1, watermelon
The first choice for eating in autumn is watermelon. It is considered that eating watermelon in late summer and early autumn can eliminate the stagnant gas accumulated in summer and avoid diseases such as diarrhea and boils. Beginning of autumn eats watermelon, chews off the summer heat with watermelon and chews off the "autumn tiger" to welcome the cool autumn. This is a farewell ceremony with watermelon.
There's a saying in old Taizhou that eating watermelon and loofah after beginning of autumn will lead to hair loss, so take advantage of the opportunity of eating watermelon on the last day, and the whole family will sit together and eat enough! The classic saying of "gnawing at autumn" means that beginning of autumn can digest the pig hair he usually eats in his body by eating watermelon that day.
There is also a related legend: It is said that during the Ming Dynasty, many people in Nanjing suffered from boils, so some people followed the example of Cui Xianggong's daughter in Luzhou to eat melons and let the boils heal themselves. As a result, the boil really healed. Therefore, people eat more watermelons in autumn to prevent autumn dryness and form a custom for a long time.
Melons are always related to reproduction. Eating watermelon also represents a beautiful expectation passed down from generation to generation. Besides, after beginning of autumn, watermelons entered the last market, so when we are in beginning of autumn, we should eat melons again.
Although the old tradition in beginning of autumn is to "eat autumn melons", you should eat less watermelons after beginning of autumn. The ancients called watermelon "natural white tiger soup", which is a famous prescription for clearing away heat and toxic materials in traditional Chinese medicine. The doctor reminded everyone that watermelon is a cold thing, which can relieve summer heat in midsummer. After beginning of autumn, people with weak spleen and stomach function and cold constitution are prone to gastrointestinal dysfunction, abdominal pain, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
2. Autumn peach
On this day, beginning of autumn not only eats watermelons, but also peaches, and "chews" autumn tigers to welcome the cool autumn. In the south of Wujiang, near Zhejiang, there are some customs of eating autumn peaches.
Chewing autumn peaches means that when you are in beginning of autumn, everyone will eat an autumn peach and keep the core after eating. Wait until New Year's Eve, throw the peach stones into the stove and burn them to ashes. It is said that this will save you from the plague for a year.
On this day in beginning of autumn, adults and children should eat autumn peaches, which can nourish vaginal fluid consumed in summer and prevent dryness in autumn. People often say that "peaches nourish people". Chinese medicine believes that peaches are warm and have the effects of invigorating qi and nourishing blood, nourishing yin and promoting fluid production, relieving cough and killing insects. Beginning of autumn's eating peaches embodies the dietotherapy concept of tonifying deficiency and preventing dryness.
Peaches are rich in nutrition, but not everyone can eat them in large quantities. When eating peaches, we must pay attention to the following situations: immature peaches should not be eaten, otherwise bloating or furuncle will occur; Even ripe peaches should not be eaten more. Eating too much will make people get hot and angry. Rotten peaches must not be eaten; Peaches avoid eating with turtles; Diabetic patients should eat less peaches when their blood sugar is too high.
Step 3: eggplant
There is a folk saying: eggplant grows in summer, and beginning of autumn eats eggplant. Early autumn is a good time to eat eggplant. Folk custom beginning of autumn put melons, steamed preserved eggplant and delicious glutinous soup in the yard the day before, and beginning of autumn ate them.
Eggplant is one of the common vegetables listed in autumn. Fresh eggplant is rich in vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D and protein. Eggplant, a fresh vegetable on the market in autumn, is not only nutritious, but also a good medicine.
According to Mao Lan's Herbal Medicine in Southern Yunnan in the Ming Dynasty, eggplant has the effects of clearing away heat and promoting blood circulation, relieving swelling and pain, removing blood stasis and moistening intestines, and can prevent dry stool and hemorrhoid bleeding. Modern medicine believes that due to the gradual aging and hardening of blood vessels, "longevity spots" (senile spots) will appear on the skin of the elderly, and eating eggplant in autumn will obviously reduce longevity spots. In addition, saponins contained in eggplant fiber also have the effect of lowering cholesterol.
But when cooking eggplant, we should pay attention to one thing, that is, don't fry it, otherwise it will destroy the nutritional components of eggplant and affect its edible value. Eggplant should be steamed.
In addition, in Laixi, Shandong Province, it is popular for beginning of autumn to eat "dregs", which is a kind of small tofu made of tofu and vegetables. There is a saying that "adults and children don't spit or pull when they eat beginning of autumn dregs".