The lotus leaves are endless and green, and can also be used to cook and relieve summer heat

Did you know? Starting this week, Hangzhou West Lake began selling lotus pods and lotus leaves for charity. Each 10-yuan charity package contains 3 lotus pods and 5 lotus leaves. These limited-edition West Lake gifts not only allow local residents and tourists to taste the freshness of West Lake, but all proceeds from the charity sale will be donated to charity organizations.

The lotus leaves and lotus pods in West Lake are on sale and sold out quickly, but few people know that the preparation work behind the scenes is extremely hard. In the words of old Hangzhou, this is called "peeling all night and eating all day". "The lotus leaves are endless and green", these lotus flowers and lotus pods are not born naturally, but the result of going out in the dark every day and carefully maintaining them. This cannot but mention a group of "lotus farmers" in West Lake. The vegetation inside the lotus area is lush and airtight, and there are thorns on the lotus stems, so they also have to guard against insects and bees.

Lotus seeds are a typical high-potassium food, very suitable for summer consumption. Fresh lotus seeds are only available in July and August every year. When the weather gets cold, you can only eat lotus seeds that have been dried. When choosing lotus pods, you should choose large ones with a fragrant smell. The lotus seeds peeled from such lotus pods will be full, the lotus skin will be white-green and shiny, and the taste will be fragrant. Steamed lotus seeds, fried lotus seeds, lotus seed porridge... In the hot summer afternoon, if you can drink a bowl of fresh lotus seed sugar water, it will be even more flavorful.

Everyone knows that lotus seeds can nourish the spleen and stomach, nourish the heart and calm the mind. However, the main contribution of nourishing the heart and calming the mind is the lotus core. If the lotus core is removed from the dried lotus seeds, only the effect of nourishing the spleen and stomach remains. Although the lotus core is bitter, the bitterness of the lotus core of fresh lotus seeds is less than that of dried lotus seeds. The lotus pods after peeling the lotus seeds can also be used to stew soup or make tea after drying.

Fresh lotus seeds taste best when eaten directly. Today, I recommend a method for cooking dried white lotus seeds. A bowl of lotus seeds with rock sugar can help you get rid of the summer heat.

Dried white lotus seeds

Ingredients:

150g dried white lotus seeds, 75g rock sugar, 2000g purified water

practice:

▲Put the dried lotus seeds in a bowl and soak them in water for 20 minutes

▲ Gently rub the soaked lotus seeds with your hands to remove the brown skin.

▲If you don’t want the lotus core, remove it with a toothpick

▲Change the water several times to filter out the impurities in the water

▲Put the lotus seeds in a pressure cooker, add water, cover the lid and cook over medium heat.

▲Turn off the fire 18-20 minutes after SAIC

▲After the steam is released, open the lid and add rock sugar

▲Cook for 3 minutes until the rock sugar melts.

▲The cooked lotus seeds are soft and glutinous, the soup is not mushy, and the mouth is full of sweetness and the heart is full of moisture