The more you crush this specialty fruit in An Giang, the sweeter it gets, likened to wild grapes.

Not only does this specialty look like grapes, it also attracts customers thanks to its unique sweet and sour taste, juicy, delicious and good for health.

In Vietnam, the rose myrtle tree (also known as the Chinese ivy or Chinese mung tree) grows naturally or is planted in many mountainous areas and deep forests from North to South.

Among them, An Giang is considered the most popular place to grow rose apple trees, almost every house has one. Some houses have a few trees, some have hundreds of trees.

People often grow red army trees intercropped under forest canopies and hill gardens in areas such as Dai Nam Gieng Mountain, Cam Mountain, Co To Mountain... and wait for the harvest season.

The rose apple tree adapts well to high mountain terrain, has the ability to grow and develop strongly, so it often produces heavy fruit. Photo: Ut Luc Binh

Persimmons are cool to eat, have a unique sweet and sour taste, and a characteristic aroma, so in recent years they have been popular with locals and tourists.

This fruit is even considered a specialty, transported to surrounding provinces and areas, priced from 40,000-60,000 VND/kg (depending on location, time).

Persimmons have purple or dark red skin and a sweet and sour taste, so they are likened to wild grapes. Photo: Ut Luc Binh

Ms. Nguyen Nhan (in Tri Ton, An Giang) said that persimmons are usually available in summer and autumn and ripen most from around August to September.

Depending on geographical and climatic conditions of each place, the harvest time of this fruit may be earlier or later.

“The persimmon fruit starts to ripen from the 7th lunar month and can last until the end of the Lunar New Year. In some places, the tree flowers late and bears fruit out of season in the 2nd and 3rd lunar months.

Therefore, local people usually harvest persimmons in two crops each year. The first crop lasts about two months, while the second crop is shorter, about one month, with a smaller yield,” said Ms. Nhan.

Before eating, people often knead the persimmon many times to make the flesh softer, sweeter, and juicier. Photo: Thuy Lieu

The female trader also said that young persimmons are green, when ripe they turn dark red or purple.

The fruit skin is thin, plump, has few seeds, and the flesh is yellow, fragrant, and has a slightly astringent taste mixed with sweet and sour.

This fruit is grown naturally, does not require much care so it is quite healthy and clean, when you buy it, just wash it with water and you can eat it right away.

Persimmons are delicious when dipped in salt and chili. Photo: Ut Luc Binh

Having had the opportunity to enjoy persimmons a few times, Ms. Thu Trang (in Ho Chi Minh City) was impressed with the fruit that looks like grapes, as small as two fingertips put together.

She commented that the fruit is a bit astringent but has a sweet and sour taste, suitable for snacking, and is delicious with salt and chili.

“The interesting thing is that even though the persimmon is ripe and purple, if you want it to be sweet and delicious, you have to roll and knead it very carefully.

I usually put the fruit between my two palms, roll it over and over again until the flesh is crushed and plump until it cracks open before enjoying it," Trang shared.

The female tourist also revealed that, in addition to being used fresh, persimmons can also be processed into attractive sweet and sour jam or soaked in wine for fragrance.

Persimmon fruit is considered a mountain product. Photo: Duong Viet Anh

According to the Vietnamese Medicinal Plant Dictionary - Volume 1 , ripe persimmon fruit is warm, sweet, has the effect of digesting food, eliminating phlegm... Young fruit is sour, helps firm the skin.

When ripe, this fruit is also used in many folk remedies, combined with other parts such as leaves and roots of the rose apple tree to treat stomach pain, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc.

Quang Tri's 'heaven-sent' specialties are delicious raw or cooked, but hard to buy even with money. Although Quang Tri specialties, some dishes such as king oysters, liet vegetables, buffalo meat with wild leaves... are quite unfamiliar to visitors from all over.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/qua-dac-san-o-an-giang-cang-vo-cang-ngot-duoc-vi-nhu-nho-rung-2442752.html