Shepherd's purse is a local dish, which is homophonic and means to gather wealth. It is a kind of vegetable with edible and nutritional value. Boiled eggs with shepherd's purse are a kind of holiday food, just like eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival and moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival. Boiled eggs with shepherd's purse are eaten on the third day of March.
On the third day of the third lunar month, Nanjing has the custom of "boiled eggs with shepherd's purse flowers on March 3". It is said that the tradition of eating shepherd's purse flowers and boiling eggs on March 3 comes from Shangsi Festival, an ancient festival more than 2,000 years ago. In ancient times, an important ceremony was held on this day to eliminate disasters and ward off evil spirits and pray for good luck and peace. Eating shepherd's purse and boiled eggs on March 3rd symbolizes peace, good fortune and avoiding evil, and is a dietary custom.
Selection method of shepherd's purse
1, when choosing shepherd's purse, you should first choose dark green shepherd's purse, which is the real wild shepherd's purse, and light green shepherd's purse is in the greenhouse. In addition, don't buy flowering shepherd's purse, because this shepherd's purse is very old and not delicious, and it is only suitable for medicine.
2. When choosing shepherd's purse, we should distinguish the varieties. There are generally two kinds of shepherd's purse on the market now, one is pointed leaf and the other is round leaf. Sharp leaves are mosaic shepherd's purse, with light color, small and thin leaves and strong taste. Round leaves are plate-leaf shepherd's purse, with thick leaves, large and thick leaves and light taste.
3, when choosing shepherd's purse, it is best to choose a single growth, because the quality of the tie is poor. In addition, don't hate red leaves, which have stronger fragrance and better taste.
4. It is best not to buy thick and big shepherd's purse, because thick and big wild vegetables are generally close to farmland, and it is easier to spray pesticides, while normally growing shepherd's purse is generally far from farmland, so it is unlikely to spray pesticides.