Cold Dew Food

Chrysanthemums bloom in profusion during Cold Dew, and to counter autumn dryness there is a longstanding folk custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine. Traditionally brewed from chrysanthemums, glutinous rice, and fermentation starter, it was known in ancient times as “长寿酒,” Longevity Wine. Cool and sweet in flavor, it is traditionally associated with nourishing the liver, brightening the eyes, benefiting the brain, and slowing aging. Chrysanthemum wine is also regarded as having the effects of clearing heat and toxins, brightening the eyes, and refreshing the mind, making it a suitable drink for autumn.

The custom of brewing chrysanthemum wine around Cold Dew was already widespread during the Han and Wei periods. 《西京杂记》 records: “菊花舒时，并采茎叶，杂黍为酿之，故谓之菊花酒。” Cold Dew falls close to the Double Ninth Festival, when chrysanthemums are in full bloom, and some regions therefore also maintain the customs of drinking chrysanthemum wine and chrysanthemum tea.

There are two common methods of preparing chrysanthemum wine:

Traditional Fermentation Method: Sweet chrysanthemums are simmered in water together with goji berries, Chinese angelica, fresh rehmannia root, and other ingredients, and the liquid is then strained and reserved. Glutinous rice is washed, cooked in water until half done, and drained, then mixed with the chrysanthemum liquid and steamed until fully cooked. An appropriate amount of fermentation starter is added, and the mixture is placed in an earthenware jar to ferment until it develops a sweet flavor.

Infusion Method: Dried chrysanthemums are trimmed, washed, dried, and soaked in low-alcohol grain liquor; the drink can be consumed after one or two days. Chrysanthemum buds may also be infused in high-proof white liquor for several months. The two methods produce wines with different characters.

Chrysanthemum wine carries the auspicious meanings of warding off illness, prolonging life, and welcoming autumn with refinement. Its ancient name, “Longevity Wine,” expresses people’s hopes for health and long life. At Cold Dew, when chrysanthemums are in full bloom, drinking a cup of chrysanthemum wine is both a traditional response to autumn dryness and a way of savoring the season’s beauty—an elegant autumn pleasure since ancient times.

Cold Dew usually falls close to the Double Ninth Festival, and so after the traditional ascent on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, there is a custom of eating flower cake. Because “糕,” cake, and “高,” high, are homophones, the seasonal cake is known as Chongyang Flower Cake and carries the meaning of “rising higher with every step.” Climbing to a height likewise symbolizes “rising step by step” and longevity. Eating flower cake around Cold Dew both echoes the Double Ninth custom of ascending heights and expresses people’s hopes for a better future.

Flower cakes are mainly divided into three types: 粗花糕, 细花糕, and 金钱花糕. Fine flower cakes may have two or three layers, with finely prepared preserved and dried fruits placed between them, including preserved apple, peach, apricot, and black jujube. Flower cakes come in many varieties, and their preparation differs according to local customs.

Traditional flower cake is relatively elaborate to prepare. Red and green preserved fruits are first cut into fine strips. Adzuki beans, sugar, and bean oil are prepared into a dry red-bean paste. Glutinous rice flour and japonica rice flour are blended together; one portion is mixed with brown sugar and water into a thick batter, while the remaining flour is combined with white sugar. The mixture is assembled in layers, with green preserved fruits, jujubes, walnut kernels, and other dried fruits placed between them, then steamed until cooked. Walnuts, sesame, and other ingredients are also commonly included.

The central symbolism of flower cake is “步步高升,” rising higher step by step. Because “cake” and “high” sound alike in Chinese, eating flower cake during Cold Dew expresses wishes for steady advancement in career and life. Climbing high and eating cake—one an act of “ascending,” the other a homophonic symbol of “height”—together form the auspicious imagery of “高” during this season: ascend to look into the distance, eat cake to pray for blessings, and wish for long life and plentiful harvests.

There is a longstanding folk custom of “eating sesame at Cold Dew.” According to the traditional dietary principle “秋之燥，宜食麻以润燥,” sesame is believed to nourish yin, prevent dryness, moisten the lungs, and benefit the stomach. As Cold Dew arrives and the weather shifts from cool to cold, eating sesame to relieve dryness became a seasonal custom. A folk saying declares: “嚼把黑芝麻，活到百岁无白发。”

In Beijing, sesame-based foods become particularly popular around Cold Dew. Sesame crisps, sesame mung-bean cakes, and similar foods are common seasonal snacks in northern China. Sesame is made into many different foods, including sesame paste, sesame crisps, sesame mung-bean cake, and sesame flatbreads. It is also pressed into sesame oil, used for hotpot dipping oil or in the sesame-paste dipping sauce served with traditional Beijing hotpot.

