|
Guangzhou
specials
There
are 500 kinds of fruits in Guangzhou. Among these fruits,
litchi, banana, papaya and pineapple are of wide distribution,
large quantity and fine quality, reputed as Lingnan's four
major fruits. Other fruits include mango, carambola,
pomegranate, longan, white olive, black olive, red bayberry,
honey pineapple, Sanhua pear and water melon, etc.
Located in subtropical zone, Guangzhou is favored with a great
variety of tropical and subtropical fruits. Fresh fruits are
always available at markets all the year round, hence the
reputation of 'home of fruits'. Fruit plantation in Guangzhou
can be traced back to the Han Dynast. According to historical
records, emperor Hanwudi of the Han Dynasty once collected
tributes of 'palace tangerines' from Lingnan. Wujiao
Prefecture's governor Shixie once paid tributes of 'auspicious
tangerines' to Sunquan during the period of the Three
Kingdoms. These tributes paid to emperors all referred to
sweet oranges, not today's mandarin oranges or tangerines.
Based on investigation resulted in 1960, Guangzhou's fruits
belong to 40 families, 77 genus, 132 species or subspecies.
There are more that 500 kinds of fruits. Among them, 33 are
fine-quality species introduced from other places. Famous
species include Zengcheng's Gualu litchi, Huangdeng's
pineapple, Luogang's sweet orange, Shixia's longan, Fangcun's
Huadi sweet carambola, etc. New species have been bred in
recent years such as August litchi, Hongjiang orange, Daguo
longan, Hongfan papaya and Cuibaowater melon, etc.
Litchi
Being planted in Guangzhou's Conghua, Zengcheng and
Guangzhou's outskirts, litchi is said to be the 'king of
fruits'. Litchi is of exquisite shape, pleasant color, and
delicate sweet flesh. Species of fine quality include Nuomici,
Guiwei, Feizixiao, and Gualu, etc. Huaizhi litchi yields the
most output, occupying about 70-80% of the total. Litchi is a
kind of valuable subtropical fruit and one of Lingnan's four
famous fruits. It was originally planted in the southern part
of China, with a history of more than 2,000 years. Now China
has over 100 litchi species, over 60 species in Guangzhou.
Guiwei and Numici are the two species of the best quality.
Guiwei is well known for its crispy and sweet flesh, and
Nuomici is good for its thick flesh, much juice and small pit.
Bicum's Nuomici, Luogang's Guiwei and Zengcheng's Gualo are
called "litchi's three pearls'. Of these three species,
Zengcheng Gualu paid as a tribute to the imperial courts in
many dynasties.
Tanzhou's White Sugarcane
Panyu has a good production of sugarcane, hence the title of
'sugar capital'. Tanzhou Town's white sugarcane has a
worldwide fame, featuring brightness and green white in color,
thin skin, crisp flesh, plenty of juice, sweetness and less
fabrics. Tanzhou's white has a medical effect on reducing
human body's internal heat.
Pineapple
Pineapple was originally planted in Brazil and was introduced
into China in the 16th century. With over 70 species,
pineapple is one of Lingnan's four famous fruits.
Pineapple bears fruits three times each year. Those bearing
fruits in June and August are of the best quality. The most
tasteful pineapple should be fresh, good-shaped, 80% ripe and
with solid skin. Three common species include Shenwan, Bali
and Shalaoyue. The Tangxin pineapple cultivated by Guangzhou's
farmer is the best of all.
Tangxin pineapple belongs to Shalaoyue species, also named as
Hawaii, weighing 2-3 kilograms each, with big and shallow
fruit eyes. Its fruit is edible with its skin peeled off.
Featuring soft flesh and full juice, mild sweetness and sour,
Tangxin pineapple is an excellent species which can either be
tasted freshly or made into tinned fruits.The Huangdeng
pineapple, planted at Huangdeng Village of Guangzhou's Huangpu
District, is among the best featuring thick flesh, much juice,
sweetness and fragrance, etc.
Papaya
With nicknames of Pan Papaya and longevity fruit, papaya is
one of Lingnan's four famous fruits being usually called as
"the king of Lingnan's fruits".
Papaya was originally planted in Mexico, and was introduced to
China in the 17th century. It has now been planted in every
corner of Guangdong Province, mainly around Guangzou's
outskirts. Good papaya species in Guangzhou include
Lingnanzhong, Shuizhong and Thailand's Ted Flesh, among which
the Liangnanzhong is of the best quality. Lingnanzhong's
papayas are full and ellipse-shaped, featuring thick flesh,
few seeds and a flavor of osmanthus fragrance. Papaya fruits
are big, weighing six to seven kilograms. Its fruits can be
tasted freshly with delicate flavors and rich nutrition.
