Yên Bái is a mountainous mountain in the Northwest of Viet Nam, a place where cultures of 30 ethnics mingle. This land of rivers and mountains was formed on the banks of the Red river which has ancient alluvium foundation. It has rice fields stretch to the river shore, and a history from the Neolithic to the Bronze and Iron Ages, with the most prominent vestige being the Bến Mậu A archaeology site. With the wisdom and work of the locals, 'Bát Độ' bamboo has been brought to Yên Bái as a pilot plant in the early 21st century. With the unique geographical conditions suitable with biological needs of Bát Độ bamboo, Yên Bái has become well known with this particular product.     

 

  Picture 1. Fresh bamboo shoot    Picture 2. Fresh bamboo shoot tops 

  

Yên Bái 'Bát Độ' bamboo shoot product, including fresh shoots, pickled shoots, salted shoots, and dried shoots. 

Fresh bamboo shoots have the sweetness of the shoots when cooked. When eaten, it is crunchy with no excess fibre threads nor pungent smell. Raw fibre content is 0.22 to 0.72 g/100g; Amino acid content is 3.53 to 3.61 mg/kg. 

Pickled bamboo shoots have no excess fibre threads. Raw fibre content is 0.4 to 0.82 g/100g. 

Salted bamboo shoots when cooked have the sweetness of the shoots, moderate saltiness, and slight sourness. When eaten, it is crunchy with no excess fibre threads. Raw fibre content is 0.4 to 0.68 g/100g. 

Dried bamboo shoot threads have the strong sweetness of the shoots when cooked. When eaten, it has no excess fibre threads. Raw fibre content is 0.38 to 0.63 g/100g, Amino acid content is 2.38 to 2.5 mg/kg. 

The most prominent characteristics of Yên Bái 'Bát Độ' bamboo shoot is the sweetness and the lack of excess fibre threads. These characteristics are thanks to the unique climate, topography, and paedology conditions of the geographical area. 

The geographical area has the typical traits of the North-western microclimate with four distinctive seasons. Annual average temperature is 20 - 23 ºC, with the highest is 37 ºC, and the lowest is 3 ºC. The high amount of rainfall and prolonged rainy season, especially during the development and harvest of bamboo shoots (May to September) result in the low fibre thread count of Yên Bái 'Bát Độ' bamboo shoot. High temperature variance between day and night contributes to the natural aroma and sweetness of Yên Bái 'Bát Độ' bamboo shoot. It is within the range of 7 – 13 ºC, stimulating the accumulation of Amino acids, metabolism and aromatic phenol accumulation in bamboo shoot and tree. Therefore, raw Yên Bái 'Bát Độ' bamboo shoot has high Amino acid content and sweet taste with no pungent smell. The topography of the area is the transition state from midland to highland, which is a favourable for the development of 'Bát Độ' bamboo shoot. The main soil types of the area are Ferralic Acrisols and Oxisols. The soil has a thick weathered layer of over 0.8 metre. Also, the high forest coverage in the area results in less washouts and corrosions, suitable for biological needs of 'Bát Độ' bamboo shoot. 

Geographical area: Communes of Kiên Thành, Hồng Ca, Hưng Khánh, Lương Thịnh, Tân Đồng of Trấn Yên district; communes of An Bình, Mậu Đông, Đông An, Tân Hợp, Lâm Giang of Văn Yên district; communes of Xuân Lai, Yên Thành, Mỹ Gia, Cảm Nhân of Yên Bình district; communes of An Phú, Động Quan, Tô Mậu, Mường Lai, Minh Chuẩn of Lục Yên district, Yên Bái province. 

  

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