Bustling Tet jam season

These days, the jam-making atmosphere of Ms. Nguyen Thi My Dung's family in Quarter 5, Phuoc Hoi Ward, La Gi Town is more bustling and busy, each person has a different stage, from peeling, boiling jam to drying jam... everyone is busy to produce delicious batches of jam , meeting the market demand during Tet .

Having been involved in the traditional jam making business for over 20 years. All the jam making steps are done by hand. Ms. Dung shared: “Every year, my family makes all kinds of jams to serve the Lunar New Year market such as: coconut jam, ginger jam, tamarind jam, grapefruit peel jam, custard apple jam… However, among the jams, coconut jam is the most popular in the market. Especially young coconut jam”.

Making jam for Tet is not difficult but requires skill and meticulousness in each step. Depending on the ingredients, taste, and preferences of each person and each family, the marinating and processing recipes are different. In the traditional coconut jam making process , the jam-making process is the most difficult and requires the most sophistication. In this process, the jam maker must have skills and endurance. The maker must use two large kitchen chopsticks to stir the jam evenly in the pan, working continuously for many hours.

Dung and her husband are busy making coconut jam.

Ms. Dung added: “The jam I make for sale is the same as the jam I make for myself and my family, so I don’t use preservatives or colorants. For coconut jam, I often use natural colors such as: Gac fruit, red dragon fruit, butterfly pea flowers, pandan leaves... to make the jam more eye-catching, but still ensure food safety and hygiene criteria.”

Coconut jam - An indispensable jam during the traditional Tet holiday of the nation

In addition to coconut jam, ginger jam is also quite popular with customers. In the cold weather of the first days of spring, sipping a slice of ginger jam with a cup of hot tea is really interesting. Ginger jam means wishing for a warm and happy new year for every family. A little sweetness covering the spicy and warm taste of ginger brings an enjoyable feeling to the enjoyer. Besides, ginger jam also has the effect of detoxifying, warming the body and stimulating digestion for the days of irregular eating during Tet.

Ginger jam symbolizes the wish for a warm and happy new year for every family.

Tet is the time when relatives and friends gather, wish each other a happy new year, invite each other to a cup of tea, enjoy traditional cakes and jams to tell each other about the past year. Therefore , Tet jam is an indispensable dish in every Vietnamese family. The sweetness of sugar mixed with fresh ingredients creates a sweet, rich, sour, spicy flavor... that anyone who has ever enjoyed it will remember forever!

Tet jam - An indispensable dish in every Vietnamese family during the Tet holiday

Skilled and industrious, the people who make Tet jams have added sweetness to many families during the traditional Tet holidays of the nation . And they always find ways to “ keep the fire ” , “ keep the Tet flavor ”, “ keep the soul ” of Vietnamese Tet for today’s and future generations.