“At this time, in addition to the fresh lotus seeds in Hue, which are in season, the ponds and lotus ponds in the countryside also begin to harvest seeds. If fresh lotus seeds in Hue cost 170,000-190,000 VND/kg, the original lotus seeds cost only 100,000-120,000 VND/kg. The lotus seeds from the countryside are as fragrant and fragrant as the Hue lotus seeds,” said Tran Thi Hanh, a small trader selling fresh lotus seeds at Vo market, Ha Dong. Because it is the fresh lotus seed at the beginning of the season, it is sold during the epidemic season, so this year, the price of fresh lotus seeds at the toad markets is quite soft, attracting many housewives to order. “At the beginning of the season, the price of fresh lotus seeds is still high. A little more lotus at the end of the tool, the price of lotus seeds will decrease to 80,000-90,000 VND/kg. That’s why many housewives buy fresh seeds from the countryside to make lotus tea, nut milk or leave sticky rice, cook tea to cool down,” said Hanh. Because many people like to eat, fresh lotus seeds at the beginning of the season are quite popular. Buyers buy at least 1kg, many buy 5-7kg and put them in the refrigerator to eat gradually. According to Ms. Hanh, there are many ways to preserve lotus seeds to eat year-round and still be delicious, but you can follow these 4 ways to store lotus seeds until the next season. Dried lotus seeds Hanh said, there is a simple way to store fresh lotus seeds to eat all year round, which is fresh lotus seeds that do not need to be washed after being purchased. Just peel off the shell, get the white lotus seed kernel. Use a toothpick to take the lotus heart. “Next, bring the lotus seeds to dry in the sun 3-5 times (or dry) until dry, then store them in a jar with a tight lid. From time to time, during use, you can bring lotus seeds to dry in the sun to avoid mold, “Ms. Hanh said. Frozen fresh lotus seeds When buying fresh lotus seeds, the housewife does not wash but peels off the seed shell, takes the white lotus seed kernel and uses a toothpick to get the lotus heart. After that, divide the purchased lotus seeds into small pieces, store them in plastic boxes, plastic bags or put them in vacuum bags and then put them in the freezer for later use. The easiest way is to freeze fresh lotus seeds in the freezer compartment As for the refrigerator, it can only be for about 10 days when the lotus begins to darken. Every time you take out the lotus seeds to use, take each box or bag, gradually defrost and cover with boiling water. Then cook normally. Lotus seeds are still pure white even when stored in the freezer. Steam fresh lotus seeds and put them in the freezer There is another way to preserve fresh lotus seeds that many housewives have recently suggested is to steam them and then freeze them to eat gradually. “Many housewives who buy their own lotus seeds think that if fresh lotus seeds are stored in the refrigerator for a few days, they will become dull, and the seeds will decrease in sweetness. As for fresh, but frozen, sometimes it is still mixed with rough seeds, not delicious. But if steamed, it’s 100% fleshy, white, fragrant, not dull, very convenient because when you need to eat tea, it cooks very quickly,” this person shared. Specifically, prepare a pot of water and steam the lotus seeds above, until the lotus is ripe. Do not stir while the lotus is still hot to avoid crushing the seeds. Wait for the lotus seeds to cool completely, then put them in a freezer box. This way can be stored for several months to a year. When you need to cook lotus leaf rice, lotus seed tea, longan tea, … just cook other ingredients and then add lotus and it will still be soft, fleshy, and fragrant like fresh lotus. More sophisticated, you can steam lotus seeds before freezing Soak in dilute salt water, then quickly bare and freeze According to Ms. Hanh, there is a way to store fresh lotus seeds to eat all year round, which is applied by many people, which is to buy fresh lotus seeds and wash them twice. Then, soak in diluted salt water for 10 minutes, then take out and wash again. Bring the water to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt. Then put the lotus seeds in the ceiling for 3 minutes. Keep a basin of very cold ice water ready to take out the lotus, then put it in a bowl of ice water to soak for 10 minutes. At this time, remove the lotus seeds to a basket to freeze. Doing this, the whole year in the lotus seed cabinet does not darken. When cooked, it still has a fragrant lotus scent. The lotus seller affirms that preserving fresh lotus seeds by the above methods can keep lotuses all year round. There are opinions reflecting that fresh lotus seeds are frozen to freeze, but according to Ms. Hanh, whether or not the lotus is shy is due to the lotus variety and lotus soil, not the way it is preserved. “Even if the fresh lotus is frozen in the freezer, it’s okay, boiled it is still beautiful and delicious like a fresh lotus,” she shared. In addition, Ms. Hanh also noted, when buying fresh lotus seeds to store food all year round, housewives should buy old, round lotus seeds, do not choose long, cracked seeds. These lotus seeds are usually delicious, not shy, fragrant, very sweet and chewy.

