The weather is getting hotter, and I don't even feel it in the morning or evening. By noon, the temperature is almost 30 degrees, making people feel the heat of summer in a daze.

Ice watermelon and popsicles are indispensable tools for cooling off in the summer. It’s still early for watermelon to go on the market in large quantities, and it’s too cold to eat popsicles. I suddenly miss the jelly made by my grandma when I was a child.

Add some brown sugar to the crystal clear jelly and put it in well water to "ice" for a while. It tastes sweet and is very suitable for consumption at the end of April and early May.

There are several kinds of weeds that can be used to make jelly in rural areas. There are 4 most common types. Picking a handful from the roadside can make a pot of jelly, which is enough to eat. Let’s see how many do you know?

The first type: smelly yellow vitex.

Even though the name of Stinky Cortex has the word "stinky" in it, the jelly made from it is not smelly, but has the unique fresh taste of the plant.

Stinky yellow vitex is also called tofu firewood and jelly firewood. It is very common in mountainous areas. The main method is to take its young leaves and mash them to extract the juice. Then add clean plant ash water to solidify and shape it. Cut it into pieces and add seasonings.

It's ready to eat.

Generally speaking, the jelly made from the leaves of Stinking Vitex is salty. It is green and has high elasticity, and is more suitable for adding seasonings such as chili and garlic.

Starting from spring, you can pick the leaves of Stinking Vitex. Because it has high medicinal value and can clear away heat and detoxify, it is very popular among people.

Moreover, the leaves of Vitex japonicus are rich in pectin, which is also an important condition for why it can be used as jelly. Its pectin has now been developed and utilized in the food industry and has high development prospects.

The second type: magnolia fruit.

Magnolia, also known as Pili fruit, is a relatively common climbing plant in the south. Its seeds are used to make jelly.

After the mangolia fruit is mature, you will find that it is full of seeds when you cut the fruit. Dig out the seeds and wrap them in clean gauze. Then put them in clean cold water and rub them repeatedly to get out the gum, and then put them in the refrigerator.

Refrigerate until solidified.

Magnolia seeds can also be dried and stored for a long time. When necessary, soak them in water and repeat the above steps to make jelly.

The jelly made from magnolia fruit is the most popular among children. It is not as elastic as that made from stinky yellow thorn, but the color is transparent and the taste is tender and smooth. You can eat it by adding some brown sugar water and it tastes very good.

The third type: fake physalis.

The seeds of fake physalis are the raw materials for making the "ice powder" that was often eaten as a child. Many people born in the 1980s and 1990s have childhood memories.

The jelly made from it is more elastic than magnolia fruit. It is a common summer ice drink at night market stalls, rivaling the popularity of mung bean soup.

Maybe many people have eaten this kind of jelly, but they don't know that it is made from the seeds of fake physalis.

Physalis pseudophysalis is also very common in the wild in my country, both in the south and the north. Its appearance is somewhat similar to that of the lantern fruit, but there are differences if you look carefully, especially after it matures, you can tell by looking at its fruit whether it is Fake physalis.

This season is when pseudophysalis blooms. Its flowers are very beautiful, light blue, like morning glory. When the fruits mature in autumn, its seeds can be collected and dried in the sun for storage.

The fourth type: grass jelly.

The famous snack in the south, roasted jelly grass, is made from jelly grass.

Grass jelly looks like basil and is used as a herbal medicine in China. It can be purchased in some traditional Chinese medicine shops in the south that specialize in selling medicinal materials.

Grass jelly has the effect of clearing away heat and relieving summer heat, and is often included in herbal teas in Guangdong.

Only the dried grass jelly can be used to make roasted grass jelly. Add water and boil repeatedly to get the juice. Then add rice soup. After cooking, filter it and let it cool before freezing.

Shaoxiancao is black when made, very similar to turtle paste. It is very delicious with some honey and can be eaten as a dessert.