Grain in Beard Food

Around Grain in Ear, plums across Jiangnan begin to ripen one after another. Fresh green plums, however, are intensely sour and astringent and are difficult to eat directly, so “cooking plums” became an important seasonal custom associated with Grain in Ear. The tradition is said to be extremely ancient, dating back as far as the Xia dynasty. Its most famous literary association is the episode “青梅煮酒论英雄” from 《三国演义》, in which Cao Cao and Liu Bei set out green plums, warm wine, and drink together while discussing the great heroes of the realm. Su Shi also wrote the celebrated line: “不趁青梅尝煮酒，要看细雨熟黄梅。” A folk saying even declares, “芒种不煮梅，三伏要后悔,” reflecting what earlier generations regarded as accumulated knowledge of food-based seasonal care.

Modern methods of preparing green plums have become increasingly varied. The most common approach is to place washed green plums in baijiu with yellow rock sugar, seal the jar, and leave it to infuse for several months, producing a sweet and refreshing green plum wine. Residents of Lishui District in Nanjing still maintain the custom of making green plum wine during Grain in Ear. In Dayi County, Sichuan, the period around Grain in Ear coincides with the ideal green plum harvest, and picking plums and making wine have become distinctive elements of local life. Green plums may also be preserved in salt, made into candied fruit, pressed for juice, smoked, or processed for medicinal use.

Green plums carry both a thousand years of literary romance and a tradition of summer seasonal care. First, timeless elegance and cultural romance. From “青梅煮酒论英雄” to the poetry of Su Shi, green plum wine has long transcended the category of food and drink to become a cultural image in its own right—a single jar of plum wine containing both heroic spirit and poetic refinement. Second, relief from summer heat and support for physical strength. Once cooked, green plums are traditionally believed to help relieve summer heat while strengthening the body. During exhausting periods of farm work, farmers would pick a few green plums to accompany a meal, both to stimulate saliva and quench thirst and to support the spleen and digestion. Third, an ideal summer refreshment. Gathering seasonal green plums and fermenting them into fruit wine both celebrates the harvest and provides a favored drink for the heat of summer.

At Grain in Ear, wheat fields across northern China turn golden. Bringing in the wheat harvest is extremely demanding work, and farmers must race against rainfall in hot, humid conditions to gather the crop. Once the rush is finally over, families bring out flour freshly milled from their own wheat and happily prepare all kinds of wheat-based foods as a reward for everyone’s labor. Some is first offered in ritual observance to pray for an abundant grain harvest, some is shared with friends and neighbors to taste, and the family then gathers around the table to eat noodles and other foods made from the new flour, savoring the joy of both labor and harvest. Over time, eating newly harvested wheat became one of the enduring folk customs of Grain in Ear.

Foods made from new wheat take many different forms across China:

* Henan: Lamb Hui Mian—wide, belt-like noodles carrying the fragrance of new wheat in a milky-white broth; Youxuan Mantou—dough brushed with oil and sprinkled with salt, then griddled until golden and crisp in delicate layers
* Shandong: Multigrain Jianbing—stone-ground wheat blended with cornmeal and sorghum flour, spread thin and cooked on a traditional griddle; Fushan Damians—dough repeatedly kneaded, slapped, and stretched into hair-fine noodles
* Anhui: Taihe Banmian—broad, substantial noodles formed by repeatedly stretching and slapping the dough; Huangshan Shaobing—layered flaky pastry filled with preserved mustard greens and meat
* Hebei: Donkey Meat Huoshao—crisp outside and tender inside, split and filled with braised donkey meat
* Quxian: Wheat-Flour Baba—cakes made from the year’s first harvest of wheat and offered to Heaven and Earth in gratitude for favorable weather
* Southern Anhui: Fresh wheat dough shaped into grains, livestock, fruits, and vegetables, colored with vegetable juices, steamed, and presented as ritual offerings

Some parts of southern Anhui also preserve the ancient Grain in Ear custom known as “安苗”. After rice planting is completed, freshly milled wheat dough is formed into various shapes and used as offerings to pray for the healthy growth of the newly planted seedlings.

