There are always peddlers selling seasonal fruits on the city’s streets. What kinds of seasonal fruits do Suzhou people eat in summer?
01
Lotus seedpod
Summer is the harvest time for lotus seedpods. A seedpod usually contains ten-odd lotus seeds, big or small.
It’s not easy, however, to enjoy the lotus seeds. You have to firstly shell the lotus seed, rip off the white membrane and then pick out the bitter lotus-hearts. The crunchy and sweet lotus seed is a good match for summer. You can also collect the lotus-hearts and use them for making tea.
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Lotus seedpods can easily be found at such places as Fengmen Hengjie Street (葑门横街) and Shuangta Market (双塔市集), available at about RMB3 yuan each.
02
Jinlingzi
The Jinlingzi looks like the yellow momordica charantia and is about the size of a lemon. The pulp inside is bright red and tastes a little sweet. Don’t forget to spit out the seeds. You can also plant the seeds after cleaning them.
You can buy this yellow fruit at Pingjiang Road, Shantang Street and many other places; the price is around RMB10 yuan for every three to four pieces.
03
Cuiguan pear
It is customary in Suzhou to “enjoy pear blossoms in spring and eat pears in summer.” Suzhou’s Cuiguan pears (翠冠梨) are crunchy, sweet and juicy despite their thick outer skin, thus its nickname is Liu-Yue-Xue (snow in June).
You can go picking the pears at Shushan Village (树山生态村).
04
Fenghuang honey peach
Fenghuang Town (凤凰镇) of Zhangjiagang City (张家港市) is well known for its production of Fenghuang honey peaches(凤凰水蜜桃). The ancestors of these honey peaches came from Wuxi. After improvement of the peach variety, Fenghuang has successfully cultivated its own peaches that are juicy, tender and easy to peel.
You can go picking the peaches at Fenghuang Town, Zhangjiagang City.
