There is a famous saying by Zhou Yong of the Southern Qi Dynasty: "Early spring has early leeks, late autumn has late leeks." This means that leeks in early spring are the most delicious and of the best quality, followed by leeks in late autumn. , the quality is slightly worse than the leeks in early spring. The worst quality is the leeks in summer. This is why there are fewer leeks on the market in summer, so there is also a saying that "food in spring is fragrant, food in summer is smelly" statement.

So why is the quality of leeks in summer so poor? Because everyone knows that the quality of leeks in early spring is the best, and after several crops of leeks are harvested in the spring, the nutrients of the leeks themselves are greatly consumed. Therefore, the quality of leeks grown in summer is relatively poor, with bad taste and more crude fiber. Therefore, it is necessary to cultivate and manage leeks in the summer. It is best not to harvest them, but to perform nutritional maintenance on the roots of the leeks. After good management, there will be better quality leeks to harvest in the autumn.

As the saying goes: "Onions in January, leeks in February", it means that leeks in February of the lunar calendar are the best time to eat them. Therefore, when eating leeks, the first thing to recommend is spring leeks, and secondly. It’s leeks in autumn, so apart from the season, what else should you pay attention to when choosing leeks?

1. Appearance of leeks

When selecting, choose leeks with bright green leaves, no yellow leaves, and fresh and tender leaf tips. Do not choose leeks with dry leaf tips. The leaves should be chosen to be thicker, straight, without bent leaves or rotten leaves. It is best to have no spots on the leaves of leeks.

Leeks have broad-leaf varieties and thin-leaf varieties. There are slight differences between the two types. The leaves of broad-leaf leeks tend to be light green and have less crude fiber content; the leaves of thin-leaf leeks tend to be lighter in color. Due to their dark green color and high crude fiber content, leeks themselves have a relatively strong flavor, so you can choose according to your own preferences.

2. The cuts of leeks

As mentioned earlier, leeks are harvested one crop at a time, so if the cuts are relatively neat, it means that they have just been cut not long ago. Fresh. If there is a core growing out of the cut, it means that the leeks have been harvested for a while and have been left for a long time, so they are no longer so fresh.

3. The tightness of the bundled leeks

After harvesting, the leeks must be bundled before being transported to the market for sale. Therefore, if they are fresh leeks, they will be bundled tighter. The ones that are looser mean they are not that fresh.

4. Leek leaves

Hold the bundled leeks by their roots, and then shake them up and down. If the leaves can float, it means the leeks are relatively fresh, and the leaves cannot float. It means that the leeks are not very fresh. Another thing is to hold the root of the leek. If the leaves of the leek can stand upright, it means that the leek is relatively fresh. If the leaves of the leek hang down, it means that the leek is not very fresh.