Dietary culture of preserved fruit

The production of preserved fruits and preserves in Beijing comes from the Forbidden City. In order to ensure that the emperor can eat fresh fruits all year round, chefs will classify the fruits produced in each season and soak them in honey so that the emperor can eat them at any time. Later, this production method spread from the palace, and workshops specializing in preserved fruit appeared in Beijing.

The preserved fruit produced in Beijing is called Beijing-flavored preserved fruit, which is a specialty of Beijing and is well-known at home and abroad. China has a long history of pickling fruits and vegetables with honey, which was recorded in writing as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In the Three Kingdoms period, there were already preserves such as lotus seeds, lotus root slices and wax gourd strips. In order to store tribute fruits, the court of the Tang Dynasty soaked them in honey and began to be called "honey fried". In the Song Dynasty, the output of sucrose increased, and sugar-stained orange cakes and sweet ginger were added. In order to distinguish, honey is called candied fruit and sugar is called preserved fruit.

Preserved fruits made by Beijingers are said to have a history of more than 300 years, starting from the Forbidden City in the late Ming Dynasty. Passed down from generation to generation, it has the characteristics of fine material selection, fine processing, high technological level, gorgeous color, positive taste, softness and refreshing, and retains the nutritional components contained in the original fruit. 19 13 Qianmen Jushunhe products won the gold medal in Panama International Fair. Since then, candied fruit and preserved fruit in Beijing have become traditional export commodities.