Nanxun Fragrant Chinese Turnip

Nanxun Fragrant Chinese Turnip

　　　　Product Name: Fragrant Chinese Turnip

　　Alias: Nubby Vegetable

　　Category: Brassicaceae

　　Characteristics: Good color, delicious taste, moderate saltiness, slightly sweet, aromatic, crisp and tender roots, fine and delicate fibers, neat and uniform in appearance.

　　Season: Native turnip varieties are typically sown after the Beginning of Autumn, transplanted around White Dew, and harvested after Winter Solstice, taking approximately 135 days in total.

　　Composition: Rich in vitamins, a large amount of trace elements, carbohydrates, proteins, etc.

　　Efficacy: Clears internal heat, promotes urination to relieve summer heat, and has heat-clearing and detoxifying effects.

　　Introduction: The main production area of Nanxun Fragrant Chinese Turnip is in the surrounding countryside of Nanxun Town, including areas near Nanxun such as Qidu and Badu in Wujiang County, Jiangsu.

Nanxun Chinese Turnip was originally cultivated from high-quality varieties sourced from Jiuliuwan in Jiaxing (commonly referred to as native variety). Since the introduction of Yunnan varieties (commonly called foreign varieties) in the 1960s, there have been significant changes in the variety over the past twenty-plus years. Currently, most are new hybrid varieties derived from crossing native and foreign strains. These hybrids mature about half a month earlier than local native varieties and yield 20–30% more. The processing and pickling procedure of Nanxun Fragrant Chinese Turnip includes sorting, sun-drying, slicing, salting, and jar-packing. In the 1930s, the annual production of Nanxun Fragrant Chinese Turnip once reached 200,000 to 300,000 jars, equivalent to approximately 350,000 to 450,000 dan of fresh turnips. Nanxun Fragrant Chinese Turnip is suitable for home use, travel, and as a condiment, making it a premium processed vegetable. Historically, its products were exported to Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangdong, Guizhou, as well as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and internationally to Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, enjoying a certain reputation in both domestic and overseas markets.

　　History: The Chinese turnip is native to China, with cultivation of vegetables such as mustard dating back to the Neolithic Age. During the Three Kingdoms, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties periods, root-use mustard was already present. Chinese turnips are cultivated all over the country. Historical records indicate that Zhejiang had many producing areas, “but those from Nanxun Town in Wuxing were the most renowned.”

Story: Legend has it that during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang lived in seclusion in ancient Longzhong. Every winter, he would dig up a wild vegetable known as “manjing” (vine stem), which he served cold as a side dish. Once, before going out to visit a friend, Zhuge Liang made a dish of shredded manjing. When he returned several days later, he found the leftover shredded manjing had not gone bad, so he tried it and found it to be crisp, tender, and very tasty. He immediately understood the secret — fresh manjing, when salted and pickled for some time, could turn into a delicious dish. Hence, it is said that Zhuge Liang was the originator of pickled Chinese turnip.