Xiaoman, as one of the 24 solar terms, has a long history in China. Naturally, Xiaoman also has traditional food. So what does Xiaoman eat according to traditional customs?

Xiaoman solar term bitter vegetables

Spring breeze blows, bitter vegetables grow long, and the wasteland is a granary. The most representative custom food of Xiaoman solar terms is bitter vegetables. Basically, there is a custom of eating hard food in Xiaoman solar terms all over the country.

bitter vegetables are called in different parts of China. Medically, it is called Patrinia herb, Ningxia people call it "bitter herb", Shaanxi people call it "bitter herb" and Li Shizhen calls it "Tianxiang herb". Mr Nie Fengqiao, a famous gourmet in China, discovered a bitter herb with yellow flowers in Ningxia in 1958, which is called "sweet bitter herb". Its leaves are big, its stems are crisp, and its bitterness is sweet. Compared with the common bitter herbs with blue flowers, it has many advantages.

The origin of bitter dishes in Xiaoman solar terms

There are historical reasons for bitter dishes in Xiaoman solar terms. Bitter vegetables are one of the earliest edible wild vegetables in China. Zhou Shu: Bitter vegetable show on the day of Xiaoman. The Book of Songs: Take pains, under the sun. It is said that Wang Baochuan ate bitter vegetables in the cold kiln for 18 years in order to survive. In the old society, farmers had to rely on bitter herbs to satisfy their hunger every spring. Bitter vegetables, with bitter taste, are better than jejunum.

On the way to the Long March, the Red Army used bitter herbs to satisfy its hunger and overcome various difficulties. In the Soviet area of Jiangxi Province, there was a song: bitter herbs, flowers are yellow, and they are both wild vegetables and food. The Red Army ate them and went to the battlefield, bravely killing the enemy and winning the battle. Bitter vegetables are known as "Red Army dishes" and "Long March dishes". Although people don't worry about food and clothing now, the custom of eating hard in Xiaoman solar terms has been preserved, reminding people to cherish a better life.

The health significance of bitter vegetables in Xiaoman solar terms

Bitter vegetables are astringent in bitterness and sweet in astringency, fresh and refreshing, cool and tender, and rich in nutrition. They contain many vitamins, minerals, choline, sugar, riboflavin and mannitol needed by the human body, and have the functions of clearing away heat, cooling blood and detoxifying. Compendium of Materia Medica: (Bitter vegetables) Take it for a long time, feel at ease and benefit qi, intellectual fit and be resistant to old age. In medicine, bitter herbs are often used to treat fever, and the ancients also used it to sober up.