Liuyang Cattle-hide Gelatin

　　In the western regions of Liuyang, the winter is wet and cold, and the locals have a habit of eating cattle-hide gelatin to nourish the body. The gelatin is made using local high-quality cattle hides and bones as raw materials, which are then stewed together with health-preserving Chinese herbs such as Astragalus (huangqi), Angelica (danggui), and Codonopsis (dangshen) for three days and three nights.

　　The process for making Liuyang cattle-hide gelatin is as follows:

　　1. Processing cattle hides

　　Cutting cattle hides into pieces, removing the fur from the hides with warm water, cleaning them, and soaking them in water.

　　2. Boiling the hides

　　Putting the cleaned hides in a large pot and cooking them over a wood fire for a day.

　　3. Stewing

　　Adding Gastrodia elata (tianma), Rehmannia (shudi), Angelica (danggui), and Codonopsis (dangshen), Chinese yam, Astragalus (huangqi), and other herbs to the pot and stewing them for three days and three nights. During this period, water is added six times.

　　4. Stir-frying the gelatin 

　　Adding red dates, walnuts, goji berries and other ingredients to the stewed gelatin and continuing to stir-fry them.

　　5. Cutting the gelatin 

　　Using pressure to shape the gelatin and cutting it into pieces.

　　Chinese and photo source: Changsha Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall