Changzhou dried turnip () is a local food of

Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...

, southern

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

province, east-central China. It is believed to have an almost 1,000-year history. It is called the "spicy dried

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ...

" because of its mix of a sweet taste and a combination of crisp and soft textures. It is one of the famous traditional types of pickled vegetables from China. Changzhou dried

is grown in Xinzha,

Zhonglou District Zhonglou District () is one of five districts under the jurisdiction of Changzhou in Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. The local language is the Changzhou dialect of Wu Chinese The Wu languages (; Wu romanization and IPA: '' ...

, Changzhou, and is described as red, smooth, crumbly, and having a sweet flavor. This kind of turnip used to be called the small turnip. By using this kind of turnip as the raw material and following a special salted process, when one chews Changzhou dried turnip the chewing has no residue.

History

For a very long time, each family living beside the canal of the Xinzha district planted the turnip and salted the turnip. After the People's Republic of China was established, the Sauce Production Company of

became the center of production. The spicy dried turnip is one of the major products of this company. The trademark is called Hongmei(). In 1978, a Cheng family living in the southern bank of the canal in

Beigang Beigang, Hokkō or Peikang is an Township (Taiwan), urban township in Yunlin County, Taiwan. It is primarily known for its Chaotian Temple, one of the most prominent temples of Mazu, Temples of Lin Moniang, Mazu on Taiwan. It has a population of ...

, adhering to the ancestors’ business set up Changzhou Yudie specialty food product factory () to produce dried turnip as a flagship product. The

ancestral An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from wh ...

secret recipe process had been passed on for five generations, and it is believed that the turnip made by this factory results from a more traditional process than its competitors.

Status Quo

The scientific management and the mechanizing processing technology penetrate every working procedure including the choice of the raw material, the salting, the formulating, the manufacturing and the packaging. The Changzhou dried turnip has already become the specialty food of Changzhou. In 2008, the “Yudie” spicy dried turnip was listed in the Changzhou non-material cultural heritage list.

References

{{Reflist Changzhou Jiangsu cuisine Fermented foods Pickles