There is a saying in the north called "cherry mulberry, the goods were sold at that time". This means that fruits like cherries and mulberries, which can only be eaten once a year, will soon be out of season.
In the south, there are many such seasonal fresh fruits, such as loquat today.
Chinese loquat is the best life
The loquat is called this name because its leaves look like "pipa". Many people are very skeptical, because the loquat leaves are long and pointed, and the lute is round and thick, and it is not possible to say where it looks. In fact, loquat leaves are many, ranging from long to round. You see, are the loquat leaves below a bit similar to the Tang pipa?
Picture from: Letter floating and sinking
Loquat belongs to the genus Loquat in the rosaceae family, which has more than twenty species, and some varieties, half of which are in China. For example, Taiwan loquat, South Asian loquat, loquat flower, loquat leaf loquat, Nujiang loquat and so on. In addition to the mainland, there are many countries that produce loquat, such as Brazil, India, Turkey, Israel and so on.
However, only The Loquat in China is better and is treated as a delicacy — those foreign loquats are rarely treated as fruits, and they are crushed into dust and no one wants to eat them. In fact, this is not to blame foreigners, because loquat taste is general, in terms of aroma, sweetness, and taste, each item is about sixty. It is in China, where foodies gather, that it can be loved by people.
"Han Chu Rong orange grapefruit, Xia Shou recommended loquat", this is Liu Zongyuan's teacher's poem, it can be seen that Chinese not only feel that loquat is delicious, but also gave it a high status, belonging to the "high-grade fruit".
Loquat or Lu Tangerine? Not so important
“
At four o'clock in the spring under Luofu Mountain, Lu Tangerine Bayberry was second to the newest.
Three hundred litchi in a day, not to quit being a Lingnanian.
”
People who know this poem only want to get lychees, in fact, this is also the most famous poem about loquat. Wait, where are the loquats?
Lu Tangerine! The lu orange here is loquat. However, this nickname has been controversial since ancient times. There is a faction that believes that Lu Tangerine refers to loquat, led by the foodie Su Dongpo. In the "Dongpo Collection", it is said that "on April 18, I went with Liu Jingwen to enjoy loquat and composed poems, with the sentence 'Wei Hua is not an old wife, Lu Tangerine is a villager'".
More clearly recorded, Zhang Jiafu asked Dongpo: "What kind of fruit is Lu Tangerine?" Answered: "Loquat is a loquat." ”
The other faction is the opposition represented by Li Shizhen. He believes that Lu Tangerine is another name for kumquat, and loquat is not a thing.
The reason why people have a controversial name for loquat is because loquat cultivation has a long history and a wide range, and the name is inevitably different. In fact, it doesn't matter what it's called, as long as it's delicious, don't care about those details.
There are one or two hundred loquat varieties, which are divided into two categories according to the color of the flesh, red sand and white sand. Red sand loquat fruit skin is yellowish, sweet taste, suitable for processing. White sand loquat is small and round, thin skin, white flesh with yellow, juicy and delicious, suitable for direct eating.
White Sand Loquat Image source: Sina Blog
As a northerner, I have always felt that loquat tastes general. Because the loquat that can be bought in the north is basically "red sand", which belongs to the next product of loquat.
If you want to eat good loquat, you have to go to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Sichuan in the right season to eat fresh "white sand", which is called "loquat has been cooked japonica golden beads".
Loquat is contradictory, healing and toxic
You can definitely recognize loquat when you see it, but do you know what loquat flowers look like?
Many people say that loquat only bears fruit and does not bloom. This is certainly not possible. However, the reason why loquat gives people this misunderstanding is that the loquat flower is too small, and the color is not conspicuous, so it is often ignored. The second is that the interval between loquat flowers and fruits is very long, the flowers bloom in autumn and winter, the fruits are ripe in summer, and they have been separated for half a year, and most people can't remember what this loquat tree on the side of the road was like half a year ago.
Loquat flowers
Although loquat flowers are not eye-catching, loquat leaves are still familiar to everyone, because it is the main herb in Chinese medicine to suppress cough and phlegm. When you were a child, you more or less drank a few bottles of loquat dew and loquat paste.
The compounds contained in loquat leaves can relieve cough symptoms, and amygdalin is also effective in inhibiting the central cough response. But there is still a lack of human experiments — how much the loquat leaf plays in suppressing cough remains to be studied.
So I would like to remind you not to drink directly with fresh loquat leaves soaked in water. Because the fresh leaves and cores (seeds) of loquat contain cyanide, although the content is not high, it is a highly toxic thing. When eating loquat, let go of the seeds and fresh leaves.
Loquat is always eaten fresh. If in order to improve the style, you can also learn the eating method in Zhang Ailing's "Xiao Ai": "The fifth wife let the third wife eat loquat, and the old aunt had already peeled one, peeled the loquat skin into an upside-down lotus shape, the tip of the ten fingers was sent over." ”
Photo: Delighted
If you are not satisfied with eating it fresh, we can also use it as a kitchen ingredient. Boil sugar water, boil porridge, make cakes, mix in milk. Some netizens painstakingly created "oil burst loquat mixed with noodles" according to "Pipa Line"...
I advise everyone not to try it, it can't be delicious.
Written by | Letters float and sink
Some of the images are from | Figureworm creative
WeChat Editor | glad