Every festive season, dried jelly candies or ‘beleda kering’, are highly sought after among the people in east coast states.
Entrepreneur Nik Nur Radhiah Nik Kamaruzaman, 32, said that despite having three assistants, she was having her hands full to meet customers’ orders since the beginning of Ramadan.
Speaking to Bernama, Nik Nur Radhiah said her family has been active in making this jelly candy in Kelantan for over 40 years using a recipe inherited from her great-grandmother.
“Making ‘agar-agar’ candy seems simple, but it is actually quite complicated and laborious, especially when cutting the jelly into shapes to prevent it from breaking easily and getting damaged.
“Some important things in the process of making it are the mixing of the main ingredients which are sugar, gelatin, the quantity of water and food colouring which are green, white, yellow, red, orange or pink.
“The cooking process takes five hours. Once cooked, it is then cooled in a container which allows this gelatin to become brittle or crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside,” she said when met at Kampung Seterpa, Peringat here today.
As for the drying process, Nik Nur Radhiah said it requires scorching hot weather, while for packaging, five colours are placed in each plastic with an average weight of 200 grammes (g) to 500 g which is sold at a price of RM8.
“As Hari Raya approaches, the wholesalers order 400 packs of jelly candies which are made every day and they are then sold to customers not only in Kelantan, but also other states including Perak, Kedah, Melaka and many more,” she said.
According to Nik Nur Radhiah, they can only meet the demand of wholesalers and customers during the fasting month only.
“After my father passed away in 2019, my mother Mashitah Che Lah, 61, and I continue the business. We still prepare it in a traditional method,” said the holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism Management from Management and Science University (MSU).
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
