Scene of making 'royal tribute' objects on the days before Tet

TPO – In the golden age, rock sugar was very precious, and sugar makers also became valuable. Batches of sugar made were chosen as tribute to the royal court. Currently, only a few people in Quang Ngai still keep the secret of making this famous sugar.

December 28, 2024 | 08:19

TPO – In the golden age, rock sugar was very precious, and sugar makers also became valuable. Batches of sugar made were chosen as tribute to the royal court. Currently, only a few people in Quang Ngai still keep the secret of making this famous sugar.

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year 2025, the artisanal rock sugar kilns in Ba La - Van Tuong (Nghia Dong commune, Quang Ngai city, Quang Ngai province) are always on fire, hastily increasing capacity to supply the Tet market in time. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

The Bang Lam rock sugar factory of Mr. Dong Van Chinh's family (72 years old, residing in Hamlet 2, Nghia Dong Commune, Quang Ngai City) is nearly a hundred years old. This is one of the most famous rock sugar factories in Quang Ngai, working day and night to serve the Tet market. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

According to Mr. Chinh, in the past, the alluvial area along the Tra Khuc River was a large sugarcane granary. During harvest season, the whole village lit fires to cook molasses. During sugar making season, horse-drawn carts lined up to receive rock sugar, spoon sugar, cup sugar, and lung sugar to be shipped everywhere for consumption. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

“Since I was a child, I saw my grandfather making sugar from molasses, and gradually fell in love with this profession and have been attached to it until now. During the golden age of the profession, rock sugar was very precious, and sugar makers also became valuable. The batches of sugar made were chosen as tribute to the royal court,” Mr. Chinh shared. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

To make rock sugar, it must go through many steps such as lighting a fire, boiling water, threading to create a mold, etc. Sugar is mixed with water in a certain ratio and then put into a pot to boil. Photo: Bui Thanh Trung

While cooking, the worker puts an egg and lime water into the pot. This mixture causes impurities in the sugar water to precipitate and float to the surface. The worker will remove the impurities to increase the purity of the rock sugar batch. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

The furnace is blazing hot, the worker has to watch the fire and stir constantly to avoid the sugar from burning. After cooking for about 30 minutes, the sugar water will reach the standard to move to the next step. However, the worker hardly watches the time but uses cold water to test the sugar. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lam (70 years old, Mr. Chinh's wife) said that testing sugar with water is more accurate. Drop boiling sugar water into a plate of cold water. If the sugar drops stick together, the sugar is ready. If the sugar drops dissolve, it needs to be cooked more. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

“To crystallize the sugar evenly and beautifully, two secrets are needed: using a thread grid and a static element. The thread grid is two bamboo grids fixed by an iron frame, the thread is threaded through the bamboo grid, then put into an iron barrel and then sugar water is poured into the barrel. The thread grid will help the rock sugar crystallize and stick to the rock sugar in pieces like quartz. The second secret is that the sugar water barrel must be placed on a flat surface. During the entire process of waiting for the sugar to crystallize, the barrel must not be shaken,” said Ms. Lam. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

After about 7-8 days, the rock sugar will crystallize, but to have more beautiful, high-quality sugar, you have to wait 10-12 days. At that time, the workers will separate the excess molasses to get the rock sugar to dry or dry with charcoal. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

Nowadays, there are two types of rock sugar, brown sugar and white sugar. The color depends on the type of sugar used for cooking, brown sugar or white sugar. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

In 2022, the Department of Intellectual Property ( Ministry of Science and Technology ) granted a certificate of registration of the rock sugar trademark to the Farmers' Association of Nghia Dong commune. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

According to families making rock sugar in Ba La, this is a long-standing tradition passed down from father to son. Currently, the number of people making rock sugar is very small, but its most quintessential values ​​still exist. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

Nguyen Ngoc

Source: https://tienphong.vn/canh-lam-vat-cong-pham-hoang-trieu-nhung-ngay-giap-tet-post1704579.tpo