We're now here at Dongshan. 這裡是東山

Dongshan is famous for longans, 東山的龍眼很有名

which is a very important specialty of the place. 是當地重要的特產

Longans can be eaten directly as a fresh fruit, 龍眼除了做為水果食用外

and can also be made into a dried fruit. 也可以把龍眼做成龍眼乾

In the past, dried longans were made with earth ovens. 早期的龍眼乾是用土窯來製作

What is an earth oven? 什麼是土窯呢

Follow me and let's go check it out! 跟我去看一看吧

This is the owner of the farm. 這位是農場老闆

Hello, Mr. Wu. 吳老闆你好

Hello, everyone. 大家好

Mr. Wu, it's said that 老闆 我聽說

making dried longans with earth ovens is complicated. 土窯烘龍眼乾很麻煩

Can you tell us how it's done? 可以告訴我這個要怎麼做嗎？

It takes five days to bake dried longans. 烘龍眼乾大概要花五天四夜的時間

After longans are harvested, 採收完的龍眼乾

they are put in the earth oven 要先放進灶裡

and heated with wood underneath. 底下用木材加熱

We control the temperature by adding or removing the wood. 木材要控制溫度

So we don't really have time for sleep when we bake dried longans. 所以在烘龍眼乾的時候都沒辦法睡覺

This is an earth oven. 這座就是土窯

It's actually as old as your grandpa. 它已經是爺爺的年紀了

This earth oven was built more than 70 years ago. 大概有七十幾年了

Traditional earth ovens heat up with timber. 傳統的土窯是用木材加溫

Longans smoked with longan wood has an aroma of charcoal, 用龍眼木加溫的龍眼乾增添了炭香

and they taste better after being smoked. 也更美味

Wow! This is definitely a difficult task! 哇！這真的是一個辛苦的工作

During the baking period, 烘龍眼乾期間

Mr. Wu has to live in the factory 只能住在這裡

to control the temperature of the oven. 因為要控制火的溫度

Furthermore, longans have to be stirred constantly. 還需要不斷地翻動龍眼

After the first 24 hours, 烘焙二十四小時後

the longans are getting slightly dried, 龍眼就稍微乾了

and it's time for the separating process, 這個時候要「脫粒」

where the fruits and the sticks are separated. 將果實和樹枝分離

After the sticks are removed, 將樹枝去除後

longans have to be baked for four more days, 還要再烘四天

with constant stirs. 四天當中還要不斷地翻動龍眼

The aroma of baked dried longans is really attractive. 炭焙龍眼乾的味道真的很有魅力

The techniques and earth ovens used to make dried longans are really precious. 而烘焙龍眼乾的技術和土窯也顯得格外珍貴

They are the special cultural assets of the place. 是在地的特色文化資產

In fact, dried longans are not necessarily available every year. 其實龍眼乾不一定每年都會做

People make dried longans 主要是採收後

only when the price of longans 產量過剩 價格下跌時

falls significantly due to over-production. 才會加工成龍眼乾

In addition, dried longans come in two types: those with shells and without shells. 龍眼乾也有分帶殼的龍眼乾和去殼的龍眼乾

There are more than 700 earth ovens in Dongshan. 在東山有七百多座土窯

This is a very special scene to see. 非常有特色

And they represent the specific culture of the district. 也是東山特有的文化樣貌

You may not necessarily make it to try the seasonally limited dried longans, 你不一定可以吃到季節限定的龍眼乾

but you can always visit here to know more about local cultures. 但是來這裡可以了解當地特有的文化

Next time you're in Dongshan, don't miss out on it! 來東山 一定不能錯過喔