Ben Tre coconut candy making: From the beauty of labor to the highlight in tourism

05/08/2020 19922 0

With endless green coconut gardens, whenever mentioning Ben Tre, tourists are still used to calling it by a very cute name "Coconut land". There have been countless products made from coconut and those also allows improvement for people's living. In which, a traditional profession with a long association with the people of Ben Tre is really well known, which is coconut candy making; one of the handicrafts imbued with the culture of Coconut land and attracts a large number of tourists.

Visitors at the model of handmade coconut candy making in Ben Tre. (Photo: Internet)

The craft of making coconut candy is over a hundred years old. According to the forebears, this profession was established around the 30s of the twentieth century and originated in Mo Cay district, Ben Tre province (ie Mo Cay Nam today). At that time, the name associated with the place as "Mo Cay Candy". For a long time, coconut candy has become a famous specialty of the Land of Coconut, bringing with it a rich, aromatic flavor that unable to be found anywhere else in the country. Therefore, it’s considered indispensable gift for relatives and friends which domestic and foreign tourists should not forget after their trip to the Coconut Land.

Nowadays, living standard is being improved, the needs of society are also increasing, the profession of making coconut candy has gradually improved in both quality and quantity; there have been has different coconut candy villages bearing the imprint of the people and Ben Tre. During the journey in Ben Tre, this is also a beautiful, idyllic, meaningful story for visitors to explore and experience.

 

Coconut candy is made from simple ingredients: coconut milk, malt and granulated sugar. Malt is made from glutinous rice, delicious sticky rice carefully chosen, the seeds are large, even and aged enough; coconut milk also required to be mature and really greasy; Sugar is a kind of golden granulated sugar. Coconut candy making is also hard work, delicious candies requires workers to be really skilled and experienced, so each coconut candy contains the heart and love of Ben Tre.

Visitors experience handmade coconut candy wrapping in Ben Tre. (Photo: Internet)

In the past, coconut candy was made by hands, early in the morning, workers had to prepare ingredients and go through stages such as: cooking malt, scraping copra, squeezing coconut milk, mixing ingredients, rotating cooking, cooking, pouring candy, wrapping candy, etc. However, due to increasingly advanced science and technology, the demand for coconut candy consumption is also increasing, modern machines have been invented that leads to the stage of industrialization in the factories, production facilities of coconut candy craft villages.

To satisfy the diverse demands from the market, candy makers in Ben Tre have improved and innovated the combination of other attractive flavors into coconut candies such as durian, peanuts, pandan leaves, cocoa. Despite small sizes of coconut candies and simple craft of making, however it is always considered an art that requires patience, diligence and meticulousness in each stage of choosing ingredients and implementing them.  

Currently, in Ben Tre, there are different coconut candy makers that allow tourists to freely visit and learn about the candy-making process, such as those in Mo Cay Nam, Mo Cay Bac, Chau Thanh districts or manufacturers in Ward 7, Ben Tre city. In addition, domestic and foreign tourists have a choice for eco-tour programs in Coconut land to visit the coconut garden, drink cool sweet coconut water at the garden and most importantly, experience coconut candy making at the coconut makers facilities and enjoy the sweet, greasy, hot and fresh candies.

In recent years, tourism in Ben Tre has attracted more and more tourists and the brand "River Ecology in the Land of Coconut" has gradually been affirmed. In particular, foreign tourists from: UK, USA, France, and so on always feel very interested in the rustic and idyllic Ben Tre people and show their excitement to experience and learn about the profession of candy making. This is one of the craft villages full of humanity and culture of the Coconut land that needs to be preserved and promoted, as it not only brings many benefits to local tourism but also helps to improve people’s living, contribute to economic growth of Ben Tre province.

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