Frost’s Descent Food

Eating persimmons at Frost’s Descent is one of the most widespread seasonal food customs. The period around Frost’s Descent is precisely when persimmons ripen. Their skin is thin, the flesh thick, the flavor rich, the texture soft and glutinous, and the sweetness at its highest. Folk sayings include “霜降摘柿子，立冬打软枣” and “霜降不摘柿，硬柿变软柿.”

Different regions have developed colorful sayings around the custom. In many parts of southern China, people believe that eating persimmons at Frost’s Descent helps ward off cold and keep the body warm while strengthening the sinews and bones. In Quanzhou, Fujian, there is the saying “霜降吃丁柿，不会流鼻涕.” In some places, the explanation becomes even more vivid: if one does not eat persimmons on the day of Frost’s Descent, one’s lips will crack throughout the winter. Exaggerated though such sayings may be, they reflect the importance people attach to the custom.

Persimmons may be eaten fresh as fruit or made into dried persimmons, persimmon jam, persimmon cakes, and other foods. Persimmons touched by frost lose their astringency and retain only a dense sweetness. People also place freshly picked persimmons on windowsills to dry into preserved fruit. When one is broken open in winter to reveal its soft, syrupy center, that sweetness becomes a gift that Frost’s Descent has left to time.

Persimmons carry the dual meanings of warding off cold and keeping warm and good fortune and fulfillment. Folk tradition holds that eating persimmons at Frost’s Descent can strengthen the sinews and bones and help prevent colds, while the association with “事事如意,” may everything go as one wishes, adds another layer of auspicious meaning. Bright red persimmons hang from autumn branches like little lanterns; one bite of their dense sweetness is among Frost’s Descent’s gentlest blessings.

Frost’s Descent is an ideal time for enjoying chestnuts. A folk saying goes: “八月梨枣九月楂，十月栗子笑哈哈.” Chestnuts are traditionally described as sweet and warm in nature and associated with nourishing the stomach, strengthening the spleen, benefiting the kidneys and sinews, invigorating the blood and stopping bleeding, as well as relieving cough and transforming phlegm.

The Qing-dynasty writer Fucha Dunchong vividly described roasted chestnuts in 《燕京岁时记》: “栗子来时，用黑砂炒熟，甘美异常。青灯诵读之余，剥而食之，颇有味外之美。” To this day, sugar-roasted chestnuts remain a familiar autumn sight along streets and lanes.

Chestnuts may be boiled or roasted and are traditionally regarded as foods that replenish qi and blood and strengthen the sinews and bones. Beyond being a street snack, chestnuts are also prized in cooking. The classic dish braised chicken with chestnuts is glossy and rich, combining tender chicken with soft, floury chestnuts for layers of texture and flavor. Chestnuts may also be cooked into porridge with japonica rice; fragrant and fresh in taste, it is regarded as an excellent medicinal-food preparation.

Chestnuts carry the health meaning of strengthening the spleen and kidneys. More playfully, “栗,” chestnut, and “利,” benefit, are homophonically associated, while “栗子” can echo “利子.” Newly married couples or expectant parents may simmer chestnuts in soup to express hopes for an early and auspicious child. A sweet, soft chestnut is at once the warmth of everyday street life and a wish for the flourishing of the family.

In southern Fujian and Taiwan, eating duck at Frost’s Descent is a longstanding custom. Southern Fujian has the saying “一年补通通，不如补霜降”, fully expressing the importance placed on seasonal nourishment at this time. Around Frost’s Descent, ducks sell exceptionally well across Fujian and Taiwan, and may even sell out. Many duck shops place signs mentioning the arrival of Frost’s Descent to remind people to buy duck.

Traditional Chinese medicine holds that dryness remains present during Frost’s Descent and that nourishment should be moderate and balanced. Duck is considered cooling in nature and particularly suitable for people with internal heat. At the same time, duck is described as warming without being drying, making it a valued nourishing food for autumn and winter.

Duck can be prepared in many ways. The most classic is Ginger Duck, simmered with aged ginger and red-faced Muscovy duck. The aged ginger removes gaminess and warms the body, while the duck is considered nourishing without excessive dryness. Other preparations include roast duck, Nanjing-style salted duck, and beer duck.

