My hometown, Hongyagou, is located in the northern part of Gangu County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, which belongs to the forest edge area of the Wei River Valley in the northern foothills of the Xiaolong Mountains of the West Qinling Mountains. A pale yellow and thin Wei River, meandering from west to east, sneaks from west to east, and walks through the valley Pingchuan For more than 200 miles, bringing vitality to the villages on both sides of the river.
Just in this river valley, tens of kilometers from north to south, rich vegetation, cool climate, sufficient light, annual precipitation of more than 500 mm, the average annual temperature is not less than 12 °C, the average altitude of 1100 meters above, frost-free period is also more than 210 days, very suitable for the planting and growth of peppercorns.
The vicissitudes of sangtian, handed down from generation to generation, are a narrow strip centered on Gangu County, and the tradition has become the main producer of peppercorns. For many years, Gangu peppercorns have been famous for their bright red color, rich flesh, full grains, and strong hemp flavor.
It is said that as early as 1470 years ago, The Northern Wei Jia Sixun had a record of "Shu pepper out of Wudu, Qin pepper out of Tianshui" in the "Qi Min Zhi Shu". The "Qin pepper out of Tianshui" mentioned here refers to the peppercorns produced in the Weihe River Valley, which is mainly based on Maigangu County in Tianshui City.
Most of the pepper trees in Gangu grow in the sandy flat river of the Weihe River Valley and the gentle slopes of the loess along the coast, do not apply pesticides and fertilizers, have no industrial pollution, and grow almost naturally. The pepper trees have fine thorns and are still managed by traditional manual farming.
Ripe peppercorns have a rich crispy aroma far away, making it an essential condiment for Sichuan and Hunan cuisine. Modern science and technology has found that Gangu pepper is rich in a variety of trace elements needed by the human body, and has the effect of strengthening the spleen and stomach, detoxifying and detoxifying, and promoting metabolism.
Of course, most of the neighbors do not know, Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" contains: "Flowers do not have firm teeth, black hair, and bright eyes, and long-term service has the effect of prolonging life." ”