Foods made from new wheat embody both the joy of harvest and the wisdom of seasonal nourishment. First, celebrating the harvest. Eating new wheat is the finest reward for a year of hard work: first comes ritual offering, then sharing, and finally family reunion, expressing the traditional Chinese ideal of reverence for Heaven and care for others. Second, nourishing the heart and calming the spirit. New wheat has grown through autumn, winter, and spring, absorbing the essence of the changing seasons. Its nature is described as cool yet gently moistening, and eating it at this time is believed to nourish the heart, calm the spirit, relieve restlessness, and replenish deficiency. New wheat is also rich in B vitamins and dietary fiber, providing rapid energy for periods of intensive physical labor.

In the Ningbo region, eating Jun Ta Cai is a customary practice during Grain in Ear. Jun Ta Cai is a seasonal vegetable found in southern China around this time of year. According to legend, during the early Southern Song dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, was fleeing pursuing Jin troops and once hid in the vegetable garden of a farming household, accidentally trampling the soft leafy greens growing there. Remarkably, after a night of spring rain, the crushed vegetables were said to have revived and grown even more vigorously than before. From this story came the name Jun Ta Cai, and the vegetable came to be regarded as an auspicious symbol of resilience and tenacious vitality.

The central meaning associated with Jun Ta Cai is clearing heat, detoxifying the body, and remaining healthy through summer. Local people traditionally believe that Jun Ta Cai can clear heat and toxins and that eating it in summer helps prevent prickly heat, making it especially suitable for Grain in Ear. The vegetable is also mentioned in the pharmacopoeia 《唐本草》. As the weather grows hotter during Grain in Ear, local families favor light, refreshing seasonal greens that cut through rich foods, and Jun Ta Cai has become a kind of “little guardian of health” at the summer table.

Grain in Ear often falls around the traditional Dragon Boat Festival. Although Zongzi are most closely associated with the festival itself, some regions also have a custom of eating them around Grain in Ear. Zongzi symbolize harvest and reunion, while their shape is understood as representing the union of yin and yang and harmony between Heaven and Earth. Customs such as wrapping Zongzi, wearing five-colored cords, and placing mugwort at the home are widely practiced in many regions around the Grain in Ear and Dragon Boat Festival period.

Zongzi carry the auspicious meanings of harvest and reunion. Their shape symbolizes the union of yin and yang and harmony between Heaven and Earth. Eating Zongzi is not only an expression of hope for a good life, but also a tribute to the agricultural ideal of “the unity of Heaven and humanity.” With their fragrant leaves and soft, glutinous texture, Zongzi have become one of the most enduring taste memories of Grain in Ear and the Dragon Boat Festival.

In parts of Jiangxi Province, there is a tradition of drinking tea during Grain in Ear. Local people believe that drinking tea at this time helps prevent summer drowsiness. As temperatures and humidity rise during Grain in Ear, the body can easily become fatigued and sluggish, while tea is traditionally valued for refreshing the mind, relieving summer heat, and clearing internal heat.

Grain in Ear tea expresses the wish to refresh the mind, relieve fatigue, and pass through summer with clarity and ease. A cup of fresh tea can soothe the heat of the season while dispersing the weariness of intensive farm work—a simple and unadorned form of seasonal self-care during Grain in Ear.

In the Chaoshan region of Guangdong, Grain in Ear is not merely an agricultural marker but also the beginning of a distinctive seasonal food ritual. An old local saying holds that “芒种吃栀粿，暑气不缠身”. The custom has continued for centuries—not just any rice cake can properly be called Zhi Guo; to be considered authentic, it must be made with fresh gardenia-infused water, late-season rice batter, and traditional hand-pressed preparation.

