Photo Features |
Home
| Archives | About | Media Links |
| December 1999 Seasoned Tangerines Photofitable Tradition Photo and text by Tom Ho Article from the same secion: In the autumn, a group of elderly craftsmen are working in their little factory in Yau Ma Tei from early morning until late afternoon. They are making seasoned tangerines, called chen pi in Chinese, which means “dried fruit skin”. Their work might seem repetitive and time consuming, but they consider the time and effort worthwhile. The hand making of chen pi was popular among traditional Chinese families, especially those who lived in rural regions. They could plant their own tangerine trees in their own gardens. In this way, most of the chen pi were homemade and consumed by the families that made them, but they seldom were for sale. It was regarded as a custom worth preserving because it would require the whole family to get together to make preparations for winter. Making chen pi was also a special activity because chen pi has the aroma of sweet soup and other winter dishes. Today, very few families can afford the time and space for making chen pi by themselves. Though making it no longer takes place in homes, the process survives in a different form. Commercial chen pi making takes place in a single production line where several skilled workers cooperate in a division of labour. And chen pi are now sold for money. However simple the skill might appear, beginners have to practice for quite a long time to achieve the speed and quality of the professionals. This is perhaps the reason why chen pi are seldom cheap. One chain, which include about 50 pieces of chen pi, costs up to $20. The tradition of making seasoned tangerines, which originally was a means to better family relations, has now been transformed into a means of making money. |
: . |
The following describes the whole process of making
seasoned tangerines out of
fresh tangerines:
 1. Use a cutter to peel the tangerine. Roughly divide the skin quarterly with the center uncut. The piece of skin is petalled like a flower |
 2. Make a small hole on the peeled skin by a wire that in turn links up pieces of skin in a chain |
 3. The chains of tanergine skin are then hung up. Exposed to the sun for about a week, they are finally dry and ready for use |
 4. Unriped tangerines are thrown away. They are unsuitable for making seasoned tangerines because they are too sour to be eaten. |
|
Home | Archives | About | Media Links |
