thanh Tan, Tan Binh, Ninh Thanh, Ninh Son wards (Tay Ninh city). Among the popularly grown varieties, the firm custard apple is currently the most popular in the market.

With outstanding characteristics such as large, beautiful fruit, few seeds, delicious flavor, and good preservation and transportation ability, this custard apple variety not only meets domestic consumption needs but also expands export potential. Thanks to that, Tay Ninh custard apple is gradually asserting its position in the Vietnamese and international agricultural markets.

People often tell each other: if you want to eat delicious custard apples, you must definitely go to the garden at the foot of Ba Den mountain. It is not by chance that the holy land is considered the "capital" of this fruit - because that land possesses rare natural conditions.

The climate is temperate all year round, with plenty of sunshine during the day but not too harsh, and cool at night with low temperatures for a long time. The soil is fertile and loose – all of which create an ideal ecosystem for the custard apple tree to grow healthily, bear fruit, and produce fruit of outstanding quality.

It is this natural favor that has created a very unique flavor for the custard apples here: each segment of flesh is chewy, fragrant, and has an unforgettable sweet taste - completely different from the same type grown in other regions.

Perhaps that is why custard apple at the foot of Ba Den mountain is not only a local specialty, but also the pride of Tay Ninh people - a sweet gift from heaven and earth to mankind.

Many people still tell each other that even if they take the custard apple variety grown at the foot of Ba Den mountain, graft it, and plant it in another land, the fruit they get still cannot compare to the original flavor here.

Because, not only good seeds are enough – but the spirit of this special land together with the diligent hands, reasonable and scientific farming techniques of people are what make the difference. As if every inch of land, every breeze, every drop of night dew has permeated every custard apple segment, breathing life into every sweet fruit.

Eating a Tay Ninh custard apple is not only tasting a local gift, but also feeling the soul of the land and people in this sunny and windy land. The sweet taste gradually permeates every taste bud, gently spreading down to the throat, so that before we can finish the taste, we want to eat another piece.

The fragrance is so gentle, the taste is so pure that it makes people close their eyes, to enjoy it fully with all their soul. Perhaps because of that, people firmly believe that: mountain custard apple is not only delicious - it also knows how to "keep people's feet". Keep it with its rich sweetness and with the kind heart of Tay Ninh people in each fruit season.

My childhood passed peacefully under the shade of an old custard apple tree in a small garden at the foot of Ba Den Mountain - planted by my father when I was a little kid. The tree is not tall, its trunk is rough and bumpy over the years, but its canopy spreads out, shading a corner of the sunny yard.

Every season when the fruit was ripe, we children would eagerly climb the trees, competing to pick the ripe custard apples. We always got a basket full.

Mother carefully selected the most delicious, plump and fragrant fruits and placed them on the altar to worship our ancestors. We gathered in the middle of the yard, fumbling to separate each segment, then put them in our mouths.

The wind from the mountains blew cool, cicadas chirped on the high branches, the scent of soursop gently spread in the air - a scent not strong but very familiar.

I just ate and smiled, because the fruit was so sweet, because of the feeling of being loved, being enveloped in the simplicity, peace and purity of my childhood.

Growing up, traveling far away, I have tasted all kinds of imported fruits, but none of them has made me miss them so much. Just taking a bite of the custard apple from my hometown, all the memories seem to come flooding back – full of crisp laughter, the sunlight sparkling through the leaves and the smell of damp soil after an afternoon rain in the countryside.

There are many unique ways to enjoy soursop, from simple to sophisticated. The best way to fully experience the flavor of Tay Ninh soursop is to eat it fresh. You just need to peel each segment, remove the skin and seeds, then enjoy the sweet taste and the characteristic aroma. In addition, Tay Ninh soursop is also an ideal ingredient to create many attractive desserts, especially suitable for hot days.

You can easily make a cool soursop smoothie by blending the fruit with fresh milk and ice. If you love ice cream, soursop ice cream with the rich taste of fresh cream and the characteristic aroma of soursop will surely satisfy you.

Or the refreshing soursop dessert, combining the natural sweetness of the fruit with rich coconut milk, is a great choice for relaxing afternoons.

Nowadays, whenever tourists visit Tay Ninh, besides the journey to visit the sacred Ba Den mountain, worship the majestic Cao Dai Holy See or enjoy the famous sun-dried rice paper, a bag of custard apples to bring back as a gift seems to have become an indispensable part.

Tay Ninh custard apple is no longer a "homegrown fruit" like in the past, but has gone beyond the small garden at the foot of the mountain, becoming a typical agricultural brand, imbued with the soul of the countryside and the identity of the country.

From being a rustic gift from the countryside, Tay Ninh custard apple is gradually expanding its reach – appearing in large distribution systems, participating in agricultural fairs, and gradually asserting its position in the domestic and international markets. It is not only the result of good soil and good varieties, but also the effort, love and faith of many generations of Tay Ninh people placed in each sweet fruit season.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of modern life, sometimes amidst countless sophisticated delicacies, people suddenly crave a simple, original flavor. And Tay Ninh custard apple - with its rustic, rich flavor - is a reminder of a peaceful countryside, where nature and people work together to create products that are enough to captivate anyone who visits.

Mai Thao

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/mang-cau-tay-ninh-dac-san-tru-danh-cua-mien-dat-phuong-nam-a191046.html