固始茶菱

    固始茶菱，为清代贡品。水生果类植物，象菱角，茎叶浮于水面，夏季开散碎小白花，小叶，果实长形、杆状，后秋成熟。生长在固始东部水乡，野生。秋熟时，连秧捞起，晒干，将果实磕落，再揉搓去果壳。茶菱果仁白色、黑头，一厘米多长（约两个糯米长），形如小虫。整制干净的茶菱果仁，用小火细炒，直至发出清香，上糖熬制，再加适量黑芝麻，搅拌即为成品。密封包装以免跑气软化、失味。茶菱是细果，高级点心。食用时不可用手拿。而是在旁边放一蜜盏、一杯茶水，用小棒粘茶菱就香茶，慢慢品尝，味道酥脆、清香、甜润。其性能：清心、明目、怡神。 



    Gushi Trapella Sinensis Olive is a tribute in Qing Dynasty. It is an aquatic plant, which is like water chestnut, with the stem leaf floating on the water and small leaves, whose fruits are rectangle and rhabditiform. It rises up small white flowers in summer and get ripe in autumn; grows in the water hometown in the east of Gushi wildly. When the chestnuts are ripe, drag them out, dry them in the sun and then wipe off their covers. The nuts are white with black head, and always have a length of less than 2 cm which makes them like a small worm. The finished trapella sinensis olives are ine nuts, which must be fried with light fire and akes them like a ater, made by fine nuts, which must be fried with light fire. Decoct the fried nuts and sugar together and stir them with black sesames, then we can get finished products. As elaborate products, they must be sealed packaged for preventing them from softening and deteriorating. When we eat, we can’t use hands directly, instead, we should use a string dip in the chestnuts and enjoy them with fragrant tea. They have a crisp flavor and a sweet smell, with the quality of calming our mind, clearing our eyes and cheering our spirit, which make them helpful for our health.