A Slow Trip for Organic Foods in Pintung

Mingchuan Ecological Leisure Farm on County Way 185 grew pineapples for the past 2 generations. In view of its rich ecological surroundings, the farm owner, Mr. Wu and his wife decided to make Mingchuan a place where human and nature coexist harmoniously. Now tourists will not only see the endless pineapple fields, but also enjoy the nature in the mountains. They can pick fresh pineapples in the fields and DIY pineapple cakes or pineapple pizza here, which makes it a great getaway for holidays.

The pond is the start of ecological development on the farm. Not long after the initial stage came the first group of visitors, Rana taipehensis; an important milestone of coexistence of biology and environment. Animals seemed to resonate with one another and came to the farm, where there are masked palm civets, Muller’s Barbet, great Mormons, and even boars can be found eating pineapples in the fields.

Crowns of pineapples are seen on the grassland in a corner on the farm. Pineapple varieties, such as the common fruits Tainung 17, small and lovely Tainung 11, or the ornamental Neoregelia can be found here. Tourists can tell them by the sizes of the leaves and colors.

The pineapple-shaped Magic House standing in the center of the farm is the popular tourist spot in Mingchuan. Manually built with a traditional construction approach, its main structure is a bamboo weaving craft utilizing local rice husks, lime, and hemp fibers. Inside the magic house is an introduction of the growing development of frogs, in memory of Mingchuan’s development as an ecological farm.

Mingchuan, tourists cannot miss pineapple picking. Tourists are recommended to wear long sleeves and pants to avoid cuts by the scalp leaves when picking pineapples and the farm offers bamboo hats and gloves so that tourists can experience farming for the day.
Firstly, spot the pineapple you like and simply grab the crown and slightly fold it downwards to pull it off! Mr. Wu would peel the pineapple for you to instantly enjoy the fresh taste. After the fruits are peeled, the scent emanates immediately, and they taste really juicy.
The farm owner told a story- a child didn’t like eating pineapples before coming to the fruit picking activity, and he falls in love with the taste after relishing the fresh pineapples. Now he is a fan of the fruit and asks his mother to order a box of pineapples every production season.

tourists were brought to the kitchen classroom for homemade pineapple and quinoa pizza. Quinoa is added to the dough for pizzas here in Mingchuan. Quinoa is rich in amino acids and dietary fibers so it greatly enhances the dough in nutrients and brings an elegant light color red to the dough.
From kneading, rolling the dough, topping with tomato sauce, ingredients and cheese, you would find it simple, easy and fun. It is like drawing a painting on paper and creating your own work of art. Then bake it in the oven for 10 minutes before the crispy and tasty pizza is ready to serve.

After making pizzas, tourists can go to the Glass House where homemade sweet and sour pineapple juice and corn soup are served. They will quench the thirst on such a torching day. When pizzas are ready, tourists can relish them together with the juice or soup. It is a pineapple feast. Asides from relishing the food, tourists can see the enchanting mountain view in distance. If you were lucky, you would see crested serpent eagles flying in the sky, as if the guardian angels of the pineapple fields. The first stop of the slow trip to Pingtung ends with a perfect closure with great foods and nature.

40 minutes drive away from Mingchuan is Grand Blossom Grange where grows beautiful ruby- roses. Roses in Grand Blossom Grange are special because they are both ornamental and edible. The roses are grown organically, so they can be food ingredients in dishes. There is no concern of pesticide residues.

The first agenda in Grand Blossom Grange is DIY jam with rose petals. The roses on the farm are the material for the fragrant and sweet jam. We followed the staff to the rose field and picked the roses to make jam.
The roses were then cleaned and drained before cooked with sugar, apples and lemon juice in the pot. When it got dried and sticky, voila, the rose jam was done! The jam is so easy to make and tastes sweet and sour with light floral fragrance. Topping it on yogurt or bread, a tasty dessert for the afternoon is ready!
And then we tried DIY rose-polyphenol chocolate which is not difficult either and the result is too beautiful that you may rather keep it. For the start, white chocolate was heated till melted, and then we added the home made rose-polyphenol powder and the dried rose petals in the chocolate mold before pouring the melted chocolate in the mold. Cool it down for 15 to 20 minutes in the fridge, then there are the small and delicate rose- polyphenol chocolates. You will taste the strong chocolate and the fragrant rose upon biting.

After activities, tourists would have the featured cuisines made by roses. Such as rose sushi rolls that are made by rose petals instead of seaweeds, and the heart warming hot pot with roses. All the cuisines with roses are so inviting!
The soup base of rose hot pot is soy bean milk and lemon grass, then we put the fresh rose petals and the white soup turned into light purple and emanated pleasant fragrance. The cooked home grown vegetables and meat slices had slightly rose fragrance. It was so tasty. And the plenitude of vegetables and side dishes show the farm's generosity. The vegetables are grown next to the rose field so that food safety is secured.

If you still have time after enjoying the afternoon tea, welcome to the gift shop and store where many rose related products are on the shelves, from cosmetics to snacks, you name it. And for every NT$100 you spend, you can bring one fresh rose home. Why not come see how many roses you will bring home?

Many farmers in Pingtung make great efforts for the soil and ecology and adopt organic farming methods, asides from Mingchuan Ecological Leisure Farm, Grand Blossom Grange, there are also Qiankun Organic Leisure Farm and Hongqi Organic Leisure Farm, all are doing their best to bring consumers quality food and a happy trip. Welcome to bring your family and kids here to enjoy food and agriculture education and have a treasure hunt in the organic fields!