When is the best time to pick Zanthoxylum bungeanum, a common condiment in life? How to keep fresh and dried pepper? Matters needing attention in mining and harvesting

Early picking of Chinese prickly ash will affect the quality of Chinese prickly ash and reduce the quality and income of pepper farmers. Too late picking of Chinese prickly ash will lead to the overmaturity of Chinese prickly ash, and the weakening of hemp flavor will affect the quality of Chinese prickly ash. So, when is the best time to pick fresh pepper? How to keep fresh and dried pepper?

Pepper planting area is very broad, northeast, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, southwest, Xizang and other places have production, can be used as spices can also be used in medicine. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, it has the effects of dispersing cold into the lungs, dehumidification into the spleen, replenishing fire into the kidney and so on. The peel of Zanthoxylum bungeanum is the raw material of flavor and spice, the seed is an excellent woody oil, cruller can be used as fertilizer or feed, and the leaves can be used as seasoning, edible or making pepper tea. In real life, the common form of Zanthoxylum bungeanum is usually seasoning. In recent years, with the growth of demand, the professional production of large-scale planting has entered the fast track.

When will pepper be picked?

Pepper fruit ripening period is generally from the Beginning of Autumn to the End of Heat, picking period is generally from early August to early September, harvest is too early, lack of maturity, flax flavor is not strong, color is not fresh. Harvest too late, too mature, flax fragrance faded, color aging and even become purplish red, so it should be picked at the right time. When Zanthoxylum bungeanum is ripe, the pericarp is purplish red or light red, the pericarp is suture protruding, a small amount of cracking, and the seeds are black and bright. Can smell strong hemp fragrance, this is the most suitable harvest time, harvest fruit is usually picked by hand or scissors.

Strong branch ear picking: under the big pepper ear, there is a full bud in the armpit of the first leaf, this bud is the next year's fruit bud, should be properly protected, when picking pepper ear, must not be removed with this axillary bud, so as not to affect the annual yield in the coming year. The picking of weak branch ear: the first bud under the weak branch ear is not full; the second or third bud is more robust, so the second or third bud should be retained when picking, otherwise the yield of the second year will be affected. It is best to pick after the dew disappears in the sunny morning, the picking time is not easy to be too long, do not store too much. In the afternoon, it is best not to pick, because the pepper picked in the afternoon can not open the mouth, after the night, the color becomes black, there are mildew spots in the inner shell, affecting the quality.

Matters needing attention in harvest of Chinese prickly ash

1. Determine the harvest time

The harvest time of Zanthoxylum bungeanum varies from variety to variety, even if it is the same variety, because of the difference of site conditions. Generally, the appropriate harvest time is determined by the external morphological signs of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, that is, when the pericarp is purplish red or light red, the pericarp is suture protruding, a small amount of pericarp is cracked, and the seeds are black, bright and emit a strong hemp flavor.

Some varieties, such as Xiaojiaozi, the pericarp is easy to crack and the seeds are lost after ripening, which should be harvested within 1 week after fruit ripening to avoid loss. Some varieties, such as Dahongpao, do not crack after fruit ripening. The harvest time can be postponed appropriately.

2. Weather and sequence of harvesting

The harvest of pepper should choose sunny weather to avoid rainy days, so as not to dry and affect the color and flavor, resulting in a decline in quality. Harvest sequence should first warm the sunny low-altitude orchard, and then back the sunny high-altitude orchard, generally should also be first outside and then inside, first down and then up, so as not to miss picking.

3. Protect the fruit bud

Pay attention to the treatment of fruit ear bud there is a full bud in the armpit of the first leaf under the big pepper ear, this bud is the fruit bud of the next year, should pay attention to protection, do not remove. On the other hand, the development of the first bud under the weak branch ear is not full, and the second or third bud is strong, so when picking, the first bud can be erased and the second and third buds can be retained, which plays the role of small pruning.

4. Harvest of Chinese prickly ash

The picking of Zanthoxylum bungeanum is mainly by hand, holding the branch in one hand and picking the ear in the other, because the branch at the base of the ear has prickles; it is easy to prick the finger when picking, so it can be picked by pruning while picking. When picking, pay attention to:

1. Harvest after dry dew in the morning on a sunny day

Can not be harvested in rainy days and when there is dew, otherwise the color of pepper will be dim, the quality will be poor and even black and moldy. It must be spread out in time after harvest and should not be stacked for too long.

two。 Handle it gently and be careful not to damage the peel

After the pericarp is damaged, the oil juice of the pericarp will be contagious with other pericarps, resulting in blackening of the pericarp of pepper after drying, affecting the surface and color of pepper, and reducing the commodity value.

3. Preservation of fresh pepper after picking

If it rains after harvest, or cannot be dried on the same day due to time constraints, it is necessary to do a good job in the storage and management of pepper. The storage point generally chooses indoor, the storage room condition request: indoor does not leak the rain, cannot be too ventilated, the light should be dark, maintains the indoor constant temperature as far as possible, the ground does not return to moisture, had better choose adobe house and brick mixed room, the ground is concrete. The room should be kept clean, free from sundries and odors.

Drying method of Chinese prickly ash

1. The venues for drying: clean and dry basking dams and bamboo mats can be spread out. Bamboo mats had better be set up with bamboo poles and other objects to facilitate ventilation and avoid mixing with soil and other sundries.

2, spreading method: the harvested pepper should be spread out in time on a sunny day, spread the pepper gently on the dam or bamboo mat, with a thickness of about 2 cm, which should not be too thick, and should be evenly thick and should not be piled up. Pepper in the hot sun exposure, generally after 5-6 hours will crack, pepper skin water evaporation, oil cell is not easy to break. After the particles are completely burst, gently pat with a bamboo stick to separate the seeds, stalks and peels, and then separate them with sieves, windmills and other tools. Pepper dried on the same day finishing on the same day, the quality, color are better.

3. If the rain or cloudy days cannot be dried in time, the color quality will deteriorate, such as stopping the rain after harvest, it should be spread out in a clean and ventilated place, the thickness should be spread out in a single ear, not heavy ear is better, when the weather is fine, gently move to the sun to dry.

If the rain is not clear for a long time after harvest, or the drying conditions are not good, you can also use the baking method to dry.

Preservation method of Chinese prickly ash

Preservation of dried Zanthoxylum bungeanum

Put a large amount of dried pepper in the bag, pay attention to ventilation and dryness. The following should be covered with boards or other objects to prevent moisture, so as not to get moldy if the moisture is too much. Small household use can be packed in a bottle or in a bag.

Preservation method of fresh Chinese prickly ash

1. Wash the picked fresh pepper slightly with clean water, as long as you rinse off the floating ash on the surface of the pepper. After washing, put the pepper in a ventilated place to dry.

2. Prepare appropriate amount of cold boiled water and small plastic bags, put dried green pepper into small plastic bags respectively, and pour appropriate amount of cold boiled water into each plastic bag, and then seal the mouth of the plastic bag.

3. Just put the small plastic bag into the freezer and take it out when you need to use green pepper.

The original taste of green pepper preserved in this method will not change color for one year, just like the fresh green pepper just picked.