 |
| The joy of enjoying homemade candied fruits |
In the final days of winter, as the weather turns chilly, many family kitchens grow warmer as family members gather to make candied fruits and sweet treats. Familiar ingredients like coconut, ginger, carrot, winter melon, sweet potato, lotus seeds, and lotus roots,… to various nuts, dried fruits, flour, butter, and eggs, etc., are meticulously selected by young people to create fragrant batches of candied fruits and sweet treats, ready to be served during Tet.
Chewy and sweet candied kumquat, shaped like beautiful flower petals, and known for its cough-relieving properties, is the signature dish of Ms. My Huyen (Thuan Hoa Ward). “Making candied kumquat is “complicated” with many steps, but I still want a sweet and fragrant gift for my relatives during Tet,” she shared.
Perfectly round kumquats are chosen carefully. After thorough cleaning, Ms. Huyen scores each fruit into 5 or 6 elegant petals. After removing the seeds to avoid bitterness, the kumquats are boiled in salt water and simmered with sugar until they become sweet and sour candied kumquats, with a faint pleasant bitterness from the peel, creating a harmonious and easy-to-enjoy flavor.
For Ms. Ngoc Anh’s family (Thuy Xuan Ward), making candied ginger has been a family tradition during Tet for thirty years. Her parents even carefully grow ginger in the eighth lunar month every year, and harvest it in the twelfth month to make candied ginger. As the ginger is grown on upland fields, its size is small, and its yield is low; however, the ginger is firm and intensely spicy, carrying the signature flavor of Hue ginger.
“My parents are so used to making candied ginger every year that they consider it a family ritual to welcome Tet for our family. Friends and relatives even place orders for our homemade candied ginger as soon as the season arrives,” confided Ms. Anh. Every year, the family only makes one batch over 10 to 12 days near Tet, producing about 40 - 50 kilograms of candied ginger. Without any advertising, the candied ginger still sells well as the acquaintances trust in its origin, ingredients, and unique flavor.
In addition to traditional candied fruits and sweet treats, in recent years, many young people have tried their hands at new festive treats, such as handmade nougat or various home-baked pastries. Ingredients like butter, marshmallows, and whole milk powder, along with nuts and dried fruits, are easily found at baking supply stores. The process of making nougat is quite simple, from melting butter, mixing marshmallows and milk powder, to roasting and stirring nuts. Many people also customize the nougat with fillings like candied fruits or dried fruits (raisins, strawberries, mangoes, etc.), then flatten and cut them into small bars for storage. Not only delicious and eye-catching, nougat is a favorite choice for gifting during Tet holiday.
Although there are many attractive types of pastries on the market today, many young people still choose to bake at home due to concerns about food safety and sugar content in ready-made products. Despite requiring considerable effort, homemade baking offers advantages such as lower cost, control over ingredients, suitability to personal taste, and reasonable expenses, bringing peace of mind when enjoying the treats during Tet holiday.
In an era that prioritizes the convenience, when almost everything can be bought ready-made, the act of young people stepping into the kitchens to prepare handmade treats for their families brings deep spiritual value. These small and beautiful batches of candied fruits and sweet treats not only showcase the dexterity, but also embody the meticulous care and sweet affection of the makers.