Cooked with crystal sugar, papaya is also effective in some
throat-related diseases. Unripe papaya can be boiled in as a
kind of vegetable or salted to make 'salty and sour papaya'
Banana
Banana is one of Lingnan's four famous fruits. With a planting
history of over 2,000 years in China, banana is widely planed
in Guangdong's Dongguan, Zhongshan, Xinhui, Shunde, Panyu and
Guangzhou's outskirts.
Banana is soft, sweet, delicate and fragrant, effective on
curing diseases of digestion, blood pressure and hardening of
veins. Wanqingsha's banana in Panyu is planted in sandy soil,
with its fruits full of fragrance.
As a member of the banana family, plantain is one of
Guangzhou's well-known fruits. In Wanqiangshan, both banana
and plantain are planted. The "red-mouth parrot"
plantain is the most valuable species. This kind of plantain
is in golden yellow color when it becomes fully ripe, its stem
still till keeps green and its top is in purplish red color,
thus obtains the name of 'red-mouth carrot'.
Shixia Longan
Longan is a perennial evergreen arbor plant, blooming in
spring and yielding fruits in summer. Fruits are ball-shaped
with shells of light yellow or brown. Its flesh is white and
transparent, with plenty of juice and sweet flavor, Longan is
one of Lingnan's delicate fruits. Dried longan plus its shell
is a kind of medicine for calming and nutritious effects.
Originated from China, longan has a plantation history of over
2,000 years. Now it is widely planted in Guangzhou's Baiyun
District, Haizhu District, Zengcheng,, Panyu and Huadu. Longan
species include Wryuan, Shixia, Shuiyan, and Yuanyan, etc.
Shixia's longan planted at Xiaozhou Village of Haizhu
District, is the best of its kind. The Shixia Longan is big,
high yield and sweet flavor like honey. It was said that the
oldest longan tree was grown out of stone crevices. Squeezed
by big stones, the roots had no way but plunging deeply into
soil and suck the quintessence of the earth. Because of this,
its fruits were particularly tasteful, and the longan tree was
named as Shixia (stone squeezing).
Black Olive and White Olive
As Zengcheng's local product, olive refers to both black olive
and white olive.
Black olive is one of "Zengcheng's four treasures"
(the other three are Gualu Litchi, Simiao Rice and Liangfencao).
Every part of black olive is for good usage. Its flesh can be
processed into Lanjiao or for making olive oil; olive kernel
can be cooked into a good dish or used as a best ingredient
for making cakes; while its pit can be used as raw material
for making famous handcraft-olive sculpture, which has got a
history of more than 300 years. Black olive owns 30 kinds of
species, of which Xishan, Yangjiso, Huangrou, Egao, Sanfang
and Youlanzai are better known than others. Zengcheng also
produces white olive, which can be processed into different
kinds of cool fruits and nibbles, such as olive with licorice,
chilli olive, Huapi olive, osmanthus olive and healthy olive,
etc. These nibbles are made through process of salt soaking,
sweet pickling or adding spice and edible pigments, etc.
Mango
Mango belongs to mango genus and lacquer tree family. About
10-20 meters high, mango tree belongs to evergreen arbor,
featuring thick and big root and round crown. Its fruit is
reputed as the 'king of tropical fruits', which is ball or
kidney-shaped, in light green or yellow color. Its flesh and
juice are sweet, which can be tasted freshly or processed into
dried mango and mango juice. There are several mango species
in Guangzhou such as Zihuamang, Guixiangmang, Chuanmang,
Lupimang and Tumang, etc. The best species of mango is Xiamao
Xiangmang, planted at Xiamao Willage of Shijing Towm, Baiyun
District. The flesh of "Xiaomao Xiangmang" is soft,
sweet and fragrant. It is said that the Xiangmang was first
introduced to Guangzhou in Qing Dynasty, and then was
appointed as tribute because of its top quality. Now,
Xiangmang trees are very precious with only a few existing and
yielding about 500 kilograms fruits annually.
Carambola (Star Fruit)
Carambola is one of Lingnan's delicate fruits. Its shape is
peculiar and its color is verdure or bright orange color. Its
skin is as thin as plastics and its flesh crispy and slippery
with plenty of juice, which is sweet, sour, and tasteful.
Carambola consists of 10% sugar, rich vitamin and C. Main
species include juedu sweet carambola (flat top), Juedu sweet
carambola (pointed top) and sour carambola, The best known
species is produced at Huadi of Fangcun District.
Guava
Originally planted in America, the guava has been introduced
to Guangzhou for over 200 years. Now, it is mainly planted in
Haizhu District, Panyu and Zengcheng. Its species includes
Jinhong, Gongfenhong, Zaoshouri, Chushihong, Qiyueshou, etc.
Most guavas are gourd-shaped and in cyan or light yellow. Its
flesh is delicate, fragrant and sweet, with unique flavor. The
guava can be eaten freshly or made into tinned fruit or soft
packing drink. The better one is the Datang guava.
|
