Nanxiyang Yellow Water Chestnut

Nanxiyang Yellow Water Chestnut

　　Product Name: Water Chestnut

　　Product Alias: Nanxiyang Yellow Water Chestnut

　　Product Origin: Wenzhou

　　Product Characteristics: Cool in nature, sweet in taste; enters the intestines and stomach meridians, clears summer heat, relieves fever, removes irritability and quenches thirst, benefits qi and strengthens the spleen

　　Product Introduction: Water chestnuts can be eaten fresh by boiling or used to make starch. They come in green, red, and purple colors, with a crispy skin and tender flesh, making them a fine fruit and also suitable as a food grain. They are generally boiled or steamed before eating, or dried and chopped into small pieces to cook congee. Water chestnuts are rich in starch, protein, glucose, fat, and various vitamins such as vitamin B1, B2, C, carotene, as well as elements like calcium, phosphorus, and iron. The ancients believed that eating more water chestnuts could nourish the internal organs and cure numerous ailments, and even help with weight loss and body slimming due to their lack of fattening fat. The Nanxiyang water chestnuts from Sanyang Township, Ouhai District, are the most famous, known as "Nanxiyang Yellow Water Chestnuts," with an annual yield of over 1,200 tons. The Nanxiyang River is wide, deep, and rich in silt, making it an excellent place for growing water chestnuts with a long planting history. Water chestnuts are usually sown in paddy fields around the Awakening of Insects (early March), seedlings are transplanted to shallow riverbanks around Qingming (early April), then moved to deeper waters between Mangzhong and XiaZhi (June), and can be harvested around Bailu (early September). Harvesting occurs roughly every 10 days, lasting up to 2 months. In recent years, successful trial planting has been carried out in rice fields in the Zeya Mountain area.

　　Product History: Song Dynasty · Yang Wanli. “Reflections on Eating Mature Water Chestnuts”: “Fortunate to avoid people in the rivers and lakes, hiding pearls and jade cold and dust-free. Why must you insist on exposing your head? Amidst the old duckweed and lotus, I grow old in this body.” Ming Dynasty · Li Shizhen: “Domestic water chestnuts are grown in Pothole Pond, with large leaves and fruits, soft and crisp angles, and some have two angles curved like a bow. Their colors include green, red, and purple. When tender, they can be peeled and eaten, with a crispy skin and delicious flesh—truly a fine fruit.” Qing Dynasty · Huang Yuanjie. “Picking Water Chestnuts”: “Light boat releases oars, happy in the warmth, amidst green willows and red maples under the pale sun. Wanting to pick lake water chestnuts but fearing slippery fingers, I discreetly remove my gold ring beforehand.”