Shaoxing Pickled Baby Cucumber

Shaoxing Pickled Baby Cucumber

　　Also known as: Pickled Cucumber

　　Product Name: Pickled Baby Cucumber

　　Place of Origin: Shaoxing

　　Product Description: This is a traditional and renowned specialty of Shaoxing’s brewing industry. The 1699 *Kuaiji County Annals* from the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty recorded: “Wanggua and qinggua ripen in April and May.” (Wanggua refers to cucumber.) Pickled Baby Cucumber is made mainly from young cucumbers, harvested while the flowers are still in bloom and their surfaces are still bristling with prickles, and pickled on the very same day they are picked. This type of cucumber is so tender it’s likened to a baby that hasn’t been weaned, hence the character “乳” (milk/infantile) in its name. It is produced at a specification of around 60 pieces per kilogram and is prepared with ingredients such as salt, soy sauce (mother-and-son variety), sweet bean paste, monosodium glutamate, yellow rice wine, and white sugar. The process involves three rounds of pickling (commonly referred to as first burst, second burst, and third burst) to produce a premium product. Shaoxing Pickled Baby Cucumber is celebrated for being crisp, tender, refreshing, sweet, delicious, and highly nutritious, earning the title of “the treasure among pickled vegetables.” In 1987, the Jianhu-brand and Shun-brand Pickled Baby Cucumbers were both named high-quality products by the Ministry of Light Industry, and in 1988, they won the silver award at the first China Food Expo. The product is exported to Japan and other destinations.

　　Product History: Also known as Pickled Cucumber, Pickled Baby Cucumber is one of the city’s traditional specialties. Processing of Pickled Baby Cucumber began as early as the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, and exports to Japan and Hong Kong/Macau started in the early 1960s, gaining wide popularity among consumers. Both the Jianhu-brand Pickled Baby Cucumber produced by Shaoxing Xianheng Food Factory and the Shun-brand Pickled Baby Cucumber produced by Shangyu Zhangzhen Brewing Factory were honored as ministry-level high-quality products in 1987. Current annual production is around 500 tons, with approximately 200 tons being exported.