Sesame is divided into white and black varieties. White sesame is considered preferable for ordinary eating, while black sesame is regarded as more suitable for medicinal use. Common preparations include sesame crisps, sesame mung-bean cakes, sesame flatbreads, sesame paste, and sesame sauce.

Sesame carries the traditional health associations of nourishing yin, moistening dryness, strengthening the spleen, and lubricating the intestines, while also symbolizing “芝麻开花节节高,” sesame blossoms rising higher node by node. Eating sesame during Cold Dew is therefore both a way of nourishing yin, preventing dryness, moistening the lungs, and benefiting the stomach, and a way of expressing the hope that life will continue to improve step by step.

A folk saying goes: “立秋核桃白露梨，寒露柿子红了皮。” Cold Dew is the season when persimmons ripen and people begin gathering them. Eating persimmons at Cold Dew is a traditional custom symbolizing harvest and auspiciousness. Ripe persimmons are sweet and highly nutritious. Traditionally described as sweet and astringent in flavor and cold in nature, persimmons are associated with moistening the lungs and clearing heat, generating fluids and relieving cough, strengthening the spleen, and benefiting the intestines.

During Cold Dew, people not only gather fresh persimmons to eat but also make preserved foods such as dried persimmons. Newer preparations, including persimmon-and-sesame cakes, are also widely enjoyed. The folk saying “白露打核桃，寒露摘柿子” identifies Cold Dew as the characteristic season for ripe persimmons.

Persimmons symbolize abundant harvests and good fortune. Bright red fruits hang from autumn branches like lanterns, evoking a flourishing life and the wish that everything may go as one desires. A persimmon at Cold Dew is both a gift of the season and a symbol of auspiciousness.

As the saying goes: “荷莲一身是宝，秋藕最补人。” Around Cold Dew, lotus root is tender and juicy and rich in vitamins and dietary fiber, and is traditionally associated with clearing heat, generating fluids, moistening dryness, and relieving thirst. After Cold Dew, the air becomes dry and people may feel restless or irritable, making foods that clear the heart and relieve autumn dryness particularly desirable. Lotus root is regarded as an excellent choice.

Lotus root is rich in trace elements such as iron and calcium, as well as plant protein, vitamins, and starch. It is traditionally associated with stimulating the appetite, clearing heat, moistening dryness, relieving thirst, calming the mind, benefiting the blood, and replenishing qi. 《饮膳正要》 describes lotus root as having the function “主补中，益神益气.” People in Fuzhou who appreciate seasonal living enjoy lotus root during Cold Dew, a dietary wisdom passed down locally through generations.

Lotus root may be stir-fried, served cold, or simmered in soups such as lotus root and pork rib soup or lotus root, wood ear mushroom, and pork rib soup. Another option is to simmer fresh lotus root gently until tender, slice it, and serve it cold with an appropriate amount of honey, a preparation also regarded as suitable for relieving autumn dryness.

Lotus root carries the traditional health associations of clearing the heart, moistening dryness, calming the spirit, and replenishing qi. Eating lotus root at Cold Dew is regarded as a direct response to autumn dryness. At the same time, “藕,” lotus root, and “偶,” pair, are homophones, expressing hopes for reunion and fulfillment. The lotus root also “emerges unstained from the mud” and, together with the lotus blossom, serves as a symbol of integrity and moral purity.

“秋风起，蟹脚痒，菊花开，闻蟹来。” In Jiangnan, there has long been a custom of eating crab and admiring chrysanthemums during Cold Dew. Cold Dew is one of the best seasons for crab, when the flesh is tender and full and the roe especially rich. Folk tradition speaks of “九雌十雄”—female crabs are eaten in the ninth lunar month, when their roe is full, and male crabs in the tenth, when their milt is abundant. Another saying goes: “寒露发脚，霜降捉着，西风响，蟹脚痒。” At this time, the crabs are plump, chrysanthemums bloom everywhere, and the season is just right for enjoying both.

Eating crab at Cold Dew is a traditional seasonal custom in old Nanjing. Across southern China, people also eat crab during Cold Dew; female crabs are then full of rich roe, making it an ideal time for them. Traditional Chinese medicine attributes to crab the effects of clearing heat and toxins and nourishing the bones and marrow. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, eating hairy crab remains an indispensable autumn refinement.

