Camellia can not only be appreciated, but also eaten. The edible of camellia in China should be said to have been tried since the discovery of wild camellia. But the documents we found are relatively late. Zhu Youdun, the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, the great ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, wrote a medical monograph "Save the Masses of Materia Medica": "The tender leaves of camellia are fried, washed with water and eaten, or steamed and dried for drinking." This means that camellia can be used as vegetables and drinks. In the Ming Dynasty, Bao Shanjing personally practiced, "Prepare all kinds of wild vegetables, don't taste them, and make them in detail", and then he wrote "Wild Vegetables Record", which contained its eating method in "Theaceae": "Pick leaves and fry them, soak them in water, adjust the food with oil and salt, or steam and dry them for tea to cook and drink." Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica also recorded the drinking of camellia: "Its leaves are famous for drinking, so it got the name of tea." Chen Weisong, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, wrote the poem "Drunk Hometown Spring Chanting Camellia", saying, "The milk flower in the pot will slip, and the jade flower in the bottle will be teased", describing the consumption of camellia and its flower arrangement. "Milk flower" refers to the bubble flower produced after frying, and "slip" is a cooking method in which raw materials are fried and then cooked with starch. The specific method of "Liushan Tea" is to use petals to pull noodles and fry them, then mix them with sugar to make snacks, or add ingredients to make dishes.

to sum up, there are three edible values of camellia: one is to extract camellia oil. Camellia, especially Camellia oleifera fruit, is rich in fatty oil and is one of the most important woody oil plants in China. Tea oil is not only for general consumption, but also a health food for patients with cardiovascular diseases. The second is to make tea. Camellia sinensis contains alkaloids such as theophylline and can be used as a beverage. The third is flowers and food. Soak camellia flowers in wine to make camellia wine; Glutinous rice porridge cooked with camellia flowers is a medicinal diet, which has the effect of treating dysentery. Camellia petals are rich in vitamins, protein, fat, starch, various trace minerals and highly effective bioactive substances, so eating flowers has become a new trend in modern food culture. Various colors of camellia can be used to prepare salad snacks; It is a top-grade dessert with camellia petals dragged with oil or noodles fried with sugar; Camellia and rice or noodles can be made into camellia cakes; Camellia petals mixed with other raw materials can be cooked into distinctive delicacies. Xu Jinsheng, secretary-general of Nantong Camellia Association, Jiangsu Province, and a master chef, introduced two kinds of camellia health dishes, camellia soup and camellia fish, in Sichuan Cooking magazine. Camellia soup is characterized by its rich flavor and bright color, which has nutritional and health care functions. Camellia fish raw materials include camellia, mandarin fish meat and other ingredients. When it is made, it is put into the shape of camellia branches and leaves and camellia flowers. It is characterized by fresh and tender camellia, lifelike shape and the function of enhancing immunity. Dong Jiegeng of Nantong Camellia Association also introduced a camellia dish-camellia chicken breast, which is made of camellia, tender chicken breast and other ingredients. When making, the lettuce is carved into a phoenix head and placed in a basin to match the shape. It is characterized by bright color, smooth and tender taste, and has the functions of lowering blood pressure and improving eyesight. Pan Jianliang, a master of Jinhua cuisine, won the gold medal in the "Bee Cup" cooking skill competition. This dish is like a beautiful camellia, delicate and charming. It is lifelike against the green leaves and branches, and it also gives off attractive fragrance from time to time. It is really full of color, flavor and shape.