Speaking of spring in Hangzhou, West Lake lettuce is a unique spring taste of Jiangnan people, it is a dish with the imprint of Hangzhou, similar to the West Lake Longjing like endlessly evocative. Lettuce itself has no taste, the taste is all about the good soup. The poetic mixture of tender green color and rich soup is enough to make you completely intoxicated from the tip of your tongue to your brain...
The delicious taste of nutrient-rich spring
Because the name "West Lake Lettuce" is so loud, most people think that lettuce is produced in West Lake. In fact, the vast majority of this gum-rich, nutritious and delicious vegetables are produced in Tongjian Lake, Shuangpu Town, Xihu District, Hangzhou, which is the origin of West Lake lettuce, which has been cultivated for nearly a thousand years.
In the 1990s, the area planted with lettuce exceeded 2,000 mu, but it has been shrinking for various reasons. In this regard, as early as 2018, Shuangpu Town included lettuce planting in the key agricultural industry cultivation plan, first built a 200-acre lettuce planting demonstration base, expanded the planting area of lettuce, and developed a group of agricultural tourism products that integrate the west lake lettuce planting science, picking experience, and American food appreciation.
Unlike other vegetables, lettuce can be artificially grown in greenhouses and can be eaten all year round. Lettuce breeds and grows in water and is influenced by the seasons. Spring blossoms are the best time to pick lettuce. Lettuce is harvested for a long time, from mid-April to late September, and can be picked every two or three days, with the highest yield in July.
Leaf by leaf is hard work
West Lake lettuce is a water lily family that prefers to grow in warm places. Lettuce is easy to grow, but the general rivers and lakes can not raise it, because lettuce is pure and not stain-resistant, it must be grown in places with extremely clean water quality, which is why it is called "lettuce". If the water is good, the gelatin of the lettuce is thick and the buds are thick.
Cultivated ponds should also be placed in a place of semi-sunlight or shade, and avoid direct sunlight. In addition to the high requirements for the planting environment, the picking of Lettuce in the West Lake is not an easy task.
Lettuce is still obtained in the most ancient way, requiring villagers to soak their hands in water to pick, even in modern times, machines are difficult to complete this meticulous task. Therefore, the pickers are generally women, who are also called "lettuce girls".
Whenever the picking season, these "lettuce ladies" in Shuangpu Town go out early, they carry buckets, wear shoes, and sleeves, and when the sun has not yet directly hit the lake, they can see underwater, plus the lettuce is very slippery, and they need to practice the skill of quick eyes.
Lying on the small wooden boat, they reached under the water with their hands, pinched the small and slippery lettuce sprouts with their fingertips, and picked them up sharply from the water and threw them into the cabin. In this way, it is 8-10 hours, but only about 10 kilograms of young shoots can be picked, which is very hard.
A tasteless taste is the supreme taste
The picked lettuce must be selected through greening and grading. The shorter the leaves, the tighter the harvest, the higher the grade of the mucus thicker, and the best lettuce is a small shoot, and the leaves are only 1-2 cm long after processing.
Lettuce itself has no taste, the taste is all about the good soup. Soups or soups made from lettuce are particularly delicious and are listed as famous dishes in Hangzhou, and it is said that the Qianlong Emperor toured Hangzhou many times, and each time he had to eat the Lettuce from the West Lake as a soup.
Crystal tender lettuce, made into lettuce soup, refreshing and delicious, with the effect of strengthening the brain and clearing the lungs. Rich in gum, rich in protein, vitamin C and iron, it is a precious aquatic food. The tender green color and the poetry of spring are so interesting and natural, it is no wonder that like lettuce, it has been remembered, tasted and praised by countless literati, although it is inconspicuous, it is a bowl of spring loved by literati. Such a tasteless taste is the supreme taste.