Chun'an Hickory Nuts

Chun'an Hickory Nuts

　　　Product Origin: Tianmu Mountain, Chun'an, Hangzhou

　　Product Features: Crisp, sweet in taste, richly aromatic, highly nutritious, and very easy to preserve.

　　Product Benefits: Extremely rich in nutrients and easily absorbed by the human body; the nuts help nourish lungs and qi, enrich blood, calm wheezing, moisten dryness, resolve phlegm, and dispel cold; the shells are an important raw material in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and light industries; the debittered shells can be used for oil extraction.

　　Product Introduction: Chun'an hickory nuts are mainly produced in the Tianmu Mountain area, with those from Wangfu, Yanjia, and Linqi in Chun'an being of the highest quality. Hickory nuts are beneficial fruits—their kernels can be pressed for oil, roasted for eating, or used as ingredients in making candies and pastries. They are highly nutritious; according to analysis, one kilogram of hickory nut kernels equals the nutritional value of nine kilograms of fresh milk, five kilograms of eggs, or two kilograms of beef, and their nutrients are more readily absorbed by the human body than those of milk, eggs, or beef. Truly, every part of the nut is valuable. Commonly known as "small walnut," it belongs to the Juglandaceae family of deciduous trees. Hickory nuts are typically harvested around mid-September. After removing the husk, they are washed and dried in the shade, then boiled in an iron pot for about four hours to remove the astringency of the kernels. Because these dried nuts are nutritious, easy to preserve, and convenient to carry, tourists often purchase them for consumption during their travels or to give as gifts to family and friends. Chun'an hickory nuts are especially renowned for their premium quality.

　　Product Story: The "Qunfang Pu" (Collection of Flowers) from the Ming Dynasty's Wanli era and the "Guang Qunfang Pu" (Expanded Collection of Flowers) from the Qing Dynasty's Kangxi era both documented: “In the south, there is a hickory nut. Its base is flat like betel nut, with thick and hard skin, fleshy but with little membrane, and its shell is very thick, needing to be cracked open with a mallet.” The original wild hickory nuts have a long history; experts confirm that their growing conditions are related to the Cambrian stratum. Field investigations at the origin show that artificial cultivation has a history of about two hundred years, while widespread promotion has occurred only within the last hundred years. According to the "Changhua Economic Survey Report" from the 31st year of the Republic of China (1942): “In the past, hickory nuts received little attention. It was not until the early years of the Republic of China that they began to be pressed for oil and sold commercially. Later, leisurely individuals discovered their use as a tea accompaniment, and gradually they became more widely used... eventually becoming a new source of wealth for Changhua.”