Yicheng Pressed Salted Duck 宜城板鸭

Yicheng Pressed Salted Duck (宜城板鸭) is the board-shaped cured duck of Yicheng (宜城), a county-level city of Xiangyang (襄阳) on the middle reaches of the Han River (汉江) in north-western Hubei. It is a protected Chinese geographical indication product: the Hubei Intellectual Property Office (湖北省知识产权局) records the Yicheng city government as the applicant and protection as approved in July 2006, under announcement No. 96 of 2006.

How it is made

Yicheng Pressed Salted Duck is a cold-season product. Making starts in the ninth month of the lunar calendar and ends on the second day of the second lunar month of the following year, and the Hubei Intellectual Property Office describes duck made on frosty, windy days as the best. Traditional methods give three kinds: cured duck (腊制板鸭), soy-sauce pressed duck (酱板鸭) and "water" pressed duck (水板鸭).

Where it comes from

The geographical-indication listing ties the duck to the country around Yicheng: hills to the east and west, river valleys, plains and low ridges in the middle, four distinct seasons, plenty of sunshine and water, and fertile soil. It calls the area a genuine producing region for good-quality ducks, and says the birds raised for top-grade Yicheng Pressed Salted Duck need particular conditions of temperature, water, light and soil.

Flavour and texture

The finished duck is square in outline and flat like a board, broad and plump, with white skin and red meat. The listing describes the flesh as tender and dense, with a strong cured aroma and a sweet aftertaste.