At the end of the year, in addition to being busy preparing everything in the house, women in the countryside do not forget to make traditional coconut jam to celebrate Tet.

To make coconut jam, you must choose the right type of coconut with a tanned shell, the coconut meat is just hard enough to pry open, but still soft enough for the jam to be delicious. Carefully separate the coconut meat so that it is intact, then peel off the thin yellow layer, then wash it, use a double-edged knife to skillfully peel it, to produce long, even and thin coconut fibers.

To make the coconut jam soft and naturally chewy, the raw coconut fibers must be blanched in boiling water once, the jam must be marinated in the right proportion (depending on each place's taste for sweetness and lightness) and then left to ferment until the sugar is completely dissolved and absorbed. Then put it on the stove to cook, the firewood must be kept on the fire evenly.

For experienced people, when cooking jam, just look at the boiling sugar water to know whether the jam is ready or not and will know how to adjust the speed of stirring the jam accordingly. Making successful coconut jam is after 30 minutes of cooking evenly over red heat, the coconut fibers come out of the oven pure white, not hard or dry and not soft and mushy. Especially, you have to filter out the excess sugar before packaging for storage, so that the jam can be preserved for a long time.

A batch of delicious coconut jam just out of the oven. Photo: Do ​​Suot Anh

Ms. Le Hong Cuc (Hamlet 7, Khanh Hoa Commune, U Minh District) shared: “Tet without making coconut jam feels like something is missing. Every year, around the 10th of December, I prepare 20 coconuts to make jam to share with my brothers, aunts, uncles and to entertain guests. The most popular coconut jam in the past is still the traditional white coconut jam, later there are also green coconut jams from pandan leaves, red from beetroot, yellow from passion fruit, orange from gac fruit, brown from coffee, cocoa... to make the jam tray more beautiful and colorful”.

According to Vietnamese customs, during the spring days, a tray of candies and jams is indispensable to treat guests who come to wish them a happy new year. Because this is a sweet taste, like wishing everyone peace, happiness, good luck, and fulfillment.

In the memories of the countryside, where the tradition of making coconut jam is preserved, a dish symbolizing the taste of Tet of the homeland, has become a beautiful tradition for generations with the image of the whole family gathering together to peel coconuts and make jam in the warm Tet atmosphere. Tet is more joyful when there is a piece of soft, fatty, sweet, fragrant coconut jam, enjoyed with a cup of hot tea, first worshiping ancestors, then treating relatives, friends, and guests./.

Thao Mo

Source: https://baocamau.vn/mut-dua-que-don-tet-a2392.html