Duck embodies the seasonal health wisdom of nourishing the body in autumn and winter and strengthening one’s constitution. In Fujian and Taiwan, Frost’s Descent is regarded as one of the most important times of the year for nourishment, and duck is seen as an ideal choice for balanced replenishment. A gently warming duck dish is southern Fujian’s most earnest response to the saying “补冬不如补霜降.”

A farming proverb says: “处暑高粱，白露谷，霜降到了拔萝卜.” The period around Frost’s Descent is the harvest season for autumn radish, and people naturally turn more often to radish in their diet. The Han agricultural work 《氾胜之书》 contains the line: “芸苔足霜乃收，不足霜即涩。” Here, “芸苔” refers to radish.

After Frost’s Descent, the difference between morning and evening temperatures becomes considerable. If radishes growing outdoors are not harvested in time, their skins may freeze and their quality and yield may suffer. For this reason, pulling and eating radishes around Frost’s Descent became a traditional practice in Shandong, Shanxi, and surrounding northern regions.

Radish is known as “earth ginseng” and is regarded as highly nutritious. It may be eaten raw or cold-dressed, cooked into hot dishes, or added to soups. In northern China there is the saying “霜降吃萝卜，赛过小人参.” At this time, radishes are crisp, tender, juicy, and naturally sweet. Older generations may cut fresh green radish into strips, sprinkle them with fine salt, and pickle them to eat with millet porridge, a combination considered refreshing and helpful after rich foods. More elaborate households simmer radish with mutton; the radish absorbs the savory richness of the meat while the mutton loses some of its gamey aroma, producing a broth that warms the body from the stomach to the limbs. Radish with beef is another classic pairing.

Radish carries the health associations of supporting digestion, relieving dryness, and generating fluids. “Frost’s Descent radish” is more than a farming proverb; it represents a seasonal food wisdom. Radish is traditionally associated with aiding digestion and relieving cough and phlegm, making it well suited to the digestive needs of the season. In the pot, its crisp sweetness mingles with the savory richness of mutton, creating a deeply comforting flavor for late autumn.

Many places have the custom of eating beef during Frost’s Descent. In Yulin, Guangxi, residents traditionally eat stir-fried beef rice noodles for breakfast and beef stir-fried with radish or beef brisket casserole for lunch or dinner, using the meal to replenish energy and pray for warmth and strength through the winter. In Tangtang Town, Fogang, Guangdong, the custom of “eating beef at Frost’s Descent” has a history of several centuries. Local people use the practice to pray for the removal of illness and misfortune and for strong bodies and peaceful lives. This tradition has developed into a large folk celebration known as the Frost’s Descent Beef Festival.

Some northern regions also have the custom of eating beef at Frost’s Descent. People regard beef as flavorful, relatively low in fat, and nourishing, particularly suitable for the cold months of autumn and winter. 《韩氏医通》 records: “黄牛肉，补气，与锦黄芪同功。” 《本草纲目》 likewise states: “黄牛肉味甘，性温，可以安中益气，养脾胃，补益腰脚。” Beef is traditionally described as warm in nature and associated with strengthening the spleen and stomach, replenishing qi and blood, and strengthening the sinews and bones.

In Yulin, Guangxi, people prepare stir-fried beef noodles, beef with radish, beef brisket casserole, and similar dishes on Frost’s Descent. In parts of northern China, beef may be simmered into soup or cooked in hotpot as a form of seasonal nourishment.

Beef embodies the health meaning of replenishing qi and blood and strengthening the body. Eating beef at Frost’s Descent is both a practical way to add energy in preparation for severe cold and an expression of good wishes for health through winter. In Yulin, people eat beef to pray for warmth and strength; in Tangtang, it is eaten to seek protection from illness, disaster, and misfortune. A single ox thus carries the most fundamental human hope for health across centuries.

As temperatures gradually fall around Frost’s Descent, many regions have the custom of eating beef and mutton for seasonal nourishment. Folk practices include “煲羊肉,” simmering mutton, “煲羊头,” simmering sheep’s head, and “迎霜兔肉,” rabbit meat for welcoming the frost. A saying declares: “霜降吃羊，开春打虎.”

