As fragrance of the pomelo flowers pervade in the wind everywhere, the houses or yards of households in many districts of Hung Yen provinces appear a pristine white of kudzu starch. It is the practice of local residents to hurriedly prepare for a new production period from January to February on the Lunar month. Currently, many households in Phuong Chieu (Tien Lu), Lien Phuong, Quang Chau commune and Hong Chau ward are investing more machinery, expanding production lines of kudzu starch and achi...

The kudzu starch processing industry is thriving as more residents understand the nutrition values of kudzu to the human’s health. Normally, the root is the focus of all energies in a tree. This is the reason why roots, and tubers take an important role in meals and disease treatment. The normal tubers like ginseng, lotus tuber, radish, red radish are useful in enhancing strength and healing. Kudzu gives one of the biggest tubers and able to heal diseases. Kudzu belongs to the legume and has been important in Ayurvedic medicine in Hong Kong and Japan for 2000 years. The condensed kudzu  penetrates into intestinal wall and resolves acidity here to fight against bacteria and prevent diarrhea. It relieve sore throat and flatulence in the intestines

With all economic and health values of this product, other than household business, ordinary households make some kilos to serve their own family. To the households business, they produce 3 to 5 tons of kudzu starch every season. It is increasingly popular so the households really cares of the output for it. In the peak season, the finished products are sold out right after production. The price is from 90,000 to 100,000 VND/ kg, each household can gain the profit of 40 million VND/ season. Phuong Chieu’s kudzu starch is present in markets of Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Vung Tau, etc.

The main ingredient to make the kudzu starch is the tubers supplied from Hai Duong, Bac Giang. According to the experience of villagers, the kudzu  containing much starch have thin peels and equally big size. Kudzu  need immediately processing right after purchasing in order to keep full content of starch and the starch is not black. Tubers are cleaned and peeled off the skin, which are important to ensure the hygiene of the finished product. After being cleaned, kudzu  is ground and filtered 4-5 times to omit any fibers and foreign objects. The residue is spongy after being squeezed like salted shredded meat. It can be boiled to get a cool beverage. The water for filtering the dough must be clean. Especially, detergents are not allowed in the process of soaking the dough to avoid any effects on its quality. They use big plates to expose the kudzu  dough to the sun. The dough must be spread on the surface to ensure the equal heat on the dough. The dough should be exposed to the strong sunshine to keep the white and smoothness. Previously, the starch after subsiding is decanted all water and dried, but now the starch is dried in the electrical or coal oven. As drying, the kudzu  starch is covered with a paper layer to keep hygiene. The drying period is from 80 to 90 mins with a moderate heat. If the heat is too high, the kudzu  starch may be cooked. Otherwise, the kudzu  starch may be balled up affecting the starch quality. The dried starch will break into many white grains as if they are covered by a thin snow. Currently, many family has mechanized many manufacturing steps such as cleaning tubers, grinding and drying, which increase the productivity and quality of the product.

When the  dried white grains are ready for packaging, people collect pomelo flowers. Pomelo flowers are marinated into the kudzu starch to cherish the scent and preserve it to the following season. The kudzu starch marinated with pomelo flowers are put into each pack of 0,5 kg or 1 kg for the convenience of customer’s choices. The best time for collecting the pomelo flowers is after the drizzling days or in the dry weather. Then the flowers are not rotten, cherishing a charming scent and lasting longer as marinated with the kudzu  starch. Through the transparent plastic bags, we can see the purely white grains inside. White starch which can break into little square bars or the fine powder is contained in such bags to preserve longer fragrance. As the customers untie the bags, there comes the charming fragrant that makes people remember for a long time.

These grains after drying under the strong sunshine are stiff, balled up and ready for melting in the water to create a tasty drink to cool off the body in the extreme summer weather. Especially as enjoying a glass of cool beverage with some ice cubes, people can feel the passionate fragrance of the dried flower petals in the milky viscous liquid of kudzu starch. Taking a sip of kudzu starch water can ease any exhausts with the smell of charming flowers pervading in the wind