mtlumby2d Chapter 115: What can we use to make candy in the wild mountains and wilderness?
Chapter 115: What can we use to make candy in the wild mountains and wilderness?
Nothing happened that night. The next day, Shen Youyou woke up and practiced martial arts facing the rising sun. She didn't stop until she was sweating in the middle of winter.
While Shen Youyou was practicing, Shen Zhiqiu walked away into the biting cold wind.
The grandparents started to get busy again, Li Jingshu was still making pancakes, and they divided into two groups to eat. They let Shen Zhiqiu and the others eat first so that they could go dig Pueraria root, and those who were staying at home ate later.
"Yoyo, the first round of Pueraria root, I think it's OK, you go and take a look."
Li Jingshu was also thinking about the kudzu root powder, so he went to take a look as soon as he got up. He saw that the turbid yellow paste yesterday had actually separated into layers, with a layer of yellow water on the surface and white kudzu root powder deposited underneath.
When Shen Youyou heard the good news, she hurried to look at the water bag containing the first batch of kudzu root powder. The water bag was not transparent because there was a layer of cloth inside, so she could only open it to see: "Sister Daya, come over and help me."
A group of girls heard the shouting and came running over: "What's going on?"
Please help me open it and check. The water bag has been tightly closed to prevent it from spilling.
After opening the bag and seeing that the kudzu root powder had settled, Shen Youyou asked the sisters to release it little by little, revealing the white kudzu root powder underneath.
"Wow, is it done?" Shen Erya poked it with her hand, leaving a finger hole that was a little wet.
"Not yet, Erya sister, please find a piece of clean gauze."
Shen Erya was very quick and brought several pieces of washed gauze in a short while. Gauze had been used a lot recently, so she kept them ready at all times.
Shen Youyou wrapped the settled Pueraria powder with gauze, tied it tightly with a hemp rope, wrung out the moisture, and placed it directly on the bamboo rack at the entrance of the cave to control the water.
Then I checked the kudzu root powder in other pockets one by one. I wrapped up the ones that had settled, drained the water and dried them in the sun. After watching Shen Youyou do it a few times, everyone started to get busy.
If the water has not settled well, tie the mouth and let it settle. Clean the used bags and prepare them for making Pueraria powder today.
The little kids got up and stood under the tree, craning their necks to look at something hanging from the bamboo pole.
"Is this whole bag of kudzu root powder that can be used to make delicious steamed buns?" Shen Nannan's eyes sparkled.
Shen Luming corrected: "It's kudzu root steamed bun, not fine flour steamed bun."
Shen Yuanbao said, "Alright, stop looking. You can't eat now if you keep looking. Let's go eat. After dinner, collect firewood. Sister Yoyo said she's done with her work and will make us some candy."
The children were so excited when they heard about candy that they became very obedient. No one thought about what their sister could use to make candy for them in these remote mountains and wilderness.
Shen Youyou really didn't fool Yuanbao. After breakfast, she set out with her team to look for things to make candy.
The sun shone on her body, but she didn't feel warm. The cold wind brushed across her face, and the air was not filled with the refreshing fragrance of flowers and soil. However, Shen Youyou's eyes were firm and her goal was very clear.
After walking for about half an hour, they finally arrived at the red pine forest that they had seen from the hillside when they were digging yam.
Although this forest is not far away, it is separated from there by a canyon. Coming from the cave is much faster than the original place where yam was dug.
The red pine forest is very large. It looks like these red pines are quite old. The ground is covered with a layer of pine cones. Because the season has passed, some of the pine cones have been shredded.
It can be said that in the mountains during the famine, only the pine trees remain lush and green in the twelfth lunar month, swaying their majestic figures in the wind.
There are many poems describing pine trees since ancient times, for example: "There are countless strange pines in thousands of mountains and valleys, dispersing floating clouds and gathering dense green." The pine tree is one of the three friends of winter praised by the ancients.
The pine needles under the trees also covered the ground with a thin blanket, and fallen pine cones were sometimes hidden under the pine needles.
Shen Youyou reminded: "The tips of dry pine needles can prick your hands, so be careful when picking up pine cones to avoid being pricked by pine needles accidentally!"
Hands pricked by pine needles will feel painful and itchy, and only those who have been pricked know how it feels!
There are very few pine nuts hanging on the trees this season, so you can only look for pine nuts that have fallen to the ground and are not rotten.
Of course, Shen Youyou’s purpose this time was not the pine nuts, but the pine candy.
You heard it right, pine trees can also grow sugar.
Shen Youyou looked up at the treetops. Among the lush pine needles, there were still a few pine cones hanging in groups of three or two, still stubbornly refusing to fall down.
"Yo Yo, are we here to look for Songzi?"
"It looks like they've all fallen off, and some of them feel a little black."
"There are still a lot of pine nuts to eat. Look at these I picked up. The pine nuts haven't been threshed yet."
Just as everyone was talking about it, Erya came over happily holding a handful of pine nuts and showed them to everyone.
"I just found a few intact pine cones." Shen Xingya also came over with a handful of pine cones, and Shen Cuiya followed closely behind.
The two cousins from Grandpa Dahai's family have always been inseparable.
Shen Youyou picked up a large pine cone from Sister Erya's hand, broke off a few scales, and the plump pine nuts appeared on the fruit ball.
She squeezed out a pine nut, put it into her mouth, bit it open, picked out the triangular white pine nut and chewed it:
"It's OK, it's quite full. But sisters, we have to pick pine nuts and collect pine candy at the same time."
Then she pointed to the base of a cluster of pine needles on the red pine, picked off a white crystal-like object, and said:
"It's the white one, called pine candy. We also want to collect it. But some pine candy has little bugs in it, so be careful when you eat it."
After saying that, he showed the crystal clear white object, which looked a bit like a spider's nest, to his sisters.
There were no bugs on this piece. After Shen Youyou and the other sisters finished looking at it, they threw it into their mouths. "It tastes different from other sugars. It has a unique light fragrance of pine trees."
What she didn't say is that this thing is rich in nutrients, can enhance the body's immunity and is good for health.
Pine sugar is converted from starch and sugar produced by pine trees during photosynthesis, and its formation requires certain natural conditions.
It is usually available in autumn and winter because this period is the season when pine sugar is formed.
Especially after a long period of drought, pine sugar will appear on pine trees, but this substance is most afraid of water. If it rains or snows, it will basically be washed away by the rain and snow.
Therefore, pine candy does not exist for a long time, especially in winter, its existence is even shorter.
And it doesn't happen every year. Some years there will be a lot, and some years there will be very little.
These pine candies usually appear on pine trees for about a month, and then disappear after a while.
"Why do I look like bird poop?"
Shen Erya was suspicious. Yes, it tasted good and she liked candy more, but why did this thing look like bird poop? Seeing her sister put it in her mouth like that with no happy expression on her face, she was full of question marks.
"How could it be bird droppings? Would I eat bird droppings? You'll know if you try one. This stuff is actually secreted by pine trees due to a long drought. It doesn't appear in other years. It only appears when there is a long drought. If you don't believe me, try it."
Shen Youyou explained helplessly, but it does look similar to bird droppings, especially the white kind.
In the past, someone tested this thing and found that it contained 65% sugar, 15% pine needles, and the rest was water. It did not contain any harmful substances and could be eaten without worry.