The Vietnamese apple, also called the green apple, has smooth and green skin. It is popularly grown in Vietnam in two main types: sour and sugar apples.
Vietnamese green apples are grown in many regions. ©Vietnamdrive
Apples contain various vitamins. Each 100 grams of apple will have about 400-600 vitamin C, meaning 7 to 10 times higher than the amount of vitamin C found in oranges and tangerines.
The amount of vitamin C in Vietnamese apples is about 100 times higher than that of red apples.
Content menu:
- Characteristics of the Vietnamese apple
- What types of Vietnamese apples are there?
- The crop of Vietnamese green apples
- Price and where to buy Vietnamese apples
- The effect of Vietnamese apples
- People who should limit eating apples
- Conclusion
1. Characteristics of the Vietnamese apple
The Vietnamese apple is a tropical fruit tree belonging to the Apple family (Rhamnaceae). It is native to Asia, mainly India, but it can also be found in Africa.
The apples of Vietnam have many names, depending on each region, including sour apple, green sugar apple, Ta Apple, Yunnan hawthorn, Indian apple, or Dien apple; however, the most popular is the green apple.
Apple plants belong to a woody and fast-growing tree that can grow up to 12 meters tall and have a lifespan of up to 25 years.
Although growing on the same tree, Vietnamese apple fruits often ripen unevenly at different times. They range from light green when unripe to white flesh, crispy, and a little sour taste. When ripe, they become sweet with bright yellow skin, and their flesh is pale yellow, soft, spongy, and fragrant.
An apple contains a hard, oval, brown seed inside. The shape and size of the apple depend on the different varieties: round or oval in shape and nearly big-toe in size.
Apples are rich in nutrients and provide a lot of vitamin C, especially vitamin P, also known as flavonoids.
2. What types of Vietnamese apples are there?
Vietnamese apples have different shapes and sizes due to cultivars. You can come across several varieties:
- Gia Loc apples: oval, orange-yellow in color, crunchy, and slightly sour
- Long Thai apples: long fruit, slightly pointed top, slightly large fruit size, crunchy, sweet, and light aroma
- Round Thai apples: round fruits with a crunchy and slightly sour taste
- H12 sweet apples: a round shape, light yellow when ripened, crunchy, and sweet, with a pear-like aroma
- Sweet Thien Phien apples are round, slightly flattened fruits that are dark green or light green when young and have an acrid taste; when ripe, they are white and yellow. The peel is slightly cracked into small streaks and crunchy, with a sweet and sour taste.
3. The crop of Vietnamese green apples
Apples in Vietnam are grown in most provinces of the country. There are two core crops:
- The first crop will bloom in May and June and be harvested in August.
- The second crop blooms in July and August for harvest in December.
4. Price and where to buy Vietnamese apples
Small green apples are often sold in local markets and sometimes in Vietnamese supermarkets.
On average, each fruit weighs 25-30g. Apple trees from 2 to 5 years old can produce 120-180 kg of fruit.
Green apples in Vietnam are calculated by kilogram, not by fruit because a fruit is small. The average price per kilogram is 15,000 VND to 35,000 VND, depending on the sweet or sour taste and the small or large size of the fruits.
5. The effect of Vietnamese apples
Although Vietnamese apples are small, they have many positive effects on the body. We have tried to collect the following notable effects.
5.1. Be beautiful for the skin and stimulate hair growth:
Thanks to a large amount of vitamin C, Vietnamese green apples are positive for skin health with an antioxidant and increased resistance.
Many researchers have proven that apple juice can reduce wrinkles, swelling, redness, and dryness of sunburned skin, helping the skin recover quickly and become more beautiful.
In addition, mixing apple powder with water and applying it to the head skin daily will improve dandruff and limit other head skin diseases.
Also, apple powder can stimulate hair growth faster, and its color is always shiny black.
5.2. Anti-depression
Green apples from Vietnam can be used as a tonic to support brain health. They help to fight against both depression and neurasthenia and even symptoms of night sweats in children and adults.
In particular, many people also grill apple seeds until black. Then, they cook 2-3 grams/day to drink to promote the above effect besides eating fresh apples.
5.3. Improve anemia
Eating these apples helps improve anemia and also increases the body’s resistance.
In addition, the apples also support the treatment of chronic arthritis and gout by limiting the formation of uric acid.
5.4. Good for joints
Thanks to the significant amount of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in the small green apples, they help make your bones and teeth stronger.
5.5. Prevent constipation
Vietnamese apples also contain chlorogenic acid, which can remove oxalic acid from the body and normalize the functioning of the liver, stomach, intestines, and digestive glands. Therefore, eating green apples also increases appetite and prevents constipation.
5.6. Improve the immune system
Apples can contain 18-24 essential amino acids. They also contain many vitamins A, C, carotene, and potassium, which help strengthen the body’s immune system.
Therefore, eating more apples can help you avoid colds and coughs. Thanks to its mucilage, this fruit is also considered a Vietnamese herb for treating sore throats.
5.7. Relieve headaches
Drinking apple juice and gently rubbing apple juice on the head and temple area can reduce stress and headaches.
6. People who should limit eating apples
Pregnant women: Although green apples have beneficial effects, pregnant women should not eat too many because they can cause bloating and indigestion. When eating them, you need to chew carefully to reduce the work of your stomach.
When buying green apples, pregnant women and others pay attention to choosing apples of clear origin to avoid apples sprayed with pesticides that are not beneficial to themselves and their babies.
Young children: Because apples are small, they are easy for children to put in their mouths, causing choking. So, when children are eating apples, parents pay close attention to this issue.
People with acne: Vietnamese apples are small and sour. Although they do not have a strong sweet taste, they are still listed as hot-tempered character fruits. Vietnamese apples slow down the digestive system, causing pimples, and are not beneficial if eaten a lot.
Conclusion:
In general, Vietnamese apples are okay and good to taste. However, green apples and other tropical fruits in Vietnam have both good and bad sides. When eating, enjoy enough of them, not too much.
Typically, you need to wash the apples carefully before eating them to avoid unwanted chemicals on the skin. It is better to peel the skin before tasting the apples.
The feeling and taste of Vietnamese apples are unique. They are both sour and sweet with a little fragrance, different from other fruits.
Now is your turn.
Will you taste the green apples when visiting Vietnam?