Folk tradition holds that people should first “补重阳” and then “补霜降”, and that autumn nourishment is even more important than winter nourishment. Mutton is high in protein and relatively low in fat and is regarded as an excellent warming food. Across many northern and southern regions, people begin eating mutton and drinking mutton soup from Frost’s Descent onward, building energy reserves to withstand the coming cold.

In parts of northern China, people simmer mutton soup to nourish the body. In Beijing, sliced beef and mutton hotpot is eaten as part of the custom of “贴秋膘.” Mutton paired with carrots is also considered especially nourishing; carrots are sometimes called “little ginseng” and are regarded as highly compatible with mutton. In northern Shaanxi, mutton hele noodles are popular. There is also a folk belief that simmered sheep’s head may help with ailments referred to as “头风.”

Mutton carries the dual meanings of nourishment against the cold and joy and auspiciousness. Eating mutton at Frost’s Descent is not only considered strengthening and warming but is also associated with the auspicious phrase “喜气洋洋.” A steaming bowl of mutton soup warms the body from the stomach to the limbs, just in time to withstand the first real chill—northern China’s warmest answer to the saying “补冬不如补霜降.”

Frost’s Descent coincides with the harvest season for white pomelo. At this time, the fruit is especially juicy, pleasant in texture, and rich in nutrients. The large white pomelo is praised as the “king of pomelos.”

Pomelos arrive on the market in large quantities during Frost’s Descent, and a folk saying claims “霜降吃柚，赛过吃肉.” While northern areas have the custom of “霜降吃丁柿,” eating persimmons at Frost’s Descent, people in the south tend to favor the sweet-and-sour juiciness of pomelo. Pomelo is fragrant, tart, sweet, cooling, and moistening, and is traditionally associated with regulating qi, transforming phlegm, moistening the lungs, clearing the intestines, nourishing the blood, and strengthening the spleen.

Pomelo carries the dual meanings of moistening the lungs and clearing the intestines and praying for blessing and peace. In southern China, “柚,” pomelo, and “佑,” to bless or protect, are homophonically linked, giving rise to the auspicious meaning of “佑子.” A juicy sweet-and-sour pomelo is therefore both a natural response to autumn dryness and a heartfelt wish for the peace and protection of the family.

Around Frost’s Descent, there is a folk custom of eating “迎霜兔肉,” rabbit meat for welcoming the frost. People believe that rabbit meat becomes firmer and more flavorful around this time and is particularly suitable for nourishment. In Beijing, people traditionally buy rabbit meat before and after Frost’s Descent.

Rabbit meat embodies the seasonal health wisdom of autumn nourishment. It is considered especially flavorful around Frost’s Descent, and eating it allows people both to enjoy the taste of the season and to store energy for the approaching winter.

Folk tradition says “补冬不如补霜降”, yet nourishment does not mean relying only on rich and heavy foods. Instead, gentle warmth and moisture should come first. During Frost’s Descent, foods that strengthen the spleen and warm the stomach while nourishing yin and moistening the lungs are preferred, and Chinese yam, chestnuts, and pumpkin are all considered excellent seasonal choices.

Steamed Chinese yam is floury, glutinous, and sweet and is traditionally associated with strengthening the spleen and benefiting the stomach. Chestnuts cooked into porridge provide a warm bowl believed to nourish Kidney qi. Pumpkin stewed with pork ribs creates a rich, savory broth said to replenish qi and blood without being overly heavy. During Frost’s Descent, spleen function is considered vigorous, and people may become more susceptible to stomach ailments such as gastritis or gastric ulcers, making care of the spleen and stomach especially important. Warming foods such as mutton and rabbit may be combined with goji berries, Codonopsis, Chinese yam, ginger, Astragalus, and other medicinal ingredients in medicinal-food preparations intended to strengthen the spleen and benefit the stomach.

Chinese yam, chestnuts, and pumpkin embody the health wisdom of gentle nourishment and strengthening the spleen and stomach. Autumn dryness is pronounced during Frost’s Descent, and the incidence of lung-related ailments is also considered relatively high. Foods such as apples, pears, honey, sesame, and red dates may be eaten to clear heat, moisten the lungs, and relieve autumn dryness. These seemingly ordinary foods are among the simplest everyday expressions of the Chinese philosophy of following the rhythms of Heaven and nourishing the body through food.