Lijiang Preserved Fruits

Lijiang Preserved Fruits

　　Lijiang preserved fruits have long been famous, offering around 20 flavors: tomato, chili, eggplant, ginger, apple—many ingredients you’d never even think of—all handmade by the female owner. Each piece is crystal clear, resembling high-quality yellow jade, with a wide variety of flavors, all sweet for sure.

At No. 46 Baishoufang, the preserver is a middle-aged woman running a family workshop. Several big pots steam with heat, filling the room with a sweet aroma. A small side room is packed with jars, lined up in several rows and labeled—probably over 20 varieties of odd and unusual flavors, with plum preserves alone divided into green plum, yellow plum, and red plum.

“The preserved fruits are ready to eat in about four days. It may sound simple, but the process is actually quite complex!” The woman didn’t want to say much more. “Lijiang preserved fruits have been around for years. Originally, there weren’t any tomato, chili, eggplant, or carrot flavors. Later, when there was an abundance of produce and it would’ve gone to waste, people started experimenting.” She added, “Nowadays, everything’s about being unique—if it’s not special, it just can’t keep up.”

There’s also preserved fruit at No. 12 Guanmenkou on Qiyi Street, displayed right by the roadside to “lure in sweet-toothed customers.” The selection is similar, also around 20 varieties. The female owner explained that the sugar used for making the preserves is called maltose—a white block made by boiling, fermenting, and refining barley and oats, all natural.

In front of Dongba Haus, there’s an elderly Naxi woman selling fruit, corn, sachets, and the like—one of them sells preserved fruits. Hers are placed in a basin and covered with glass. She only has a few kinds, mostly plum and plum, but the ones made from whole pomelo peel or whole orange peel are particularly tasty—they’re quite heavy, cost one yuan each, and she packs up when it gets dark.