Due to historical coincidence, Xiangtan people fell in love with betel nut more than 200 years ago. It not only has the refreshing effect of many Chinese herbal medicines, but also is a rare leisure food. Betel nut and Xiangtan really have an indissoluble bond. "Hang hands, walk in the street, chew betel nut and make friends", "The more you chew betel nut, the stronger you eat, the more friends you make, so as to avoid plague, stimulate appetite and relieve oil". This is a folk song originated from betel nut and spread all over Xiangtan, from which we can see how important betel nut is in Xiangtan people's hearts. There is also a magical legend in folk songs that betel nut can avoid disaster: the magical betel nut can save Xiangtan City, and perhaps because of this, betel nut occupies a unique position in Xiangtan.
Betel nut can be used as medicine, which is warm and bitter. It is mainly used for treating diseases such as insect accumulation, food retention, abdominal distension, edema and beriberi. It is also a kind of fruit, especially in the life of Xiangtan people, which has a special position. Xiangtan people can entertain guests without cigarettes or tea in mutual guest appearances, as long as they offer a bite of betel nut, it is enough to show their sincerity. Betel nut is the best business among street vendors. There are tens of thousands of betel nut stalls in the city.
Eat areca, a native of Xiangtan, is very particular. The fresh fruit just picked is blue. Looks like duck eggs, slightly shorter. Boil it in water for about two hours to turn it into brown red, and then smoke it for seven days and seven nights to become dried fruit. This process is usually completed in the country of origin. After buying back the dried fruit, wash it with clear water, scald it with boiling water, spray a small amount of saccharin water, and store it for about 24 hours before eating. Before eating, cut the betel nut into two or four petals with a knife, and light the brine boiled with lime and maltose. Some people like to order a drop of cinnamon oil and chew it repeatedly in their mouths. Sweet and astringent, the aroma is overflowing, the more you chew, the more fragrant it is, and the aftertaste is long. A good betel nut can make people flush on their cheeks, make their whole body hot and dry, and even bring forth body fluids. Chewing betel nut is so fun, no wonder Xiangtan people like it so much.
In fact, it is not only Xiangtan people who use betel nuts as fruit, but also Li and Miao people under Wuzhishan Mountain in Hainan Island and Dai people in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. However, they eat fresh fruit. A fresh fruit is cut into four petals, and the points are mixed into mushy shell powder. After chewing, the lips are dark red and must be wiped clean with palm leaves. They chew betel nuts to relieve miasma in the tropical jungle. Women in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries chew betel nuts for beauty. They are dressing up and chewing betel nuts before going out. After dressing up, my lips have been dyed red and tender by betel nuts, and my cheeks are as bright as peach blossoms.
However, no matter where you chew betel nut, you don't chew it as hard as Xiangtan people do. Xiangtan people chew betel nuts from Hainan Island, which is called "Hainan figure". There are Thais, Yunnanese, Taiwan Province Province, etc. But these areca nuts are very thin and have a green taste when chewed, so they are not very popular. Every year in late autumn, vendors in Xiangtan, large and small, gather in Hainan Island, often holding a betel nut forest in their own hands and enjoying the acquisition patent right. In recent years, the betel nut business in Xiangtan has become more and more prosperous, and the betel nut producing area has been snapped up. The purchase price has also risen rapidly from tens of yuan a load in the 1970s to two or three thousand yuan a load. As a result, the planting area of betel nut trees in Hainan Island has soared.