A great summer drink: "plum soup" - from imperial medicinal tea to a popular online product

This is the 5006th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

"The sound of copper bowls calling out in the streets, a cup of ice water and plum soup", sour plum soup has been popular since the Qing Dynasty, and is still loved by people today. In the past two years, it has also become very popular as a new Chinese beverage, comparable to "Jiangxiang Maotai" and other Internet celebrity products, attracting major bloggers and netizens to check in at Chinese medicine clinics to drink sour plum soup, and even the phenomenon of "one soup is hard to find". So, what is the charm of sour plum soup that attracts people?

How did sour plum soup come about?

The main ingredient of sour plum soup is black plum, which is a processed product of plum fruit and a product of both medicinal and edible origin. There are records of extracting sour plum juice from fresh plum fruit as a beverage in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tao Hongjing proposed the medicinal use and method of taking black plum: "In case of typhoid fever, drink the juice soaked in water." This medicinal black plum juice can be regarded as the predecessor of sour plum soup. Plum juice beverage appeared in the Song Dynasty and is already close to modern sour plum soup, such as the "salted plum water" mentioned in "Wulin Jiushi". "White plum soup" and "cooked plum soup" in "Yinshi Zhengyao" and "Jujia Biyong Shileiquan" of the Yuan Dynasty show that people have named this kind of beverage as plum soup.

The sour plum soup we drink now appeared in the Qing Dynasty. It is said that the Manchu people like to eat a kind of sour soup mainly made of fermented cornmeal to relieve greasiness. The Manchu people who originally lived in the Northeast all year round were not very adapted to the climate and geographical environment of Beijing. In addition, long-term drinking of sour soup can easily promote dampness and heat, and make people fat. Therefore, Emperor Qianlong ordered the improvement of sour soup, and sour plum soup composed of black plum, hawthorn, tangerine peel, etc. came into being. It is said that Emperor Qianlong drank sour plum soup before and after tea and meals, and recommended it as a daily health drink for the palace. Therefore, it has the reputation of "Qing Palace Exotic Treasure Imperial Black Plum Soup". Later, sour plum soup was introduced to the people and became a popular drink deeply loved by the people.

Why is sour plum soup a great way to cool down?

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, sour plum soup, which is composed of black plum, hawthorn, licorice, tangerine peel, rock sugar, etc., has the effects of promoting body fluid and quenching thirst, promoting qi and strengthening the spleen. In the hot summer, the human body's pores are open and sweating is more frequent, which can easily consume qi and hurt body fluid, causing discomfort such as dry mouth and throat, decreased appetite, fatigue and heat, and fatigue. The main ingredient of sour plum soup, black plum, is sour and can not only astringe sweat, but also astringe vital energy; licorice and rock sugar can replenish qi, and the sour black plum is paired with sweet licorice and rock sugar, which can also nourish and replenish body fluid to relieve symptoms such as dry mouth and throat, which is what traditional Chinese medicine often calls "sour and sweet Yin". Hawthorn and tangerine peel can help digestion and promote qi, which is very suitable for people with food accumulation and loss of appetite in summer. In addition, the summer heat evil is easy to be damp in the long summer, and tangerine peel can also promote qi and dry dampness. Therefore, although sour plum soup is suitable for all seasons as a drink, it is especially recommended in summer and can be said to be a must-have summer drink at home.

Can sour plum soup only be used to relieve heat in summer?

Sour plum soup can not only relieve heat, but it is also a polygonal warrior. Don't underestimate it as a simple summer drink.

The main ingredient, ebony, contains a large amount of acidic substances, which can stimulate the secretion of salivary glands and gastric glands. It can not only produce body fluids and quench thirst, but also sober up and relieve motion sickness and seasickness. The acidic substances in ebony can remove free radicals in the body, promote bile secretion, and lower the cholesterol level in the blood. Hawthorn, which has the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, has the effects of lowering blood lipids, lowering blood pressure, and dilating coronary arteries. Therefore, for patients with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, sour plum soup is a very recommended health drink. People with liver fire in traditional Chinese medicine are also more suitable for drinking sour plum soup, which can not only calm liver fire, but also help spleen and stomach digestion and nourish liver blood. In addition, sour plum soup also has certain effects of relieving throat pain and accelerating wound healing.

Are there any contraindications to using sour plum soup?

Although sour plum soup is a popular drink, it is not suitable for everyone. Sour plum soup is usually flavored with rock sugar, so diabetics should not drink it too much, or do not add rock sugar when making it; the hawthorn in sour plum soup has the effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, so it is not suitable for pregnant women with a history of habitual miscarriage and people with heavy menstrual flow to drink in large quantities; black plums and hawthorns are sour and have a certain irritation to the gastrointestinal mucosa, so they are not suitable for patients with weak spleen and stomach, heartburn and acid reflux; children have weak spleen and stomach functions, so it is better to drink as little as possible.

How to make sour plum soup healthier and more delicious?

Finally, I would like to introduce a method of making homemade sweet-scented osmanthus plum soup at home:

Ingredients: 30g black plum, 30g hawthorn, 9g tangerine peel, 6g licorice, appropriate amount of rock sugar and osmanthus.

Preparation method: Take black plum, hawthorn, tangerine peel and licorice, soak in 1500-2000 ml of water for half an hour and then boil. After boiling, turn to low heat and cook for another half an hour. Add osmanthus and cook for 3-5 minutes. Note that the boiling time of osmanthus should not exceed 5 minutes. Long cooking will affect the aroma of osmanthus. Then add appropriate amount of rock sugar according to personal taste. A sweet and sour plum soup is successfully cooked!

Author: Zhong Yongxin, Class of 2021, Five-Year TCM Program, Naval Medical University

Supervisor: Zhang Huiqing, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University

Project funding: The first round of Shanghai Health Science Talent Capacity Improvement Project (JKKPYC-2022-10)