Gardenia fruit is simmered to extract its juice, which is then used to color the rice batter before it is steamed into translucent greenish-yellow cakes. Traditionally, Zhi Guo is sliced thin and dipped in white sugar. Its light bitterness gives way to sweetness, matching the seasonal rhythm as humid summer heat begins to intensify. Chilled in the refrigerator, sliced, and served with a cup of Dancong tea, it offers an especially distinctive flavor.

The central meaning of Zhi Guo is clearing heat, relieving summer discomfort, and following the rhythms of the season. Gardenia itself is traditionally regarded as having the ability to clear heat and drain fire, and eating Zhi Guo during Grain in Ear embodies the idea of answering the “heat” of the weather with the “clearing” nature of food. A single soft, translucent piece of Zhi Guo becomes a kind of seasonal code remembered by the body.

During Grain in Ear, temperatures rise and the body’s metabolism becomes increasingly active. Bitter foods are generally regarded as helping clear heat, relieve summer discomfort, and dispel dampness, so they may be eaten in moderation during this period. As the saying goes, “苦夏食苦夏不苦.” Bitter foods are believed to discharge heat and nourish yin, entering the heart, spleen, and stomach meridians and offering considerable benefit to the body. Sun Simiao of the Tang dynasty advised people that “常宜轻清甜淡之物，大小麦曲，粳米为佳,” and also wrote, “善养生者常须少食肉，多食饭.”

* Cold-Dressed Bitter Melon: To clear heat and relieve summer discomfort
* Lotus Seed Heart Tea: To clear the heart and calm the spirit
* Bitter Chrysanthemum Green Salad: Refreshing and appetite-stimulating

Bitter seasonal foods embody the traditional health principle of “using bitterness to dispel summer heat.” Eating bitter foods during Grain in Ear reflects a dietary philosophy of “following the rhythms of Heaven”—using the “bitterness” of food to answer the “heat” of the weather and thereby restore balance and harmony within the body.

During Grain in Ear, dietary tradition emphasizes “eating bitter foods and drinking sour flavors.” Sourness is believed to help restrain perspiration, stop diarrhea, and dispel dampness. Certain sour fruits are traditionally considered helpful for relieving summer heat, replenishing qi, stimulating fluids, and quenching thirst. Foods valued for these qualities during this period include smoked plums, hawthorn, lemon, grapes, strawberries, tomatoes, pineapple, mango, and kiwifruit.

* Sour Plum Drink: Simmered from smoked plums to relieve summer heat and quench thirst
* Rock Sugar and Lotus Seed Sweet Soup: Traditionally eaten to prevent excessive heart fire
* Cold-Dressed Tomatoes: To stimulate fluids and quench thirst

Sour fruits embody the traditional health wisdom of “restraining perspiration, dispelling dampness, stimulating fluids, and quenching thirst.” As perspiration increases during Grain in Ear, sour foods are believed to help the body conserve fluids and replenish moisture, making them a natural choice for summer seasonal care.

During Grain in Ear, the diet is traditionally kept light, avoiding foods that are excessively greasy or spicy. Porridge is regarded as one of the best foods for summer; when prepared with mung beans, lotus seeds, lotus leaves, and similar ingredients and eaten after cooling, it is believed to support the spleen and stomach while relieving summer heat. Millet porridge, Job’s tears porridge, Chinese yam porridge, and similar dishes may also be eaten at this time, as they are traditionally considered helpful for regulating the digestive system, stimulating appetite, and supporting nutrient absorption. Grain in Ear is also regarded as a favorable period for strengthening the spleen and nourishing the stomach.

* Mung Bean Porridge: To clear heat and relieve summer discomfort
* Lotus Leaf Porridge: To relieve summer heat and dispel dampness
* Job’s Tears and Red Bean Porridge: To strengthen the spleen and dispel dampness
* Winter Melon Soup: To clear heat and promote urination

Light porridges embody the seasonal health principle of “gentle nourishment and care for the stomach.” During Grain in Ear, heat and humidity rise together, which is traditionally believed to burden the spleen and stomach. Light porridges can provide nourishment without placing excessive strain on digestion, making them an ideal choice for summer seasonal care.