Malva leaves are a type of leaf that is very good for health, so how can we know how many types of malva leaves there are, their selling price, where to buy them, as well as how to prepare delicious malva jelly without bubbles? Let the Cooking Tips section of TasteVN share some tips with you!
1 What is sương sâm leaf?
Characteristics of sương sâm leaf
Sương sâm leaf is also known by other names such as climbing green vine, three-stamen green vine, green tam, sâm sâm. This is a type of climbing plant, with a stem that may be hairy or hairless depending on the variety.
Sương sâm leaves are dark green, with an elliptical shape, measuring 6 – 11 cm in length and 2 – 4 cm in width. Sương sâm is not only a remedy but also plays a role in the cuisine of Southeast Asian countries.
How many types of sương sâm leaves are there?
In Vietnam, there are two types of sương sâm: smooth sương sâm (smooth, hairless leaves) and hairy sương sâm (leaves and vines with fine hairs).
To make delicious sương sâm jelly, people often choose hairy sương sâm because the jelly will be smoother and tastier than that made from smooth sương sâm.
2 What is sương sâm jelly?
Sương sâm jelly is a dish made from fresh sương sâm leaves, and it is very popular due to its cooling properties and the distinctive flavor of sương sâm leaves.
About the color: After processing, sương sâm jelly usually has a deep green color, with a soft and chewy exterior.
About the taste: Pure sương sâm jelly typically does not contain too much sweetness. It has a slight fragrant aroma of fresh sương sâm leaves and a relatively bland taste, with a hint of mild sourness.
You can enjoy sương sâm jelly with sweet syrup, adding pure ice to enhance the flavor of the jelly.
Note: Many people confuse găng jelly with sương sâm jelly. However, these two types of jelly are completely different: găng jelly is made from găng leaves, while sương sâm jelly is made from sương sâm leaves.
Refer to 2 ways to make chewy grass jelly using a blender, super simple at home
3 Where to buy grass jelly leaves?
There are two types of grass jelly leaves, which are fresh grass jelly leaves and dried grass jelly leaves, so the prices also vary. This price is updated by TasteVN in December 2021!
For fresh grass jelly leaves, you can currently buy them at supermarkets or stores specializing in growing grass jelly with prices ranging from 50,000 – 70,000 VND/kg. Generally, the price of grass jelly leaves is relatively stable, with little variation.
For dried grass jelly leaves, they are currently sold at a relatively higher price than fresh leaves due to processing stages, with prices around 480,000 – 500,000 VND/kg. You can find dried grass jelly leaves at supermarkets or stores specializing in selling dried agricultural products.
4 How to knead grass jelly leaves to make jelly
To knead grass jelly leaves to make jelly, you need to keep the following in mind:
How to choose grass jelly leaves for kneading
For smooth, hairless jelly leaves: You should choose leaves with a dark green color. Avoid selecting leaves that are too young, with a light green color, or leaves that have turned yellow or wilted, as they will affect the quality of the grass jelly dish.
For hairy jelly leaves: You should also choose very carefully, selecting mature leaves that are deep green in color. Avoid using young leaves as they will be bitter or leaves that have mealybugs.
Should I make jelly from dried grass jelly leaves?
Currently, it is very easy to find both fresh and dried grass jelly leaves on the market. However, it is not advisable to use dried grass jelly leaves to make jelly.
Dried grass jelly leaves yield very little water when kneaded. The jelly made from dried grass jelly leaves will be more expensive compared to fresh leaves because dried leaves contain relatively less water, the jelly color will lean towards a yellowish-green, and the flavor will be less fragrant than fresh leaves.
How much water is needed to knead soursop leaves?
You should knead the soursop leaves with water twice. For the first round, for every handful of leaves, add 1.5 cups of water and start kneading. Knead until the soursop leaves are only left with the fibrous parts, and the water in the bowl contains a lot of mucus, then strain to get the clearest soursop water.
For the second time, add less water than the first and continue kneading until the residue is just fiber, with no remaining soursop substance.
Note: Remove the soursop residue and skim off any foam in the kneaded soursop bowl to ensure the quality of the soursop dish.
Note: Remove the soursop residue and skim off any foam in the kneaded soursop bowl to ensure the quality of the soursop dish.
How to knead sương sâm leaves without bubbles
To knead sương sâm leaves without bubbles, you should knead the leaves like a gentle dough kneading motion, using both hands to press, knead, and squeeze the sương sâm leaves in the basin strongly enough so that the leaves are crushed to release a viscous sap.
Avoid kneading sương sâm leaves by rubbing back and forth like washing clothes as it will cause the sương sâm water to bubble. Additionally, you should also pay attention to the amount of water used to knead the sương sâm; insufficient water covering the leaves will also cause the final product to be bubbly!
https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_s%C3%A2m#cite_note-1
Accessed on 18/05/2021
Above is a compilation of knowledge about what sương sâm is, what is sương sâm leaves? How to crush sương sâm leaves to make jelly. Wishing you success in your preparation! See you next time in the Cooking Tips section of TasteVN!