Tasting the "Three Fresh" Delicacies on the Start of Summer. Have you had any?

At the start of summer, the climate turns warm, and fresh fruits and vegetables come into season. There is a folk saying: "On the start of summer, taste the three fresh." Nanjing people also divide the three fresh into three categories: from the water, from the fields, and from the trees. The three fresh from the water are river snails, river shrimp, and shad; the three fresh from the fields are amaranth, broad beans, and pea cake; and the three fresh from the trees are cherries, green plums, and toon sprouts.

Toon Sprouts with Scrambled Eggs

Among these three fresh, shad is now rarely seen on the tables of ordinary families, and river snails are also eaten less and less due to hygiene concerns. The nutritional value and health benefits of amaranth, broad beans, cherries, and toon sprouts are relatively well-known, but for many readers, pea cake and green plums are still considered relatively new additions to the summer diet.

Cherry Pie

Green plums can be eaten fresh, or made into plum tea, plum wine, plum preserves, etc., and can also be used as an ingredient in various pastries or dishes. However, it is not common to eat green plums raw now, but plum wine is generally available in supermarkets. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that eating raw green plums can promote the production of body fluids to quench thirst, stimulate the appetite, and relieve depression. Salted green plums can relieve heat and expel wind and cold. Dried dark plums (wumei) can treat symptoms such as dry cough due to lung deficiency, typhoid fever, dysentery, consumption, alcohol poisoning, and difficulty swallowing. Green plum juice can be used to treat enteritis and dysentery. Patients with chronic cough due to lung deficiency, vexation and thirst from deficiency-heat, chronic diarrhea, chronic malaria, dysentery, hematochezia, hematuria, uterine bleeding, and ascariasis abdominal pain should eat green plums. Green plums are high in potassium and low in sodium, making them suitable for people who have been taking diuretics for a long time. However, those with excessive stomach acid should use them with caution. Green plums have a strong astringent nature and are not suitable for people with internal damp-heat and stagnation. In addition, eating too many green plums is bad for your teeth.

Green Plum Wine

As for pea cake, the "Jinling Shuishi Ji" (A Record of the Seasonal Customs of Nanjing from the Late Qing Dynasty to the Early Republic of China) has this record: "On the start of summer, have children sit on the threshold and eat pea cake, it is said to prevent summer heat fatigue." This means that letting children eat pea cake is hoped to prevent loss of appetite throughout the summer. Wang Dongxu explained that according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, peas are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. They have the effects of tonifying the middle qi, stopping diarrhea and dysentery, harmonizing the nutrient and defensive qi, promoting urination, and dispersing swelling and abscesses. They are mainly used to treat beriberi, swelling, insufficient lactation, discomfort of the spleen and stomach, hiccups and vomiting, heart and abdominal pain, thirst, diarrhea, and dysentery. Modern research shows that peas are rich in dietary fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis and improve constipation. They also contain high-quality protein, which can enhance immunity and improve disease resistance and recovery ability. It is worth mentioning that the "Compendium of Materia Medica" states that peas have the effect of "removing dark spots and making the face radiant." Modern research has found that peas are rich in provitamin A, which can be converted into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A has a moisturizing effect on the skin and, when obtained from general food, does not produce toxic side effects. Therefore, after the start of summer, you might as well eat some pure pea cake to care for your skin.

Pea Cake