In the memory of many people, the red cardboard box filled with different types of jam in each Tet gift package is still a familiar and warm image. Traditional jams usually have only a few types: coconut jam, ginger jam, lotus jam, apple jam, pumpkin jam, carrot jam, bird egg candy, etc., handmade from the stage of selecting fruits and vegetables, processing to simmering in sugar. Trays of jams with many harmonious colors are gifts loved by both adults and children. No matter how many years have passed, the simple sweet aroma of Tet jam is still deeply imprinted in the subconscious of every Vietnamese person as a quintessential gift left by their ancestors.
Photo: Culturemagazine.
Over the years, jams have become more and more diverse in flavor and variety. However, traditional jams still have their own place, never out of date, creating a unique feature of the traditional Tet flavor.
Ginger jam
Photo: cooky
Dried ginger slices covered with a thin layer of sugar still retain their warm, slightly spicy taste. Not only for eating, a cup of hot water with a few slices of ginger jam can also be used as a drink to warm the body in cold weather. Kim Long Ward in Hue City is considered the most famous traditional ginger jam village in Vietnam. Every December, Kim Long Ward lights up the fire to produce batches of delicious jam by hand to get the finished product of thin, naturally yellow, spicy, sweet and very crispy ginger jam slices.
Coconut jam
Photo: Hoidaubep
Coconut jam is the most popular jam among all jams, with a sweet, fragrant, crunchy taste, suitable for sipping with a cup of fragrant jasmine tea, gathering with family. Making coconut jam is not too complicated, until now many people still keep the habit of making coconut jam themselves to give as gifts and keep for their family to use every Tet holiday.
Pumpkin jam
Photo: Jolischef
Winter melon is a nutritious food with many health benefits according to folk remedies. When processed into jam, winter melon is beautiful white, crispy and sweet. The process of making winter melon jam is more complicated than many other types as it must be soaked in lime water for many hours to naturally bleach the squash without chemicals. This is also a necessary ingredient in moon cake or pia cake filling.
Carrot jam
Photo: mongonmoingay
Carrot jam has an attractive orange-yellow color, adding a special touch to the gift tray. Carrots are a root vegetable rich in vitamins and have beautifying effects. The aroma of sugar combined with the sweetness of carrots makes the first meetings of the year warmer and more enjoyable.
Apple jam
Photo: youtube
The apple jam is soft, fragrant, golden yellow, has many layers of grooves on the outside of the fruit, the apple flesh is thick, chewy and sweet. Vi village, Hung Yen city is famous for its traditional profession of making Tet jam, especially apple jam. The apple jam here is produced by hand, carefully and meticulously from the stage of choosing the ingredients to processing the fruit and sugaring.
Lotus jam
Photo: beemartblog
Lotus jam is a rather "luxurious" jam because it is not cheap and because it has high nutritional value. This is also a jam that is elaborately made, an elegant snack to entertain guests on Tet holiday. Combined with tea, it is a perfect combination, both fragrant and sweet, light and gentle, making people feel light and nostalgic. On Tet holiday, sipping each piece of lotus seed jam with a cup of strong tea is a pleasure of many families.
Bird egg candy
Photo: lanvaobep
It is called bird egg candy because each candy is made from a peanut, covered with a layer of powder and hard sugar, looking like small bird eggs.
Through the skillful hands of Vietnamese people, vegetables are delicately processed and become gifts containing the meaning and flavor of heaven and earth. It not only brings a warm sweet taste in the cold spring weather, but also preserves the traditional Tet flavor in the memory of every Vietnamese person.
Ngoc Anh
