Taixing Yuanmai (a specialty of Taizhou, Jiangsu)

Introduction to Taixing Yuanmai

Taixing Yuanmai is a traditional characteristic variety in Gaosha Land District, Taixing City, with excellent quality and a long history. According to research, there have been records of planting wheat since the establishment of Taixing County. At present, the planting area of Taixing Yuanmai has reached 50000 mu, with an average yield of 400 kilograms per mu. The barley seeds are finely ground into powder, which is called "Fazi". When boiled into red or light brown Fazi Congee, it has rich flavor and good taste. Taixing Yuanmai is mainly used for processing Yuanmai flour, which is the main raw material of Fazi Congee. Fazi Congee made from Yuanmai flour is known as "Taixing coffee". It smells delicious, tastes delicious, tastes refreshing and smooth, and tastes good. It is a good summer thirst quencher, and is welcomed by consumers everywhere

"Taixing Yuanmai" is a naked barley variety developed by the Taixing Agricultural Science Research Institute based on traditional Taixing local barley varieties. It was approved by the Yangzhou Variety Approval Committee in 1988. This variety is a semi spring early maturing variety, with semi upright seedlings, strong seedling vigor, moderate tillering ability, and high panicle formation rate; Compact plant type, resistant to dense planting, with a plant height of 75-80cm, strong lodging resistance, and good disease resistance; The ear layer is relatively uniform, with yellow brown oval shaped grains, two edges, bright yellow color, fragrant aroma, medium grain size, thin seed coat, and shallow ventral groove. The fruiting rate is relatively high, generally 30 grains per ear, with a thousand grain weight of 30-35g. The average yield per mu is 350-400 kilograms, and the potential yield per mu can reach 500 kilograms

Regional Scope

Taixing City is located in the central part of Jiangsu Province, on the north bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It borders Rugao City to the east, Jingjiang City to the south, the Yangtze River to the west, Jiangyan City to the north, Hai'an City to the northeast, and Gaogang District of Taizhou City to the northwest. The production areas of Taixing Yuanmai are selected in 10 towns and villages belonging to Taixing City, including Fenjie, Huangqiao, Yuanzhu, Guangling, Quxia, Heshuo, Gensi, Yaowang, Zhangqiao, and Xuanbao. Located within the range of 119 ° 54'05 "-120 ° 21'56" E and 31 ° 58'12 "-32 ° 23'05" N, the area covers approximately 560 square kilometers. The annual planting area is maintained at around 50000 mu, with an average yield of 350kg-400kg per mu, an annual output of 17500-20000 tons, and an annual output value of 60 million yuan

refers to naked barley, also known as "naked wheat" or "rice wheat". Varieties of barley. Monocotyledonous plant, Poaceae family. Herbs that grow once or twice a year. After maturity, the lemma shell is prone to shedding. Seeds can be used for food, wine, or as feed. Xizang, Qinghai and other places in China are often called "highland barley", which is the main food crop of Tibetans. Yuanmai contains β - glucan, which has special edible and medicinal value. As it does not require shelling, its nutritional value is equivalent to or higher than barley

1. External senses: When the seeds of "Taixing Yuanmai" mature, they separate from the inner and outer grains, also known as naked barley. The grain is yellow brown oval shaped, with a bright yellow color and a fragrant aroma. It weighs about 35 grams per thousand grains, has a thin seed coat, and shallow abdominal grooves. After fine grinding and sieving, the Congee is red or light brown, with rich wheat flavor, refreshing and smooth. It can quench thirst in summer and is called "Taixing Coffee". "Taixing Yuanmai" can also be made into "scorched crumbs" by frying and grinding as dry food and Dim sum<2. Intrinsic quality: "Taixing Yuanmai" is rich in nutrients, containing β - glucan and various vitamins, easy to digest and absorb, with high protein, starch, and crude fiber content. Each 100g of Taixing Yuanmai grain contains 12.1-16.6g of protein, 52.5-60.3g of starch, and 1.8-2.6g of crude fiber

3. Safety requirements: The environment of Taixing Yuanmai production area meets the requirements of "Environmental Conditions for Non polluting Food Field Crop Production Areas" (NY5332); The product quality meets the quality requirements of "Non polluting Food Wheat and Flour" (NY 5301)

Central Jiangsu, especially Jingjiang and Taixing, like to eat this Congee, usually in the morning and evening. In the hot summer, the local residents will cook a large pot in the morning and dry it at noon. They will eat this cold Congee, which is like a rain after a long drought, refreshing! There is a saying in Jingjiang that "Payson Congee is irrigated and raised like a fat man", also known as "Taixing's black coffee", which is the tasting method of Taixing's Yuanmai Congee. The general practice is to pour the cleaned rice into a pot filled with clean water and boil it. When the rice is 70 or 80 years old, pour the payson and water into the pot, and then pour a small amount of edible soda water (scientific name: soda ash, folk name: soda ash) into the pot. At this point, the heat inside the pot should gradually decrease and continue to simmer on the remaining heat. More than ten minutes later, the rice is soft and rotten, the Congee slurry is viscous, and the color is light yellow or light red, and the payment Congee is made

In the past, according to the old people, they used to be very particular about making Congee. First, they had to burn large pots and straw stoves instead of burning gas stoves or rice cookers. Secondly, it is best to use an iron pot instead of an aluminum pot. Thirdly, glutinous rice and indica rice should be used instead of glutinous rice. Fourthly, it is best to use barley mochi and use less wheat mochi. Wheat flour is even more unusable, as it will boil into a pot of paste when used. It is best to use the "yang" method when adding glutinous rice to the pot, rather than pouring the glutinous rice and water into the pot. The "yang" method involves holding a spoon in the right hand to raise the boiling water in the pot, and holding a ladle in the left hand to evenly lift the wheat flour into the boiling water. Here, the coordination of both hands is very important. If not done well, many small and large "bumps" will appear on the dough when it enters the water. If this happens, use a spoon to scoop the "lumps" together and use chopsticks to crush them. Sixth, the use of alkali should be moderate. If too much is added, the pot will turn red. If too much is added, it will be difficult to drink. If too little is added, it will not work. Proper control depends on repeated practice and exploration. Of course, with the progress of society, it is difficult to do all the methods of making Congee payment in the past