Jiange Shallots

Jiange Shallots

　　Jiange shallots are a specialty of Jiange County in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. The shallots from Jiange are white, tender and crisp, with low crude fiber content and rich nutrition. They are delicious without being greasy. With their unique flavor and excellent quality, they are highly favored by consumers.

　　Shallots are a perennial herbaceous plant of the lily family, with slender leaves and small purple flowers. Both the bulbs and tender leaves are edible. Mature shallots are large, plump, snow-white and translucent, spicy yet tender and sticky. They contain 14 types of amino acids including sugar, protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, four types of vitamins such as carotene and vitamin C, along with numerous other nutrients. Shallots thrive in moist and fertile conditions and are typically grown in shady, damp chicken manure soil. They are sown in autumn each year and harvested the following autumn, with a growth cycle of around 300 days. As long as sufficient base fertilizer is applied and the weeds are removed once or twice during the season, yields can reach several thousand kilograms per mu, making it a low-input, high-return crop. It is an excellent seasoning for cooking and a great accompaniment to meals. Dried shallots can also be used medicinally to aid digestion, clear phlegm, and treat chronic gastritis. According to the “Classic of Materia Medica,” “Shallots treat infected wounds and promote lightness in the body, preventing hunger and aging,” and “treat Shaoyin disease with wheezing, diarrhea, and stabbing pain in the chest, relieve qi, disperse blood, and calm the fetus.” Such a delicious and therapeutic food is truly rare in the world.

　　The ways of eating shallots are quite particular. Fresh shallots can be sliced or shredded and stir-fried with meat or served cold, offering a unique flavor. However, more often they are pickled. The large, white ones can be pickled into various flavors—sour, sweet, or spicy—according to personal preference. Not only do they have a bright and crystal-clear appearance, but they also emit a fragrant aroma that makes one salivate upon smelling them. Those of slightly lower quality are mixed with chopped chili peppers and pickled into spicy shallot relish. All are excellent appetizers, side dishes, and digestives.

　　Jiange has a long history of shallot cultivation and unique growing techniques. Coupled with its superior natural conditions, the shallots produced here are white, tender and crisp, with low crude fiber content, rich nutrition, and delicious without being greasy. Townships such as Sensong, Jiuyang, Shipanxi, Nanzhai, Liuchuan, and Nanming are the main production areas for shallots in the county.

　　Since the 1980s, the cultivation area of Jiange shallots has gradually expanded, and by the 1990s, batch processing and production had begun. Its series of canned shallots—sweet and sour, salted, and spicy—were launched and sold in markets both within and outside the province. With their unique flavor and excellent quality, they were highly favored by consumers. Customers from all over the country called or visited to request supplies, resulting in products that were in high demand. Among them, the salted shallots were exported to countries and regions such as Japan and South Korea. In November 1991, they won the silver award at the National “Seventh Five-Year Plan” Spark Program Achievements Expo, and in March 1993, they were awarded the silver prize at the National Spark Program Achievements Negotiation Conference. Later, Mr. Kōkō Yasuhiro and Mr. Kazuo Kamei from Japan’s Aihō Shōkai Co., Ltd. conducted strict and detailed scientific tests on Jiange shallots from raw materials to finished products. All economic and technical indicators met or exceeded the Japanese merchants’ requirements. They spoke very highly of the Jiange shallot series and promised that all future salted shallots would be distributed by them.