A Detailed Guide to the Latest Harvesting Timing and Processing Methods for Perilla
Perilla is a very common plant in China. It is both a culinary ingredient and a medicine, a plant that combines edible value with medicinal value. Adding perilla to dishes enhances aroma, and adding it to fish also removes the fishy smell. So when should perilla be harvested? How should it be processed? Let me tell you about it below!
1. When to Harvest Perilla
1. Perilla leaves for eating
The perilla leaves meant for eating are to be used in cooking, so they should be harvested on clear, sunny days, with the harvest period running from late May to early August. The perilla leaves harvested during this period have a pungent, striking aroma, and harvesting should also be done before the plant flowers. One mu of perilla field can produce about 1700-2000 kg of fresh leaves, and one perilla plant can have 36-44 perilla leaves harvested from it in a year; no more should be picked.
2. Medicinal perilla stems
If it is to be made into medicine, what is harvested is the perilla stem. The harvest time for perilla stems is in early September, before the perilla leaves flower; you should wait until the perilla's flower spikes have grown before harvesting. Cut the roots off with a sickle, then hang the plants upside down in a ventilated, shaded place to dry.
3. Medicinal perilla seeds
The harvest time for medicinal perilla seeds is from late September to mid-October, when the seed fruits are ripe. First cut off the seed spikes, then tie them into bundles. After leaving them for a few days, remove the perilla seeds. One mu of perilla can produce 150-180 kg of perilla seeds.
2. How to Process
The leaves of perilla, once picked, cleaned and dried in the sun, are called perilla leaves; the seeds of perilla, once impurities are removed and they are dried in the sun, are called perilla seeds; the stems and branches without leaves are perilla stems. We should dry them while the leaves are still fresh to obtain perilla stems.
1. Perilla leaves can relieve the exterior and disperse cold and treat wind-cold, and can also be processed into pickles. Adding a little perilla leaf to pickles gives them a particularly strong fragrance.
2. Perilla stems have the effect of preventing miscarriage, and can be prepared together with dried tangerine peel, Poria cocos and chicken gizzard lining into a medicinal meal; their miscarriage-preventing effect is excellent.
3. Perilla seeds can improve memory and vision, and the α-linolenic acid in them can lower the triglyceride content in our blood and inhibit the synthesis of cholesterol in the body.
The above are the harvesting timing and processing methods for perilla. You can plant some perilla leaves in your own courtyard. Stir-fried dishes with perilla leaves are very fragrant; it is a great aromatic ingredient, and is perfect for making fish. If you want to learn more information about perilla leaves, please keep following Qinnong Network!