Grass jelly making technique
Xiancao, also known as liangfencao, xianrencao, xianrenjelly, and firewood grass, is an annual plant of the genus Xiancao of the Lamiaceae family. It is an important oriental plant resource for both medicine and food. The dried sample of the whole Xianrencao contains about 70% carbohydrates, a small amount of protein, fat, pigment, etc., and also contains more mineral elements. It is a custom of Zhangzhou and Taiwanese people to eat "tiancao" (xiancao jelly) at the beginning of the lunar calendar. It is said that if you eat "tiancao" on this day, you will not get prickly heat throughout the summer. "Tiancao" has the effect of cooling down and relieving heat, and there is no disadvantage of being cold and suffering from cold. Adding honey to "tiancao" makes it sweet and refreshing. As early as the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people living in rural areas of Fujian and Taiwan used the stems of Xiancao to boil water, add rice soup to make Xiancao (commonly known as Tiancao in Fujian and Taiwan) or use the stems and leaves to boil Xiancao tea as a refreshing drink to relieve heat in midsummer. At the end of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the 15th generation Zhan Shijin and his wife Liang reclaimed Yongjing in Changhua, Taiwan. They boiled the immortal grass brought from their hometown Zhao'an Erdu (Sanrao Township, Yuangedu, now part of Raoping County, Guangdong Province) with water, added rice soup to make immortal grass jelly (commonly known as "field grass" in Fujian and Taiwan), and boiled it into immortal grass tea as a refreshing drink to relieve the heat. They also made this "field grass" into a heat-relieving recipe. Later, it became one of the sources of livelihood for the 22nd generation Zhan Yuzhu's mother Tu in Yuanlin, Changhua County, Taiwan to maintain her family's livelihood. "Field grass" (immortal grass jelly) is made from a kind of "immortal grass" that is abundant in the cool, humid and slightly cold environment of small weeds such as slopes and valleys in the mountainous areas of Fujian and Taiwan. Only a small amount of "immortal grass" can make a jelly that is more than ten times heavier than "immortal grass". Zhangtai Herba Jelly is made through the following processes: Dried Herba Jelly (Field Grass) is chopped, washed, boiled, allowed to stand, clarified, filtered, extracted Herba Jelly (Field Grass) is added to rice soup, mixed evenly, heated to boiling, poured into a container, and cooled. The finished Herba Jelly (Field Grass) is made. "Field Grass" (Jiangcao Jelly) can not only quench hunger and thirst, but also has many functions such as clearing away heat and summer heat, aiding digestion, lowering blood lipids, and treating diabetes. It is a traditional folk beverage that has been popular for thousands of years. "Zhangtai Herba Jelly Traditional Production Technique" has a long history, unique materials, high quality, and a high reputation. It reflects the unique food culture of the integration of Zhangtai folks and has a profound cultural heritage. At the same time, it is also a link for the recognition of traditional food culture on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, a precious cultural heritage of the integration of traditional folk food culture on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and an important basis for studying the history of cultural inheritance, changes, and development of traditional folk food production techniques.