Even lychees need a "bath"! After this special cooling treatment, their temperature drops rapidly from 30℃ to 5℃ in just 20 minutes.
At the lychee packaging site in Conghua Lichee Expo Park, the journalist saw the cooling equipment for lychees, a mobile cold-storage spray pre-cooling device. According to Qiu Haofeng, the Technical Director at the park, this equipment extends the lychee's shelf life by 5 to 7 days.
Meanwhile, at Zhongsheng Specialized Agricultural Cooperative in Yangdong District, Yangjiang City, lychee harvesting is in full swing. Every day, 90 tons of fresh lychees depart from here bound for overseas markets. Thanks to fresh-locking technology and refrigerated transport by sea, the lychees reach Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia in just 10 to 15 days. Even America can receive fresh shipments in about 35 days.
Since the peak season began in Lingnan, the innovative "frozen dormant lychee" has once again drawn public attention.
"This entire process requires no preservatives or additives. It relies purely on physical methods to lock in freshness," said Cheng Lina, Associate Researcher at the Sericultural and Agri-Food Research Institute of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences. With the freezing technique, lychees can be stored for up to a year while still offering a juicy taste after thawing.
Two frozen dormant lychee production lines have been established in Conghua and Gaozhou. The first batch of 680 tons quickly became a hit on e-commerce platforms. Premium varieties such as Guiwei, Feizixiao and Xianjinfeng are sold at high prices, ranging from 160 to 180 yuan per kilogram.
一颗岭南荔枝的全球变身记
荔枝也要“洗澡”！经过这番特殊的“沐浴”，荔枝的“体温”能从30℃快速降至5℃，全程仅需20分钟。
在从化荔博园的荔枝包装现场，记者见到了为荔枝“冲凉”的设备——移动式蓄冷喷淋快速预冷装置。从化荔博园技术总监邱晧烽告诉记者，通过这套设备，荔枝保鲜期可延长5-7天。
与此同时，阳江市阳东区众生农业专业合作社内，荔枝采收正酣。每天有90吨新鲜荔枝从这里出发运往海外。依托锁鲜技术与冷链海运，这些荔枝10-15天即可抵达印尼、马来西亚等东南亚国家；即便是美国，35天左右也能新鲜送达。
岭南荔枝集中上市以来，冻眠荔枝这项创新技术再度引发关注。
“整个过程无需防腐剂，也没有任何额外食品添加剂，完全依靠物理手段实现锁鲜。”广东省农业科学院蚕业与农产品加工研究所副研究员程丽娜表示，运用冻眠技术储存的荔枝，保质期可达一年，且解冻后食用仍有“一口爆汁”的新鲜口感。
据悉，从化、高州两条冻眠荔枝生产线建成，首批680吨冻眠荔枝在电商平台上架即成“爆款”，桂味、妃子笑、仙进奉等优质品种卖出每公斤160元至180元的“高价”。
策划 | 林洁 黄丽娜 侯恕望
统筹 | 黎秋玲 宋金峪
文 | 记者 黎秋玲
图 | 记者 王子桐
翻译丨盛嘉
审校丨林佳岱
