Specialty Diễn pomelo – a citrus offering for Lunar New Year Festival

HÀ NỘI — One month before Tết (Lunar New Year) festival, residents in Phúc Diễn Ward, Bắc Từ Liêm District in Hà Nội are busy with the harvest of pomelos.

From the 10th lunar month, vast pomelo orchards in the area are heavy with the bright yellow of millions of ripe pomelos.

A woman poses for a photo with pomelos at an orchard in Phúc Diễn Ward, Bắc Từ Liêm District in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photos Hoàng Hiếu

For a long time, the Diễn pomelo has been considered a specialty of Hà Nội. The citrus fruit is also one of the most sought-after products that Vietnamese people purchase for the Tết celebration.

Diễn pomelo trees are typically not tall, just about 2.5m high, and each tree can yield more than 100 fruits. With its fragrant rind and juicy, sweet citrus flesh, Diễn pomelo has won the favour of many people.

The price of pomelo fruit at the orchard ranges from VNĐ30,000-80,000 per fruit, depending on the size and quality.

The busiest time for pomelo growers to harvest their products is from the middle of the 12th lunar month until Tết.

Many people have already visited Phúc Diễn one or two months before Tết to buy pomelo to enjoy during festival holiday and use as gifts for their family and friends.

The ripe fruits should be harvested in the cool of the morning when the temperature is lower.

Many traders also have flocked to purchase the fruit directly from the growers.

According to Diễn pomelo cultivators, to get a good harvest, the trees need to be fertilised with organic fertiliser. The ripe fruits should be harvested in the morning when the temperature is lower, as the essential oil cells on the fruit rind are more easily broken in strong sunlight.

Alongside revenue from selling fruit, during the season, some local cultivators also earn additional income from selling tickets for people to visit and take photos in their orchard.

It is also not advisable to harvest the pomelo after heavy rain or on foggy day, because the humidity makes the fruit more susceptible to rot.

On the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the price of pomelo fruit at the orchard ranges from VNĐ30,000-80,000 (US$1.22 – 3.26) per fruit, depending on the size and quality.

Unlike other types of pomelo, the longer you wait to eat Diễn pomelo, the sweeter it will taste. Each fruit weighs from 700 grams to more than 1kg.

To enjoy the true taste of Diễn pomelo, don’t eat it right after picking it from the tree, but leave it for a few days until the rind gets a bit withered before enjoying it.

With cultivation area consisting of thousands of trees, growers use motorised trailers to transport fruits.

Today, although Diễn pomelo has been grown in different places, nowhere else can produce the quality or distinctive taste like pomelo grown in Phúc Diễn.

In the ripe pomelo season, many people visit the gardens to take photos with thousands of yellow fruits.

Grower Nguyễn Gia Dũng, owner of the Dũng Thu Pomelo Garden, shared that alongside the revenue from selling fruit, during the season, his family also earns additional income from selling tickets for people to visit and take photos in his orchard. The ticket costs VNĐ50,000/person. — VNS