[Taste of China] Why is the unattractive iron rod yam known as "the food of the gods"?

　　China News Agency, Jiaozuo, Henan, January 15th: Why is the unattractive iron stick yam known as "the food of the gods"?

　　China News Agency reporter Han Zhangyun

　　Every year after the Frost's Descent, one of the most anticipated ingredients of Wang Gang, the iron stick yam, is on the market.

A pot of clear soup, fresh meat, and full of warmth, stewed pork ribs with yam is his favorite winter tonic food for his family.

　　"Yam is a very neutral ingredient with a flat taste. It will not steal the limelight when paired with any ingredient, but it will also make the food taste mellow." Wang Gang likes stewed meat with yam most. The meat is greasy, and the yam mixed with meat flavor has a special taste, "especially in winter, a bowl of hot soup will warm the whole body."

　　Iron stick yam, the name is just like its shape.

The shape is oblate, slender and irregular, with protruding hair eyes, thick and hard whiskers, and irregular distribution of brown-red rust spots on the skin, like a rusty iron rod.

The iron stick yam has an unattractive appearance, but the meat is fine and white. After peeling, the mucus is smooth all over the body. It will not disperse after being boiled for a long time.

　　Regardless of the ugly appearance of the iron stick yam covered in dust, it is not easy to grow it.

　　In Wenxian County, Henan Province, there is a saying that "sharpening a sword for nine years, the earth's energy is full of ginseng".

It takes nine years for a piece of loam land to grow iron stick yams once in rotation.

Since ancient times, Chinese people have paid attention to eating in accordance with the seasons, spring growth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage; nine years of waiting, eight months of growth, and the accumulation of time have made the name of iron stick yam a good warming and tonic product.

　　Jiaozuo, located in the northwest of Henan Province, was the land of Tanhuai in Jizhou in ancient times.

Here is the Yellow River in the south and Taihang in the north. It belongs to the land of mountains and rivers and two yangs. It has been the origin of the "four Huai medicines" of Huai Yam, Huai Di Huang, Huai Chrysanthemum and Huai Achyranthes bidentata since ancient times.

　　Among them, Huai Yam is mainly produced in Wen County.

There is a folk saying that "the four major medicines, the yam is the head; the yam family is respected by the iron rod", which shows that the iron rod yam has high medicinal and nutritional value.

　　Kang Mingxuan, the representative inheritor of the four major Huai medicine planting and processing of the intangible cultural heritage project of Henan Province, and the president of the Wen County Four Huai Medicine Association, has spent most of his life dealing with iron stick yam. "Earth Baby" couldn't be more familiar.

　　According to Kang Mingxuan, it is said that during the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of Wei presented yam as a tribute to the Zhou royal family; in Tang and Song Dynasties, yam had traveled to West Asia, Western Europe and other places via the "Silk Road"; It was spread across the ocean to countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, and was given the honor of "Chinese medicine".

　　"From the perspective of modern nutrition, the iron stick yam is rich in 18 kinds of amino acids, more than 10 kinds of trace elements and other minerals. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the processed iron stick yam is sweet, warm and flat, and enters the spleen, lung and stomach. The Three Classics were known as "the food of the gods" in ancient times." Kang Mingxuan said that in addition to its efficacy of the same medicine and food being praised by famous doctors in the past dynasties, it is also recorded in the local county annals that Wenxian Iron Stick Yam is of authentic quality. , has been a royal tribute ingredient in ancient times.

　　Today, with the expansion of the planting scale and the expansion of sales channels of Wenxian iron stick yam, the former "food of the gods" has already entered the homes of ordinary people and is deeply loved by the people.

　　In the live broadcast room, Niu Mengyang, a "post-90s" iron stick yam grower in Wenxian County, recommends steaming the iron stick yam with the skin, that is, washing away the soil around the iron stick yam without peeling the skin, cutting it into small pieces, and putting it on the fire Steam for 15 minutes, the moment the lid is lifted, the hot air hits the surface and a slight aroma enters the nostrils. The dried noodles with cooked yam meat are soft and glutinous without residue in the mouth, and the aftertaste is slightly sweet.

　　"It's simple, you can still eat the original taste of the food, and the nutrition is rarely lost." Facing customers from all over the world and with different eating habits, Niu Mengyang has sold the iron stick yam to Heilongjiang through simple recommendations Mohe, Jilin Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and other areas.

　　At present, the planting area of ​​Tiebang yam in Wen County is stable at about 2,000 hectares all year round. There are more than 3,000 farmers engaged in yam planting, processing and sales, and the annual sales income exceeds 400 million yuan.

Iron rod yam has also transformed from an original local product into a local "golden lump" and "net celebrity product".

　　In addition to direct consumption, in terms of deep processing of yam, Wen County has developed more than 60 deep-processing products such as medicines, snack foods, beverages, and health products, such as iron bar yam noodles, Huaiyao crisps, yam twists, yam pancakes, yam moon cakes, yam vermicelli, Special products such as Huaiyao drinks are exported to more than 30 countries and regions around the world.

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