Preparation of dried vegetable marrows for winter use in north manchuria

Abstract

It is well known that the diet of the Chinese consists in great part of vegetable products. This people cultivate many kinds of vegetables which are consumed usually when they are fresh. In the northern provinces of China, however, some kinds of fresh vegetables are not available during the cold period of the year. They, therefore, are preserved for winter use in a variety of ways. One of these ways, for instance, is the preparation of dried strings cut from vegetable marrow (Cucurbita pepo L.), which I have seen widely practiced in the North Manchurian countryside. This product is usually prepared in the late summer and beginning of autumn, when it is the end of the season of vegetable marrows. The fruit of the marrow is placed vertically on a pointed rod mounted on a bench and cut spirally in long and narrow strings