White Dew Food

There is a longstanding folk saying: “春茶苦，夏茶涩，要好喝，秋白露.” White Dew tea refers to tea leaves picked during the White Dew period. By this time, the tea plants have endured the intense heat of summer, and the days around White Dew bring another favorable period of growth. White Dew tea has neither the bitterness associated with spring tea nor the dryness and astringency of summer tea, but instead develops a distinctive mellow sweetness and clear fragrance.

Autumn tea is often divided according to White Dew: leaves picked before the solar term are called “early autumn tea,” while those harvested afterward are known as “late autumn tea.” Late autumn tea in particular has more time to accumulate nutrients, producing fuller leaves that can withstand repeated infusions. Particularly fastidious tea drinkers may even collect dew from plants during this period and use it to brew White Dew tea. People in old Nanjing have long been especially fond of it, and White Dew tea is also highly valued in Meizhou, Guangdong.

White Dew tea embodies the health wisdom of moistening dryness and cultivating a calm state of mind. The weather during White Dew is dry and brings relatively little rain, making people more prone to symptoms associated with “autumn dryness,” such as dry mouth and throat, dry cough, and scant phlegm. Drinking tea at this time is traditionally believed to generate fluids, relieve dryness, calm the mind, and help keep cold outside the body. A cup of White Dew tea, mellow, pure, and refreshing, is one of the most elegant traditional responses to autumn dryness.

Eels are considered at their plumpest during White Dew. People in Suzhou, Jiangsu, traditionally eat eel at this time, giving rise to the saying “白露鳗鲡霜降蟹.” During this period, eels begin storing fat in preparation for migration, with the fat distributed evenly through the flesh, almost like the marbling of highly prized beef. On Dongtou Island outside the mouth of the Oujiang River, people traditionally cook fresh eel with white radish. Eel is rich in nutrients, while white radish is traditionally associated with “消谷和中，去邪热气”; cooked together, the two are considered highly complementary. In Putian, Fujian, where White Dew is followed closely by the Mid-Autumn Festival, eating eel is regarded as both a taste of home and a way of “replenishing at White Dew.” Jiangsu and Zhejiang are also known for a dish called rock-sugar eel, made with eel, pork fat, rock sugar, and other ingredients, richly braised until savory-sweet, glossy, and tender.

Eel carries the health meaning of strengthening the spleen and lungs and dispelling wind and dampness. Traditionally described as sweet in flavor and neutral in nature, eel is associated with strengthening the spleen and lungs, benefiting the kidneys, stabilizing the Chong vessel, dispelling wind and dampness, detoxifying, and eliminating parasites. A plump White Dew eel is Suzhou’s most generous answer to the seasonal idea of “补露.”

“处暑高粱白露谷.” At White Dew, there is a folk custom of brewing rice wine from glutinous rice, sorghum, and other grains, either for entertaining guests or for household use. This wine is known as White Dew Rice Wine. In earlier times, rural households across Jiangsu and Zhejiang brewed it every year as soon as White Dew arrived, and the fragrance of rice wine could be smelled throughout the streets from the doorways of individual homes. Many people also added freshly picked osmanthus flowers to the wine, infusing it with floral fragrance and an additional note of autumn.

To this day, the custom of drinking White Dew rice wine survives in Xingning, Sandu, Liaojiang, and other areas around Zixing in Chenzhou, Hunan. In Jiangsu, homemade rice wine is also traditional, usually made from high-quality glutinous rice through processes including soaking, steaming, mixing with fermentation starter, and fermenting in jars.

White Dew rice wine is brewed from glutinous rice, sorghum, and other grains through soaking, steaming, and fermentation. The wine is warm in nature and slightly sweet, with a clear, translucent appearance and a delicate yet mellow aroma. It may be drunk directly or used to prepare foods such as osmanthus rice-wine dumplings and eggs simmered in rice wine.

White Dew rice wine embodies the health wisdom of dispelling chill, warming the body, strengthening the spleen, and stimulating the appetite. Rice wine is sweet in flavor and warming in nature and is traditionally believed to help drive chill from the body, strengthen the spleen and appetite, nourish the blood and complexion, and invigorate circulation through the channels. The Qing-dynasty 《随息居饮食谱》 records rice wine as “甘温，补气养血，助运化.” On a White Dew evening, when the air is cool and refreshing and the full moon hangs overhead, few things are more pleasurable than a warm cup of rice wine.

