Grapes
Chinese red grapes are easily recognizable by their large, round, pale-colored fruits with a white powdery coating. They have a sour taste and soft texture, and tend to become mushy when refrigerated.
Chinese green grapes have thin skins, are seedless, very sweet, and have large, loosely attached berries.
Pears
Chinese pears are round with shiny, taut skin, but the flesh is bruised and blackened with tiny holes. They are very sweet, lacking the tartness of Vietnamese pears, and can be stored for up to five months due to heavy preservation.
Oranges
There are two types of oranges from China: the golden orange and the peelable orange, also known as kumquats. Chinese oranges are typically seedless. Golden oranges are sweet, evenly round, and have a deep orange or golden color, often mislabeled as “Australian oranges” to fetch a higher price. Peelable oranges, on the other hand, are sour, have thin skins, and can be easily peeled like tangerines. They are relatively inexpensive, selling for about 15,000 VND per kilogram.
Apples
Chinese apples come in pinkish or yellow hues with a white waxy coating on the exterior, along with tiny yellow, black, or brown spots. They are round in shape, lacking the height and angularity of American apples, and have a bitter taste even when peeled. Green apples from China tend to be light green or yellowish, and they are also quite bitter.
Strawberries
Chinese strawberries are uniformly red from the stem to the tip. They are evenly shaped and sized, large, firm, and smooth, but the flesh is mushy, bland, and lacking in aroma.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are one of the most imported fruits from China to Vietnam. Chinese pomegranates have a vibrant red-pink hue, are shiny and evenly sized, and quite large. However, the seeds are a deep red, lacking aroma, and tend to be watery, bland, and mushy, often spoiling from the inside out. They also have more seeds than their Vietnamese counterparts.
Cherries
Cherries are a premium and nutritious fruit, typically priced between 500,000 and 700,000 VND. If you come across cherries priced at around 300,000 VND, they are likely not imported from the US. Chinese cherries have a deep red or bright red color, and their stems are not as fresh-looking as those from the US or Australia. They have an overly sweet taste, and the flesh is soft and mushy.
Another way to identify Chinese cherries is by their seasonality. Cherries from the US and Canada are in season from May to August, while those from Australia are available from Christmas to after the Lunar New Year. If you find cherries being sold cheaply and staying fresh outside of these seasons, their origin may be questionable.
Fruits from China are often treated with harmful chemicals and sold at low prices, which not only endangers consumers’ health but also affects the domestic fruit market. Be a wise consumer and choose your fruits carefully!
5 ways to differentiate between Moc Chau strawberries and Chinese strawberries
To avoid purchasing fake and low-quality strawberries that can negatively impact our health, it is important to know how to differentiate between Moc Chau strawberries and Chinese strawberries.
Choose the best Vietnamese strawberries this season with this handy guide.
Strawberries are currently in season and are available at affordable prices. However, many people are unaware of how to differentiate between Vietnamese and Chinese strawberries.
