Old Duck in Major Heat Beats Tonic Medicine: Is a Roast Duck Priced at 18 Yuan on the Market Reliable?

There is a folk saying that “old duck in Major Heat beats tonic medicine.” But recently, some rumors online have left many consumers puzzled. The rumors claim that some deli shops sell whole roast ducks for only 18 yuan. These rumors often use the phrase "it is heard" to attract attention. So, is a roast duck priced at 18 yuan on the market reliable?

1. Why is it said that old duck in Major Heat beats tonic medicine

Why drink old duck soup during Major Heat?

“Minor Heat followed by Major Heat, so hot there is nowhere to hide.” “Major Heat” among the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar is the hottest time of the year. Nanjing people like to eat duck, and on the day of Major Heat, old Nanjing people traditionally eat stewed duck soup. There is a folk saying that “old duck in Major Heat beats tonic medicine.”

Summer weather is hot and rainy, and summer heat mixed with dampness often burdens the spleen and stomach and causes poor appetite. Therefore, diet is needed to regulate and nourish the body. Duck meat is high in protein and low in fat, rich in B vitamins, vitamin E, and various substances such as potassium, iron, copper, and zinc, making it very nutritious. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, duck meat is cool in nature and sweet in flavor, and can “nourish the yin of the five viscera, clear the heat of consumptive fatigue, enrich the blood and move water, nourish the stomach and promote fluids, and stop cough and calm fright.” It is a rare superior tonic in summer.

Duck meat is especially suitable for summer consumption. People with internal heat are suitable to eat duck meat, and it is even more beneficial for those who are weak in constitution, have poor appetite, fever, dry stool, and edema. Duck meat is rich in nutrients such as protein that the human body urgently needs in summer.

However, the choice of duck meat for tonic purposes also requires care. Generally, male duck meat is slightly cold in nature, while female duck meat is slightly warm in nature. For medicinal dietary therapy, overly tender young ducks may carry the risk of damp toxin, so it is best to choose old ducks with white feathers and black bones, which are more nourishing. Eating old duck in extremely hot weather means “yin deficiency without dryness, yang deficiency without cold,” hence the folk saying that “old duck in Major Heat beats tonic medicine.”

When stewing old duck, vegetables such as lotus root and winter melon can be added to make soup. This not only combines meat and vegetables to achieve a complementary nutritional effect, but also tonifies deficiency, relieves summer heat, and nourishes yang, making it truly an excellent summer tonic. If Gordon euryale seed and coix seed are added and stewed together, the yang-nourishing effect is even better, and it can also strengthen the spleen, transform dampness, and improve appetite.

To drink duck soup as a tonic, it is best to combine it with one's own physical condition and with Chinese herbal medicine or food. For people who are prone to respiratory diseases such as coughs and colds and have weaker constitutions, Chinese yam, lotus seed, astragalus, or American ginseng can be added when making duck soup, generally 30-60 grams. For people with high blood pressure, black beans or adzuki beans and 60-100 grams of goji berries can be added when making duck soup.

For people with diabetes, bitter melon and 50 grams of humifuse euphorbia herb can be added when making duck soup. For people with pulmonary tuberculosis, lily bulb, cordyceps, or coastal glehnia root can be added when making duck soup. For women, lily bulb and fragrant solomonseal rhizome can be added when making duck soup to help nourish the skin and preserve beauty.

2. Is a roast duck priced at 18 yuan on the market reliable

So, is a roast duck at 18 yuan per bird reliable or not? Zhang Ziyu, special commentator for China National Radio's Country Voice, helps you calculate this economic account in detail.

Zhang Ziyu: Generally speaking, ducks are not a particularly common poultry in rural areas, so everyone tends to think duck meat is relatively expensive. But the current situation is that in some deli shops, a whole roast duck costs only 18 yuan, so many people naturally begin to wonder: could there be something wrong with this duck?

So is there actually a problem? Hou Shuisheng, a researcher at the Institute of Animal Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, knows meat duck breeding like the back of his hand. He told the media that this kind of 18-yuan roast duck belongs to a breed called white-feathered meat duck. With a rearing period of 40 days, it can be used to make Beijing roast duck and Cantonese roast duck, while with about 30 days of rearing, it can be used to make the 18-yuan small roast duck, or crispy duck. It can be seen that in terms of breed, there is no problem with the 18-yuan roast duck.

Then, if a duck can be raised in just 30 days, is it pumped full of hormones? That is not the case either. Experts say that the reason it is so fast is actually the result of breed improvement. This kind of duck can gain one jin of meat from one jin and six liang of feed, making it a true foodie. This specially bred meat duck is actually the result of modern breeding technology and has undergone a series of tests. Experts also make it very clear that this kind of meat duck raised in 30 days does indeed have shortcomings, for example, it is not suitable for stewing soup and has a relatively low meat yield. Therefore, as long as the 18-yuan roast duck is produced and sold through proper channels, its quality is qualified. As for how it tastes, that varies from person to person.

Around this kind of 18-yuan roast duck, we can also see some very interesting commercial elements. For example, this kind of duck is relatively small, and after processing it is about two jin and a half, a weight that just suits the dining needs of a family of three, or even a single person. This unique attribute actually also implies a brand-new market space.

So does the 18-yuan selling price mean a loss? Experts calculate the account very clearly: for white-feathered meat ducks, from buying ducklings to raising them to market, the breeding cost per duck is about 11 yuan. After slaughter and processing, the duck meat, internal organs, and even duck blood and duck fat can all be sold. Adding wholesale and circulation costs, the overall cost of one duck is about 13 yuan and 2 mao. Basically, the profit per duck is 4 yuan and 8 mao, with a profit margin of more than 25%. Not only is there no loss, but it is still profitable.

After eliminating concerns about this kind of small roast duck, it is estimated that some people are already eager to try. Having the willingness is of course worthy of encouragement, but one must also understand that the above costs are all under modern breeding conditions. If one wants to do this business, it is necessary to start from technology and seek methods to improve efficiency and reduce costs in the production and circulation links. From a broad perspective, it is precisely because of this constant pursuit that agricultural products on the market are becoming more affordable, more abundant, and more promising.