EURASIA CONSULT
P.O. Box 3158
Tel.: +31.15.2159604
2601 DD Delft
Fax: +31.15.2143215
The Netherlands
info@eurasiaconsult.nl
www.eurasiaconsult.nl
Lotus, beautiful to see and . . .
a highly nutritious food, and . . .
a promising food ingredient
Pods
Lotus pods are just that: the pods of the lotus flower. The can be eaten raw. They are
juicy and crispy and have a rather neutral taste. In traditional Chinese terminology lotus
pods are cold food and hence an excellent refreshment during a hot day. According to
Chinese medicine, lotus pods strengthen the spleen and the stomach and relax strained
nerves.
Raw lotus pods
The China Research Institute for Nutritional Resources (Beijng) has found the following
composition of nutrients in lotus pods (per 100 gr of fresh lotus pod).
Nutrient
content
Proteine
1gr
Fat
0.1 gr
Carbohydrates
19.8 gr
Calcium
19 mg
Phosphorous
51 mg
Carotene
0.22 mg
Vitamin B1
0.11 mg
Vitamin B2
0.04 mg
Nicotinic acid
0.4 mg
Vitamin C
25 mg
Lotus pods are most frequently processed into slices. Lotus pods slices can be sold dried,
fresh, canned, etc.
Sliced lotus pods, ready to eat
Paste
A second lotus product is lotus paste. The dried seeds are stewed in water until soft and
then mashed into a fine paste. The paste is then watered down to a thin slurry and passed
through a sieve and into cheesecloth, with which it is squeezed dry. This produces a fine
crumbly paste, which is then mixed with sugar or other sweeteners and often oil to
produce a smooth sweet paste. Chinese cuisine requires further preparation by dry
cooking the sweetened paste over heat with caramelized sugar and vegetable oil. This
produces a paste with a darker color, which is rich, sweet, and silky with a slight
fragrance of caramel. Lotus paste is used in Chinese cuisine as a filling for mooncake,
buns, and other sweet pastries.
Lotus paste and diced mooncake
In recent years, manufact