The ash contains lead and arsenic, but the content is far below the national standard, so it is edible and harmless to human body.

The main ingredient of the ash is potassium carbonate, molecular formula K2CO3, molecular weight is 138. The ash is burnt by the firewood grass, after hundreds of years of use. In addition, the ash is only used in Lanzhou beef noodles, and there is no national standard to enforce. When added to ramen noodles, it can increase the texture of the noodles and make them more "strong". There is also a specialty noodle dish in Wuwei, Gansu Province, which is used in the noodles.

Now on the market to use the ashes of a kind of grass burned, a kind of ash according to the composition of the preparation of the enterprise, the ash contains lead, arsenic ingredients, but the content is far below the national standard. The health supervision institute has been regularly irregular on the beef noodle restaurant used in the ash sampling, found that the preparation of the ash of lead, arsenic content is lower than the burnt ash.

Expanded Information

The role of the ash:

Ash pong, also known as water pong, fly pong, pongchai in some places. Born in hills, mountains, and wastelands, it is a grassy plant with high alkali content and seeds.

Germination is very small, very tender, very green two young leaves, grow up into a poncho, stem silver-white, leaves as small as needles, like the deer head antler, but also like the green crystal bright cui fruits, yellow flowers in the fall, the flowers fell to seed, after the seed leaves become withered and yellow and fall, leaving only the branches and seeds, the wind blew the seeds fall, and the next year to grow again.

The ash pong contains strong alkaline, and the seeds contain much starch, which can be used as fodder. During the three years of hardship, people grind its seed surface to feed their hunger, bitter and hard to swallow. Japanese animated film "Chinese small when the family" mentioned in the eleventh episode of the black stone boiled "alkaline water", is the ash.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Pungent Ash