In July 2021, in order to understand and disseminate the unique food culture of their hometowns, the Lingnan Normal Food Institute Dengta Social Practice Team will carry out food research activities in their respective cities, and for me in Lanzhou, this activity aims to taste food and consult history to understand the food culture and local humanistic customs of Lanzhou people. Apricot peel tea, commonly known as apricot peel water. Is originated in Dunhuang, Gansu a drink with strong local characteristics, the use of Local Li Guangxing produced in Gansu as raw materials, made of its apricot skin, its taste is mellow and simple, so that countless people linger, its production process is identified as Dunhuang Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage, is a common specialty drink in Gansu.
"Apricot Peel Tea"
In Dunhuang, in the summer, families use their own methods to cook or soak dried apricot peels to prepare this authentic anti-summer drink. In the hot summer, Dunhuang people take a bite, which has long become a habit of their lives. And I don't know when, the sweet and sour apricot peel tea has long been famous, all over Gansu. Apricot is one of the earliest fruits cultivated and eaten in Chinese, and is called "five fruits" together with peach, plum, chestnut and jujube. And this Gansu Li Guangxing is even more unique, with a taste that stands out from many varieties. Dunhuang is located in the northwest, south of the majestic Qilian Mountains, west of Taklamakan, north of the Gobi and the Remnants of the Tianshan Mountains, is a typical warm temperate arid climate. The dry climate, low rainfall, large evaporation, large temperature difference between day and night, and long sunshine hours allow sugars in the fruit to accumulate. It is precisely because of these special geographical environments that dunhuang Li Guangxing's unique taste has been bred, which makes it stand out from many melons and fruits, and also allows our apricot peel tea to have the best raw materials and win on the starting line. In Dunhuang, self-brewed pure apricot peel water does not add flavoring agents, the taste is sweet but not greasy, and the apricot peel water after ice is more sour and sweet, which is a common drink in the streets and alleys. Nowadays, apricot peel tea has long become a cultural symbol, and it is a classic that has been passed down for thousands of years in the long history of Dunhuang. "The inheritance of the true meaning should not stay in the superficial impression of cultural symbols, but more importantly, it is 'applied through the ages'." He Xiaoshan, general manager of Gansu Silk Road Souvenir Culture Communication Co., Ltd., said, "We combine modern digital means to bring tradition closer to the present and let young people truly fall in love with Dunhuang culture." As a Dunhuang municipal intangible cultural heritage, we have been debugged many times in the formula and design through commercial aggregation, so that this intangible cultural creation - apricot peel tea fully shows the unique flavor of Dunhuang product Li Guangxing, the purpose is to make the distance between Dunhuang intangible cultural heritage and the public is no longer thousands of miles, but within easy reach. ”
Practice team members are buying "apricot peel tea"
Ancient traditional specialty food, in order to keep up with the pace of the new era, innovation is essential, whether it is the improvement of the formula or the upgrading of the packaging should keep pace with the times, and now Gansu uses the old formula plus the new process of this two-pronged approach to launch the "ancient apricot peel tea", which is a fresh attempt at cultural creation on the tip of the tongue. Subsequently, we also hope that through cultural inheritance, more traditional products that have been handed down to the present day will be displayed in a fresh and young way, so that they can be known by more people.