In the heat of summer, a glass of cool and refreshing lemon green tea or winter melon and lemon juice is the best way to dispel the summer heat. However, farmers in Toushe Village in Nantou County’s Yuchih Township have given free rein to their ingenuity and they are now adding lemon, honey and milk to local fresh sponge gourd, which they mix into a lemon gourd milk with the light sweet fragrance of the sponge gourd. This is a different kind of cool summer drink that has opened people’s eyes.
Huang Shun-yu, chairman of the Association for the Promotion of the Sun Moon Lake Live Basin leisure farming zone, says that the world-class peat in Toushe Village is full of trace elements, and that since the area is located in a high-altitude basin, there is a great difference between day and night temperatures. Huang said this has turned Toushe into a unique sponge-gourd-producing region, and that the gourds produced there are even good when eaten raw. To find more ways of preparing sponge gourd, he studied popular hand-shaken drinks, thus turning sponge gourd into a good product for dispelling the summer heat during its summer harvest period, while at the same time promoting sponge gourd from Toushe.
Huang said that lemon sponge gourd milk uses half a gourd and fresh milk, honey, lemon and water, mixed in a blender, to taste. The drink is then topped off with ice cubes. Although it has a slight rawness to the flavor, the lemon and honey create a smooth milk drink with a unique taste that carries the faint, fresh sponge gourd fragrance.
Photos: Liu Pin-chuan, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者劉濱銓
Huang further said that, thanks to the unique environment, the raw flavor of Toushe sponge gourd is not very strong, and it can be eaten raw dipped in mustard, but is also very good chilled. Huang added that “this is absolutely the best cool product for dispelling the summer heat.”
(Liberty Times, translated by Perry Svensson)
炎炎夏日，來杯清涼的翡翠檸檬或冬瓜檸檬，是最棒的消暑享受，南投縣魚池鄉頭社村農友卻發揮創意，用當地新鮮的絲瓜加入檸檬、蜂蜜與牛奶，調和出充滿絲瓜清甜味的「絲瓜檸檬奶」，另類的消暑「涼」品讓人開了眼界！
日月潭活盆地休閒農業區促進會理事長黃順昱表示，魚池頭社村擁有世界級的泥炭土，豐富的微量元素，加上高海拔盆地，日夜溫差大，造就頭社成為絲瓜專業區，就算生吃也很好吃，他為讓絲瓜能有更多的料理方式，便參考火紅的手搖飲料做成「絲瓜檸檬奶」，不僅能在絲瓜夏日產期作為消暑良品，也能同時推廣頭社絲瓜。
Photos: Liu Pin-chuan, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者劉濱銓
黃順昱說，「絲瓜檸檬奶」是將半條生絲瓜與適量鮮奶、蜂蜜、檸檬、開水放進果汁機一起打，混合冰塊後即完成，雖有微微生鮮味，但有檸檬與蜂蜜的調和，滑順的鮮奶味中透出淡淡絲瓜清香，口味相當特殊。
他說，頭社絲瓜因得天獨厚的環境，鮮果的生味較不濃，可以沾著芥末生吃，直接冰鎮生吃也很可口，絕對是最棒的夏日消暑「涼」品。
(自由時報記者劉濱銓)
Many consumers are guilty of filling drawers or closets with old laptops, cellphones, fitness trackers and other electronic devices once they are no longer needed. It’s hard to know where to recycle such items, or it seems costly and inconvenient to do so. The world generates millions of tons of electronic waste — also called e-waste — each year. According to the UN’s most recent estimate, people worldwide produced 62 million metric tons of e-waste in 2022, and only about 22 percent of it was properly recycled. The US’ Environmental Protection Agency estimates that less than a quarter of e-waste is
Travel fever is back, and it’s contagious. After years of being kept home during the COVID-19 pandemic, people are once again eager to explore the world. Rather than just book any trip, travelers are getting smarter about how they scratch that travel itch. Microcation Defined as four days or fewer and over 160km away from home, the microcation perfectly matches the post-pandemic mindset. After long periods of remaining indoors, people are making up for lost time by taking short, frequent getaways throughout the year. These brief trips avoid the work-life imbalance that comes with long absences. With only a few days away, one’s
You’re sitting in class when a classmate asks to borrow a pencil. It seems like a small favor, so you agree without hesitation. The following week, the same classmate asks to share your notes. Later, they request help with a group project. You agree each time — after all, you helped out the first time — but before you know it, it has become automatic. This scenario demonstrates the “foot-in-the-door technique,” a psychological concept that shows how agreeing to small, acceptable demands makes it easier to accept larger ones later on. The name for this strategy comes from door-to-door
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Gig Tripping “Gig tripping” combines concerts with travel. People fly to see their favorite artists perform — usually abroad—and spend a few days sightseeing before or after the show. While die-hard fans have done this since the 1960s, the post-pandemic travel boom changed the game. Even people who aren’t superfans are now booking international concert trips because they want to make the most of travel opportunities. This trend exploded in the US, as the math makes sense. Domestic concert tickets are so costly that flying abroad for the show plus tourism expenses often matches or even beats the price
RSS