What Plant Are Zongzi Leaves From? Wholesale Prices and Fresh Handling Methods

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival, and eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese custom. Zongzi leaves are one of the indispensable materials for making “zongzi”, the food eaten on the day of the “Dragon Boat Festival”. So what plant are zongzi leaves from? How much is the wholesale price per jin? How are fresh zongzi leaves handled?

Zongzi leaves generally contain a large amount of chlorophyll and various amino acids and other components that are beneficial to the human body. Their special preservative effect is also one of the reasons zongzi are easy to keep. They have a fragrant smell, and smelling them gives a feeling of returning to nature. There are many varieties of zongzi leaves, generally made from reed leaves, ruo leaves (ruò yè), and others. They are indispensable materials for making zongzi. In the south, ruo leaves are generally the main type, while in the north, reed leaves are the main type. There are also other zongzi leaves, such as: sweet bamboo leaves, shell ginger leaves, banana leaves, lotus leaves, zongba leaves, and bamboo shoot sheaths.

Reed leaves (reed, also called weizi, a perennial herbaceous plant that grows in shallow water. The stem is hollow and can be used for papermaking, weaving mats, etc. The rhizome can be used as medicine), generally grow in water;

Ruo leaves belong to the grass family and grow in vast mountains and ridges. They have well-developed root systems and strong vitality. They are not only a very good vegetation for soil and water conservation, but also an inexhaustible source of wealth, the “green bank” of mountain residents; ruo leaves belong to the lily family, genus Aspidistra. Their underground part has thick rhizomes, and the leaf stalks grow directly from the underground stem, one stalk to one leaf. The green leaves with straight, slender leaf stalks rise from the ground, hence the name one-leaf orchid. Because their fruit closely resembles a spider egg, they are also called spider egg plantain. They are evergreen all year round, with beautiful leaf shapes and robust growth, and are ideal indoor foliage plants.

How much is the wholesale price of zongzi leaves per jin?

According to statistics from the zongzi leaf price network: on May 15, 2018, Jiangsu zongzi leaf prices were as follows:

Tianhui Supermarket - zongzi leaf price: 5.80 yuan/kg (unchanged)

How are zongzi leaves handled before wrapping zongzi?

1. Conventional handling method for fresh zongzi leaves

The handling process for zongzi leaves generally includes: washing, boiling, washing, soaking, and trimming. After these steps, zongzi leaves become more pliable, so the leaves will not break when wrapping zongzi. In addition, the leaves more easily infuse their flavor into the zongzi, giving them a fresh fragrance of zongzi leaves when eaten.

1. Wash:

Whether bought or freshly picked, fresh zongzi leaves are rather dirty and should be rinsed clean one by one.

2. Boil:

Put the washed zongzi leaves into a large pot, add water, and boil for a while. The color should turn light yellow, which makes the leaves very soft and more pliable. The boiling time is 10 minutes, and at the same time add a few spoonfuls of salt. Adding salt can sterilize and disinfect and help fix the color.

3. Wash:

Pour out the salt water used to boil the zongzi leaves, and rinse with hot water. To be clean, it is recommended to wash them again. Of course, those who find it troublesome can skip this step.

4. Soak:

Soak the zongzi leaves again in clean water for about 3 minutes. The leaves will become softer, and it also makes it easier for moisture to penetrate, so the zongzi will cook more easily.

5. Trim:

Pick out any unacceptable zongzi leaves, and use scissors to give the zongzi leaves a simple trim. Cut off the stem ends and the pointed tips of the zongzi leaves, so the wrapped zongzi look better, and the leaves will not be wrapped too thickly, keeping everything neat and tidy.

tips: Step 5 can actually also be done at the same time as the first washing step. It depends on personal choice.

2. Handling method for fresh zongzi leaves without boiling

1. Wash the fresh zongzi leaves clean, leave the surface damp with water, and do not wipe them dry.

2. Find a somewhat larger bag, coil all the zongzi leaves up in a circle shape. Zongzi leaves are pliable, so do not use too much force, to avoid breaking the veins.

3. Tie the bag tightly, then put the bag with the zongzi leaves into the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. Note that it must be the freezing one.

4. The next day, take the bag out, take the zongzi leaves out, and put them in a basin to thaw naturally.

5. Once thawed, that is enough. This method does not require the time-consuming boiling of zongzi leaves, and it can also make the zongzi leaves pliable and soft. Moreover, the fresh fragrance of the zongzi leaves is much better than boiling, and the resulting zongzi taste better.

How to choose zongzi leaves

Food safety is very important nowadays. When buying zongzi leaves, do not buy “revived green zongzi leaves”. “Revived green zongzi leaves” refers to some illegal merchants using chemical dyeing methods to make zongzi leaves that have already lost their original color green again, making their surface glossy and their color bright green. Long-term use of these zongzi leaves to wrap zongzi can easily cause poisoning.

1. Look at the appearance: “revived green zongzi leaves” are green in color and look very beautiful, while normal zongzi leaves, after high-temperature boiling during processing, will darken and turn yellow;

2. Smell the aroma: zongzi wrapped with “revived green zongzi leaves” do not have a strong zongzi fragrance after cooking, but instead have a faint sulfur smell;

3. Look at the water used to boil the zongzi: after boiling “revived green zongzi leaves”, the water turns green, while after boiling normal zongzi leaves, the water appears light yellow.

How to store zongzi leaves

Zongzi leaves left over from wrapping zongzi can be saved for use next year. The experience of older people is to put the zongzi leaves in the refrigerator to freeze them. When needed, take them out and give them a quick boil in hot water; the flavor is as fresh as when first bought, and boiled zongzi leaves are not easy to split when wrapping zongzi. The method of drying them in the sun for storage easily causes the loss of the zongzi leaves' fragrance and a reduction in pliability.