According to Ms. Ha, a small trader at the 365 wholesale market, she usually sells vegetables every day. About a week ago, she started trading young crocodiles for sale. Due to the beginning of the season, the number of crocodiles purchased is not much, only 10-20 kg/day. These are young, small and sour, slightly acrid, but due to the scarcity of crocodiles, many housewives buy 1-2kg to eat. Crocodiles at the beginning of the season begin to be sold Crocodile price is only 40,000 VND/kg, much cheaper than last year’s price “Last year, I sold crocodiles at the beginning of the season for 60,000 VND/kg. But this year, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the price of crocodiles also decreased much, only 40,000 VND / kg. These are young crocodiles, which I bought from families in My Duc, Chuong My, Ung Hoa, “said Ms. Ha. Ms. Ha said that although young crocodiles at the beginning of the season are sour and a bit acrid, many guests especially like them. In addition to cooking sour soup, soaked in boiled water spinach, many housewives who love snacks also like young crocodiles with sugar or soaked in fish sauce. This small trader shared, in about a month, crocodiles in the North will enter the main crop. At that time, the crocodile was bigger and firmer, and thicker. The price of crocodiles when in the main season also halved, only about 20,000 VND/kg. Currently, this small trader also said that every day she sells crocodiles at the beginning of the season about 20kg. There were days when customers asked to buy more, but she did not have anything to sell. Talking about the experience of choosing to buy fresh and delicious crocodiles at the beginning of the season, Ms. Ha said: “The first 10 crocodiles in the season are almost 10, no need to carefully choose each one, they are still delicious. Buyers only need to choose large fruits with slightly lumpy skin and thick pulp to get a lot of sour meat. Avoid choosing fruits with dark skin, bruised and shiny skin because they are too young and can’t be kept for a long time. Preparing to harvest crocodiles Mrs. Do Thi Hue, a housewife in Ha Tri 1, Ha Dong, Hanoi today went to market 365 and also chose to buy 1kg of crocodile at the beginning of the season. Mrs. Hue said, her whole family liked the sour taste of crocodile more than lemon and tamarind. Because the frozen crocodile stock had just ended last week, today when I went to the market, I saw that there was a sale of alligators at the beginning of the season, she rushed to buy 1kg for 40,000 VND. “The first crocodiles in the season are mainly young crocodiles and alligators, so you can buy sour fish soup or boiled water spinach soup to get a very delicious and refreshing bowl of soup. My grandson likes to eat young crocodile with fish sauce. Therefore, I bought 1kg to eat, bought it all over again. Because young crocodiles at the beginning of the season don’t last long, they get damaged quickly,” Hue said. This housewife in Ha Dong also said that from now until the end of the crocodile season, her house still has to buy many more times. Especially near the end of the season, when the crocodile is in the period of the cake, has the most meat and the most acidity, she often buys 10 kg of crocodile to shave off the shell, wash it, then let it drain and put it in the freezer cold gradually. “With this method, my family has crocodiles to eat all year round. In addition, I also soaked a few pots of crocodile water for the whole family to drink in the summer. Or at the end of the ripe crocodile season, I take advantage of making the crocodile shell to eat gradually. It is very convenient and delicious to eat crocodiles any way,” commented Ms. Hue. From mid-May, early season crocodiles are also sold by many small traders on the online market at the price of 35,000-40,000 VND/kg. The topic of selling alligators is also very popular, a lot of housewives come in to inquire and order.