046 The Origin of Ancient Osmanthus Cake...
Although Ouyang Xinyu had some concerns about using the osmanthus flowers she picked up to make osmanthus cakes, Mrs. Shangguan still instructed Sister-in-law Gui to lead the maids to pick up some and prepare to make some pastries for Shangguan Wan'er for her to try. Please remember the URL of this site: . He personally cooked steamed osmanthus fish for her, and made osmanthus cakes for her by himself, Ouyang Xinyu was also blessed in ancient times.
Osmanthus cake is a kind of pastry made from glutinous rice flour, sugar and honey osmanthus flowers. It has a long history, delicious and refreshing, simple to make, and a variety of varieties to meet people's various needs for taste. And it has a beautiful historical legend, which adds to the historical value of osmanthus cake.
According to modern sources, Xianning osmanthus cake is the most famous. Xianning osmanthus cake is produced in the hometown of osmanthus famous all over the country - Xianning, Hubei, osmanthus cake was created at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the cake is soft and moisturizing, the color is white, it has a strong osmanthus fragrance, the entrance is slag, the taste is fragrant, it contains rich nutritional value, the old and young women are suitable to eat, it is a gift to relatives and friends, a good product for self-offering. Hubei Xianning osmanthus cake is characterized by unique ingredients, oily and not greasy, the entrance is not astringent, swallowing is smooth, sweet and salty, fragrant and cool, and it is very popular with people.
Osmanthus cake has a history of more than 300 years. According to legend, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a hawker named Liu Jixiang in Xindu County, who got inspiration from the study of the fragrant cinnamon of Yang Sheng'an, collected the fresh osmanthus flowers, squeezed out the bitter water, impregnated them with honey, and mixed them with steamed rice flour, glutinous rice flour, cooked oil, and sugar, and sold them in a box, named osmanthus cake.
For more than 300 years, the confectionery factory that inherited the production of osmanthus cake has continuously improved its technology, and now uses refined sugar, starch sugar, flour, glutinous rice flour, vegetable oil, honey osmanthus and other raw materials for making zuò. It is prepared according to the appropriate proportion, and refined by steaming, frying, grinding, mixing, rolling, boxing, knife cutting and other processes. The product has the characteristics of white as jade, sweet and refreshing, delicate slag and rich cinnamon.
For the origin of osmanthus cake, there is also such a legend in history. According to legend, the osmanthus flowers of Guihu Lake were picked by Yang Sheng'an from the Moon Palace. One night, Yang Sheng'an fell asleep in the study, Kui Xing fell asleep, and asked Yang Sheng'an if he wanted to go to the Moon Palace to win the laurel, Yang Sheng'an said yes. So, Kui Xing ordered the Dragon King of the West Sea to fly Yang Sheng'an to the Moon Palace to pick up laurels. When he arrived at the Moon Palace, Yang Sheng'an saw a palace and a tall osmanthus tree, and he climbed up hard to pick the cinnamon branch and returned to the study. Later, Yang Sheng'an entered Beijing and won the top prize.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a hawker named Liu Jixiang in Xianning, he got inspiration from the study of the fragrant osmanthus of Yang Sheng'an, collected the fresh osmanthus flowers, squeezed out the bitter water, soaked them with sugar, and mixed them with steamed rice flour, glutinous rice flour, cooked oil, and sugar, and sold them in a box, named "osmanthus cake". Once the osmanthus cake is sold, it attracts people to buy it first. Later, by the local "Tianshunrong", "Wulingxuan" candy shop will make this cake zuò passed down, and continue to improve the quality, so that the osmanthus cake has become a well-known Xianning specialty.
Xindu County is known as the "Fragrant City", and its name comes from the beautiful artificial lake in the city. According to the county chronicles, during the Ming Zhengde and Jiajing periods, the famous scholar and writer Yang Shen planted osmanthus trees all over the lakeside at home, and wrote the famous article "Guihu Song", after which the Yi people called it "Sheng'an Guihu", renamed "Guihu Park" in the early years of the Republic of China, and now it is upgraded to a cultural relics protection unit in Sichuan Province, and gave a rather awkward garden name, saying: "Yang Sheng'an Temple and Guihu".
The osmanthus cake made by the traditional process is made without any spices. Before the 80s of the 20th century, every time the osmanthus was in full bloom, the streets of Xindu County could always see the notice of "a large number of fresh osmanthus purchases". Cooked glutinous rice flour, fresh osmanthus flowers, and crushed rock sugar grains are the three basic elements of osmanthus cake, which can be sold by pressing a mold into a small rectangle and putting it into a carton.
When I opened the box, I saw that the pink and white osmanthus cakes were lying in two squares in an orderly manner, and the osmanthus flowers the size of millet grains were faintly scattered among them, like the works of artists who used dark yellow paint to sway on the white canvas at will. Pick up a piece and put it in the mouth, the front teeth just appreciate the soft and glutinous texture of glutinous rice flour, the tip of the tongue quickly and sensitively accepts the sweet signal, the fragrance hidden in the depths of the cake flour is more and more intense at this moment, the indescribable fragrance oscillates arbitrarily in the mouth, and then rushes into the nasal cavity along the "heavenly chamber" again, and then transmits the information to the brain center.
has introduced so many stories and legends about the origin and legend of osmanthus cake, so how did Ouyang Xinyu make osmanthus cake in this era? Then let's take a look at how this ancient Shangguan lady made zuò osmanthus cake!
"Eniang, when are you going to make osmanthus cake? Wan'er wants to watch you do it, is that okay? ”
"Hehe, you kid, you really can't grow up! When E-Niang made osmanthus cake in which year, you weren't watching by E-Niang's side? ”
"Then, Wan'er wants to learn from Eniang this year, is it okay?"
"Yes, of course! In fact, the steps of making osmanthus cake are very simple, but they are a little cumbersome. First of all, it is necessary to make the sun-dried osmanthus into sugar osmanthus, which will have to wait a few days. ”
"Sugar osmanthus? Oh, Wan'er knows, just mix osmanthus and sugar together to become sugar osmanthus! ”
"Yes, that's pretty much it, but it's more meticulous when you do it."
"Then, E-Niang hurry up and make sugar osmanthus, Wan'er wants to see E-Niang make sugar osmanthus!"
"Why are you suddenly interested in everything, you kid? Didn't Eniang teach you the practice of sugar osmanthus a long time ago? ”
"The practice of sugar osmanthus, E-Niang taught Wan'er, but Wan'er is not as smart as E-Niang imagined, I don't remember it!"
"You girl, when will you get rid of this naughty nature? Sugar osmanthus is not made by Eniang herself, Eniang has already handed it over to Gui's sister-in-law to take care of. ”
"Then Eniang took Wan'er to see how Sister-in-law Gui made zuò sugar osmanthus flowers, okay?"
"Did I lock you up in the house recently, and I was stuffy, and I want to have fun by myself?"
"Well, it's still Eniang who knows Wan'er best, hehehehe......" Ouyang Xinyu took the opportunity to be coquettish to Mrs. Shangguan, leaned over to Madame's shoulder, and said in a voice while shaking Madame's arm.
"Good, good, good, since our family Wan'er is bored, then this time E-Niang will personally come to make this sugar osmanthus, let our family Wan'er watch it and relieve boredom!"
"Really? That's great! Hearing Mrs. Shangguan say that she was going to make sugar osmanthus flowers for her personally, