Detailed Explanation of the Processing Method and Production Steps of Lily Powder

① Prepare the processing tools first: baskets, winnowing baskets, knives and shovels, basins, stone mills, filter racks, filter cloth, clay jars, water buckets, water ladles, white cloth, drying mats, etc. Wash them clean, free of mud, sand and dust. Whether the powder is white and the yield is high depends on the water; choose clear, pure spring water or well water. Process during consecutive sunny days.

② The processing can be divided into five stages

Slicing and washing: peel the lily bulbs into slices, and separate and pack them by outer slices, inner slices, yellow slices, and white slices. White slices (center slices) yield white powder, yellow slices (outer slices) yield yellow powder. Wash off the mud and sand, and process them separately.

Chopping and fine grinding: chop the washed slices separately, add an appropriate amount of clean water, grind into a slurry, and grind repeatedly 3-4 times.

Filtering the slurry and clarifying: hang up the cross-shaped filter rack, tie the four corners of the filter cloth to the rack, and place a wooden bucket below to collect the slurry. Pour the ground slurry into the filter cloth bag with a ladle, shake it while adding clean water, filter once for residue, then grind and filter again 2-3 times. Let the filtrate stand in the slurry bucket to settle for several hours; after clarification, pour off the upper clear liquid. Stirring the slurry and extracting the powder: after pouring off the upper clear liquid, add an appropriate amount of water to the lily slurry, then stir by hand in one direction to help the mud and sand settle. Stirring should be done "from bottom to top, from slow to fast, forming a vortex, seeing the bottom of the bucket." After stirring, let it stand for several hours, and the powder will settle at the bottom of the bucket. Then pour off the upper clear liquid, and the powder can be taken out. When taking the powder, take it in three layers: top, middle, and bottom, and dry each layer separately. The part with more mud and sand at the bottom can be extracted once more. The powder yield from processing fresh lilies is generally 10%-13%.

Drying the powder and storing it: spread the wet powder separately on cloth and dry it in the sun for 3-4 consecutive days until completely dry. The standards for high-quality powder are: white and crystal-clear, fine particles, smooth and slippery when rubbed lightly with fingers, transparent paste when brewed with boiling water, clear enough to see the bottom of the bowl, pure smell, and sweet taste. The sun-dried lily powder must be stored in clay jars and kept sealed. Generally, it can be stored for more than 10 years without spoiling, with its color unchanged and its taste unchanged.