Fuzhou in Fujian has a traditional custom known as “白露必吃龙眼,” eating longan without fail at White Dew. Folk belief holds that eating longan on this day has an especially powerful restorative effect on the body. Longan itself is traditionally associated with replenishing qi and strengthening the spleen, nourishing the blood and calming the spirit, and benefiting the skin and complexion; it has also been used in relation to conditions such as anemia, insomnia, and neurasthenia. Longans harvested before White Dew are especially large, sweet, and considered to have the best texture.

In Fuzhou, there is even a saying: “白露吃龙眼，一颗顶只鸡.” Though clearly exaggerated, it reflects the importance people place on the custom. In earlier times there was also the saying “南桂圆、北人参.” Longan is a specialty of Guangdong and Guangxi and ripens during the eighth lunar month, traditionally called the “osmanthus month.” Because the fruit is round, it is also known as 桂圆. In the past, on the morning of White Dew, many Fuzhou families would rise early to peel longans, place the flesh in a white porcelain bowl, and pour freshly cooked hot congee over it, creating a warming bowl of longan congee—one of the deepest taste memories of White Dew for generations of Fuzhou residents.

Longan embodies the health wisdom of replenishing qi and blood, calming the spirit, and nourishing the complexion. Sweet in flavor and warming in nature, longan is traditionally said to enter the Heart and Spleen meridians, nourishing the heart and spleen while replenishing the blood and calming the spirit. As White Dew brings drier weather, people favor foods associated with nourishing yin and relieving dryness. The clear sweetness of a single longan becomes Fuzhou’s most earnest greeting to White Dew—expressed through the exaggerated saying “一颗顶只鸡,” a simple folk expression of the hope for good health.

“白露起，番薯生.” White Dew is the season when sweet potatoes are harvested, and in earlier rural communities it was customary to eat them during the festival. Folk tradition held that eating sweet potatoes at White Dew could prevent acid reflux after meals. Li Shizhen’s 《本草纲目》 states: “甘薯补虚，健脾开胃，强肾阴.” Traditional Chinese medicine describes sweet potato as sweet in flavor and neutral in nature, associated with strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi, as well as “补虚乏、益气力、健胃、强肾阴,” helping people achieve “长寿少疾.”

Sweet potatoes can be prepared in many ways—steamed, boiled, or roasted. In Guangdong, people enjoy making sweet potato dessert soup at White Dew by simmering sweet potatoes with slab sugar or rock sugar. The result is sweet, warming, and nourishing. Sweet potato congee is made by peeling and cutting the tubers into chunks, then cooking them together with rice until soft and tender. Another classic preparation is candied sweet potato: pieces are fried until golden-orange outside and fluffy within, then tossed in melted sugar.

Sweet potato carries the health meaning of strengthening the spleen, replenishing weakness, warming the body, and nourishing the stomach. After White Dew, the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures becomes increasingly pronounced, making hot sweet potatoes particularly suitable. Sweet potato is regarded as a good alkaline food and is said to help balance acidity and alkalinity in the digestive system. A steaming roasted sweet potato is one of the simplest forms of warmth during White Dew.

Eating chicken during White Dew is a traditional custom in some regions. People in Chongming, Shanghai, believe that eating chicken at this time carries an auspicious meaning of great good fortune. In Chongming, giving children young chicken on White Dew is a traditional practice: boys eat hens, girls eat roosters, steamed over water with Huangjiu, ginger, and other ingredients, as a nourishing food for children. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, people also eat White Dew chicken to strengthen the body.

In Cangnan, Pingyang, and other parts of Zhejiang, people gather “十样白,” the Ten Whites, on White Dew—herbs whose names contain the character 白—and simmer them with black-boned white-feathered chicken, or sometimes duck, as a nourishing dish traditionally believed to remove wind. The “Ten Whites” consist of ten medicinal herbs or ingredients with 白 in their names, slowly simmered together with black-boned chicken or old duck to make soup.