The most common method of preparing crab is steaming. The hairy crabs are rinsed clean in cold water, placed in a steamer over cold water with their bellies facing upward to prevent the roe from leaking out, then steamed over high heat for around fifteen minutes once the water boils. A dipping sauce is prepared from chopped scallion and ginger with sugar, vinegar, and seafood soy sauce. Crab is often accompanied by Huangjiu or ginger tea, both to balance its traditionally cooling nature and to lend the autumn meal an additional note of refinement.

Crab carries the dual meanings of tasting food at its seasonal best and auspicious wealth and prosperity. The plump crabs of Cold Dew are a classic expression of the principle “不时不食,” not eating foods out of season. Their bright red cooked shells are also associated with wealth arriving from all directions. Holding crab claws while admiring chrysanthemums has long been regarded as an elegant autumn pleasure. However, crab is considered cold in nature and should be eaten in moderation, and it is traditionally advised not to eat it together with persimmons or strong tea.

A folk saying goes: “寒露收山楂，霜降刨地瓜。” Hawthorn turns red around Cold Dew, which marks its ripening season. Hawthorn has the highest calcium content among autumn fruits, with 52 milligrams of calcium in every 100 grams of flesh. The period around Cold Dew is precisely when hawthorn ripens. Freshly picked fruits are often coated in sugar to make sugar snowballs, a traditional way of eating hawthorn in old Beijing and many other northern regions.

Hawthorn is also regarded as a classic food for stimulating the appetite. When appetite declines in autumn, people may eat a little hawthorn to awaken it, while after consuming too much rich or greasy food, hawthorn may be eaten to aid digestion. Hawthorn extracts have long been used in herbal preparations and are believed to support heart health by strengthening blood vessels and stimulating blood flow.

Hawthorn can be enjoyed in many ways: eaten fresh as fruit, made into bingtanghulu, coated with sugar to make sugar snowballs in the old Beijing style, or prepared as hawthorn cake, hawthorn strips, or hawthorn jam. It may also be dried and steeped in water. Hawthorn paired with brown sugar is another classic combination.

Hawthorn carries the everyday pleasures of stimulating the appetite, aiding digestion, and welcoming autumn with sweet-and-sour flavors. When sugar snowballs and bingtanghulu appear along the streets and lanes, a bite through the crisp hawthorn flesh releases its sharp sweet-and-sour flavor—and one immediately knows that deep autumn has truly arrived. This sense of ritual is one of the liveliest taste memories of Cold Dew.

Chinese yam is traditionally described as neutral in nature and sweet in flavor, with the ability to strengthen the spleen and stomach and benefit the lungs and kidneys. It is considered particularly suitable after Cold Dew, when the climate becomes dry and digestive function may weaken. Chestnuts are praised as the “fruit of the kidneys.” Ripening after Cold Dew, they are sweet, soft, and glutinous, and are traditionally associated with tonifying the kidneys, strengthening the sinews, nourishing the stomach, and supporting the spleen.

Cold Dew is regarded as an important period when the body’s yang qi begins to contract inward and energy is stored in preparation for winter. Foods such as lotus seeds, chestnuts, and red dates may therefore be eaten in moderation to help the body store energy. Chinese yam stewed with pork ribs and millet porridge with red dates are among the light, easily digested nourishing foods favored during Cold Dew. Duck and Chinese yam are also considered a good combination, nourishing yin while balancing richness and suiting the dry autumn climate. Cooking Chinese yam, chestnuts, and red dates together into porridge is a classic folk health recipe for the season.

Chinese yam and chestnuts embody the health wisdom of strengthening the spleen and kidneys and storing energy for winter. As the weather grows colder after Cold Dew, people eat these gently warming and nourishing foods to build reserves for the approaching winter, reflecting the traditional seasonal principle of “harvesting in autumn and storing in winter.”

Some parts of southern China have the custom of drinking Cold Dew tea. Tea picked during the three days before and four days after Cold Dew each year is known as “正秋茶,” Zhengqiu Tea. As the saying goes, “一年之茶在于秋”. Cold Dew tea is neither as tender and delicate as spring tea nor as dry, astringent, and bitter as summer tea; instead, it possesses a distinctive mellow sweetness and clear fragrance. It is traditionally associated with warding off cold and warming the body, nourishing the stomach and strengthening the spleen, and refreshing the mind. Drinking Cold Dew tea is a seasonal custom greatly appreciated by tea lovers.

Cold Dew tea carries the traditional health associations of warding off cold, warming the body, nourishing the stomach, and refreshing the mind. After Cold Dew, the weather turns chilly. A warm cup of Cold Dew tea not only dispels the chill but is also regarded as soothing to the spirit and nourishing to the stomach. Neither as delicate as spring tea nor as bitter as summer tea, it resembles deep autumn itself—steady, mellow, and lingering long after the final sip.