The Benefits and Effects of Green Bamboo Shoots, Market Prices, and an Introduction to Their Producing Areas
This year the plum rain has been especially fierce, battering leafy vegetables, but it has fattened the bamboo shoots. Every year from late April onward, they ripen starting from Guanmiao and Guiren in Tainan and Changzhi in Pingtung, then move northward, from Baoshan in Hsinchu, Fuxing, Daxi and Guishan in Taoyuan, Muzha in Taipei, to Bali, Wugu and Sanxia in New Taipei. There are two peak production periods: in the south, the "main shoot season" or "big shoot season" runs from late April to late May, while in the north it runs from mid-June to mid-July; the southern "autumn shoot season" is in mid-July, and the northern one in late August. In the rainy June plum season, shoots spring up endlessly after the rain, with fine flesh full of water, tasting especially fresh and tender; after July, with less rain, they are not as tender as the early shoots, but have higher sweetness. The flavors that change with the season are all good eating moments of the season.
The deliciousness of green bamboo shoots goes without saying; everyone loves them, and their excellent quality and good price have also prompted many famous producing areas to launch their own brands one after another, such as "Green Gem" from Guanyin Mountain in Wugu, pear shoots from Wuliao in Sanxia, golden shoots from Bali, honey pear shoots from Pingxi, "Jade Shoots" from Xindian, and so on. The task of creating identification is, of course, about defining differences and characteristics, which can roughly be discussed from two aspects: terroir conditions and human effort.
Sunlight, soil, cultivation, and the characteristics of regular producing areas
A youthful green bamboo shoot must pass strict aesthetic standards to become a beauty: white, short, stubby, plump; recognize it correctly and you are set. For most people this classification is quite sufficient, but of course it can be graded further, such as by producing area, first crop/second crop, one-year-old shoots/two-to-three-year-old shoots, the degree of opening of the shoot sheath and sheath leaves, and so on. The potential for industrial development lies in the setting of standards by practitioners; for an industry to advance, specifications must be differentiated. This holds true whether or not it is agriculture, but for the agriculture of such a small island as ours, it is not just important but necessary.
As for how to eat them, as the number one die-hard fan of green bamboo shoots, I, the editor, really take issue with the cookie-cutter way of serving them cold with mayonnaise. So I tried various salts, soy sauces, vinegars, oils and so on in turn, and then discovered that if it is a shoot of peerless beauty grade, it is better to pair it with nothing than with something unsuitable.
The editor's tasting team selfishly recommends that if you have a top-grade virgin extra virgin olive oil on hand (get the best you can, do not hesitate), the fresh olive aroma can exactly complement the shoot's faint flavor, without masking or harming the shoot's sweetness, and just happens to add the lubricity of oil to the crisp fibrous bite; it is as elegant as elegant gets. If you are still not satisfied and want to play with some variations, honey, lemon juice, wine vinegar and the like are all good partners to mix in; the key is that it must not be cloying, remember this well.
How much do green bamboo shoots cost on the market? Generally the price is above ten yuan. As for producing areas, generally wherever there is bamboo there will be bamboo shoots.
Among bamboo shoots, winter shoots are also called "the first delicacy of vegetarian food"; they are not only a vegetable but also a good medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine records that winter shoots are sweet in taste and cold in nature, with functions such as "benefiting the seven orifices, unblocking the blood vessels, resolving phlegm and drool, and relieving food stagnation and bloating." Modern medicine believes that bamboo shoots have such effects, so eating bamboo shoots has a weight-loss effect. The Suixiju Diet Spectrum: "Relieves depression, lowers turbidity and raises clarity, opens the diaphragm and dissolves phlegm." In particular, Jiangsu and Zhejiang folk medicine uses worm-eaten shoots as medicine, called "worm shoots," an effective diuretic, suitable for edema, ascites, beriberi with swollen feet, acute nephritis edema, asthma and cough, diabetes, and wasting-thirst with restlessness and heat; tender bamboo leaves, bamboo shavings and bamboo juice are all used medicinally. Health preservation experts believe that people in places where bamboo groves grow in clusters tend to live long lives and rarely suffer from high blood pressure, which has a certain relationship with regularly eating bamboo shoots.