White Dew chicken carries the dual meanings of nourishing the body and welcoming good fortune. In traditional Chinese culture, the word for chicken, 鸡, echoes 吉, “auspicious,” making the bird a symbol of luck and favorable fortune. Around White Dew, chicken is plump and nutritious, high in protein and relatively low in fat, and is traditionally associated with nourishing the blood and qi, benefiting the kidneys and essence, nourishing yin and the complexion, relieving dryness, and supporting the lungs. A White Dew chicken nourishes the body while expressing the hope for good fortune.

In Wenzhou, Cangnan, Pingyang, and other parts of Zhejiang, White Dew is associated with the customs of “采十白,” gathering the Ten Whites, and eating “十样白.” The Ten Whites are ten foods or medicinal herbs whose names contain the character 白, meaning “white.” Local people stew them together with black-boned chicken or old duck until the broth becomes rich and milky-white. Because many of the Ten Whites are dried medicinal herbs, the soup inevitably carries a mild bitterness. Black-boned chicken is considered neutral in nature and is regarded as suitable even during the dryness of autumn without causing excessive internal heat. The Ten Whites may also be separated and used individually in cooking.

The Ten Whites embody the dietary-therapy wisdom of dispelling wind and dampness while nourishing the body. As autumn deepens around White Dew, people practice “eating white” by consuming white-colored ingredients as a seasonal method of nourishment. White peony root is traditionally associated with preserving yin and nourishing Liver blood; Atractylodes with strengthening the spleen; Poria with strengthening the spleen and drying dampness. Each “white” ingredient has its own particular function. A bowl of Ten Whites soup simmers medicinal herbs, but what it ultimately nourishes is both body and mind.

A folk saying goes: “白露时节吃五白，大病小病都不来.” The “Five Whites” refer to five white-colored foods: lily bulbs, Tremella, white radish, tofu, and Muscovy duck. Lily bulbs are nutrient-rich and contain abundant pectin, vitamins, and minerals. Both fresh and dried lily bulbs are available: dried ones are generally used in soups, while fresh ones are suitable for stir-frying. Muscovy duck is considered white meat, relatively low in fat and high in protein. White radish is traditionally valued for regulating qi and is highly nutritious; an old saying even claims “秋后萝卜赛人参.” Tofu is associated with clearing heat and moistening dryness and is rich in protein; cooked with crucian carp, it is traditionally believed to harmonize the qi of the spleen and stomach. In fact, the custom extends beyond these “Five Whites,” as many white-colored foods are considered especially suitable for this season.

The Five Whites embody the dietary wisdom of nourishing yin, moistening dryness, clearing heat, and caring for the body. In traditional Five Elements correspondences, autumn belongs to Metal, whose associated color is white. Eating white foods at White Dew therefore represents a philosophy of matching color to season. Each of the five foods is assigned a different function—lily bulbs for clearing heat, Tremella for moistening the lungs, white radish for regulating qi, tofu for relieving dryness, and Muscovy duck for nourishment. Together they form a comprehensive dietary response to autumn dryness. A table of Five Whites is white in color, yet its purpose is to nourish the five zang organs.

White Dew coincides with the harvest season for lotus root and water caltrop. In the water towns of Jiangnan, people follow the season and regard these ingredients as distinctive flavors of White Dew. Lotus root harvested at this time is plump and sweet. The people of Jiangnan have developed many ways of preparing it: lightly stir-fried lotus root remains crisp and refreshing, while lotus root and pork rib soup produces a savory and flavorful broth. Water caltrops have hard shells enclosing soft, glutinous, sweet flesh. Stir-frying them lightly preserves their natural flavor, while braising makes them softer and more deeply seasoned.

Lotus root and water caltrop embody the everyday wisdom of eating according to the season and tasting the freshest foods as autumn arrives. During White Dew in the Jiangnan water country, lotus roots emerge from the mud and water caltrops float across the surface, forming some of the freshest gifts of autumn. A plate of stir-fried lotus root, a bowl of lotus root and pork rib soup, or a dish of braised water caltrop is Jiangnan’s gentlest way of welcoming White Dew.