Mature acorns from home
Autumn is the busiest time for locals. This work is not finished, the work is coming one after another, and you must not be lazy at all, otherwise you will miss the golden season of harvest and you will be in vain. No, while picking chestnuts, it is also the best time to pick up acorns and walnuts. People don't have a splitting technique, otherwise, people in their hometowns want to divide themselves into several petals to use. Time is too short, always not enough, get up before dawn, often busy until late at night. No, the days of picking acorns seem to be bustling. Diligent and economically minded people always have to squeeze out time to go to the mountains to collect acorns, which is the main raw material for the local products we produce here- acorn cold powder, which can sell for about 1 yuan a pound.
At dawn, after breakfast early, bring a pocket or basket, and step on the dew-stained grass leaf trail, braving the slight cold, attracted by the gentle sound of birds. Acorns generally grow in large oak forests on high mountains, and the fruit is oval in shape and tan in the shell, exactly the same color as the outside of the chestnut, bright and smooth, and hard in texture.
According to relevant data, acorns are rich in nutrients, of which starch content accounts for 50% to 70%, soluble sugar content accounts for 2% to 8%, tannin content accounts for 0.26% to 17.74%, protein content accounts for 1.17% to 8.72%, oil content accounts for 1.04% to 6.86%, crude fiber content accounts for 1.13% to 5.89%, and ash content 1.30% to 3.40%. In addition, the rubber shell also contains a lot of pigments. Cork oak acorns contain a variety of amino acids, such as isoleucine, phenylalanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, valine and so on. Moreover, acorns also contain a variety of mineral elements, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper and so on. The content of each component in different varieties of acorns is also different. The tannins contained in acorns can also be complexed with heavy metal lead, which plays a role in draining lead. Tannin also has hemostasis, callus, bacteriostatic, anti-allergic, anti-cancer, antioxidant and other effects. As a result, acorns have become an increasingly popular food in recent years. The disadvantage is that tannins can also cause constipation, so they must be treated before they can be used for consumption.
Acorn cool powder
When I was a child, in the era of severe food shortages, whenever the golden autumn season came, my mother, wrapped in small feet, often took me to the mountains to collect acorns. My mother used to get up at four o'clock in the morning, make a little breakfast, we ate it, brought dry food and water, and set off at dawn. The way up the hill was a rough and winding mountain road, and I walked ahead and tapped the dew on the branches of the bushes and blades of grass on the side of the road with a slender bush, and my mother followed me, and sometimes I would encounter one or two hares fleeing rapidly from my eyes; the clever little squirrels also began to get busy, scrambling with people for acorns; the birds also woke up, singing cheerful songs to welcome us.
Acorns that are about to ripen
The thick leaves are covered with small dark brown acorns, and its round body and shiny shell are cute. In order to see the bigger acorns, I often climbed the trees, stepped on the slightly thin branches, and held the branches tightly with both hands, shaking the branches with all my strength, and then I would hear the sound of the acorns falling on the thick soft leaves on the hillside. I proudly slipped down the tree and happily picked it up with my mother. Acorns are very easy to produce insects, overnight effort, how long it takes to produce small bugs, so we are extra careful when picking up, all empty shells or half shells or raw insects, are thrown away, only those particles are full and not corroded by bugs. Ten o'clock in the morning, we packed up the acorns we had picked up, tied the pockets with a string, and carried them on my back and went down the mountain with my mother. After returning, we shelled, mashed, soaked overnight, and made cold powder or dew fish to eat, which made us through countless days of famine. Sometimes the acorns that cannot be eaten for the time being are also used as pig feed, and the pigs will soon grow fat and strong.
Boxed acorn powder produced in my hometown
Today, with the continuous improvement of food processing technology, acorn cold powder has become a leading product in our local area, and has been in short supply for more than two decades. In our local area, whether you are in a large hotel or a small restaurant for dinner; whether it is a red and white celebration or a New Year's festival, if everyone gathers together and there is no acorn cold powder on the table, it is too regrettable. You know, its gray-brown translucent color, mixed with red and green peppers, sauce vinegar and other condiments, smooth and delicate taste, is the best dish under the wine, ready to make your appetite open, feast. If you eat and still do not understand the hunger, or want to let friends and relatives also taste, it does not matter, in our place, casually into which vegetable shop or supermarket, you can buy, a box of 10 yuan, plastic sealed, easy to carry, preservation period of one month, enough to adjust two plates!
Hometown acorn cold powder enters the supermarket
Remarks: This article is the thirteenth part of my long essay "Hometown Business Card"