We usually don’t use pomelo skin, but it can be turned into a jam for the Tet holiday: mứt vỏ bưởi. The skin is soaked in salt water, boiled with alum, rested in sugar and then cooked until the sugar melts. Once cooled, it keeps in a glass jar to eat day by day. Plan ahead: the skin soaks in salt water for 4–5 hours and rests in sugar for 5–6 hours, and the finished jam cools for 1 day. Ingredients Skin of 2–3 pomelos 1 alum ball (phèn), from Vietnamese markets Salt Sugar (400 g white sugar for every 700 g pomelo skin) How to make mứt vỏ bưởi 1. Prepare the skin Clean the pomelo skin carefully. Use only the green part and remove the white part. Slice it into long pieces. Soak the pieces in water with 3–4 tablespoons salt for 4–5 hours. Then wash them again 3–4 times. 2. Boil with alum This is the important step. Bring water to the boil, add the alum ball and cook until it has melted. Add the sliced pomelo skin and cook for about 10 minutes. Pour it into a basket and let it drain. Taste a piece now. If it’s bitter, boil more water with 1 tablespoon salt and soak the pomelo skin in it for 10 minutes. Then wash it again in cold water until only a little spicy taste is left, and let it drain. 3. Sugar the skin Press the water out of the pomelo skin with your hands. Use 400 g white sugar for every 700 g pomelo skin. Mix them well and leave for 5–6 hours. 4. Cook and dry Put the pomelo skin in a pot and cook it over low heat. Stir it with chopsticks now and then until all the sugar has melted. Turn off the heat. Spread the jam on a rack and let it cool for 1 day. Then store it in a glass jar. Share:
