cốm

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The Vietnamese word "cốm" refers to a traditional delicacy made from young rice grains, often called "green rice flakes" in English. It is a noun that captures both a food item and a cultural practice in Vietnam.

Definition:

• Cốm: Green rice flakes made from young, sticky rice grains that have been harvested, roasted, and ground down. It is especially popular in the autumn season.

Usage Instructions:

• Cốm is usually enjoyed as a snack or dessert. It is best eaten slowly, allowing you to appreciate its unique texture and sweet, fragrant flavor. It can also be used as an ingredient in other dishes, or served with coconut milk or mung bean paste.

Example:

• "I love eating cốm with coconut milk during the harvest festival."

Advanced Usage:

• In a more cultural context, you might say: "The traditional method of making cốm requires great skill and patience, as it is a labor-intensive process that reflects the agricultural heritage of Vietnam."

Word Variants:

• Cốm tươi: Fresh cốm, referring to newly made green rice flakes.
• Bánh cốm: A type of cake that includes cốm as an ingredient, often made with mung beans and wrapped in banana leaves.

Different Meanings:

• While "cốm" primarily refers to the green rice flakes, it can also refer to the process of making these flakes, which is steeped in tradition.

Synonyms:

• Cốm nếp: Sticky rice flakes, emphasizing the type of rice used.
• Gạo nếp: Glutinous rice, which is the base ingredient for making cốm.

Cultural Significance:

• Cốm is regarded as a pastoral gift and is often associated with the harvest season. The making of cốm involves a series of careful steps, including harvesting young rice, roasting, grinding, and pounding, which must be done meticulously to preserve its color and flavor.

Academic

noun

1. Green rice flakes
   • thuốc cốm
     Granulated medicine
2. Rice growing farmers are the only ones who truly understand when it is time to gather young grains to make Cốm. Then young rice grains are harvested, roasted and ground down to become Cốm. They are put into a large firing pan under small flames and stirred slowly for a specific period of time. They are then poured into a rice mortar and slightly pounded with a wooden pestle, rythmically and at quick intervals until the husk is removed. Following this, the young rice is removed from the mortar and winnowed before being poured again into the mortar and the process repeated. This is then repeated exactly seven times so that all the husk is removed from the young sticky grains. If the pounding is done irregularly and in haste, or it is not repeated for the prescribed seven times, the green colour of the grains will disappear and be replaced by an unexpected brown colour. Cốm is regarded as a purely pastoral gift. To enjoy Cốm, it is advisable to chew it slowly so that one can feel the stickiness of the young rice and at the same time enjoy its sweet, fragrant taste. Visitors to Vong village (about five km from Hanoi) during the Cốm making season will have a chance to listen to the special rythmic pounding of wooden pestles against mortars filled with young rice and see women shifting and winnowing the pounded young rice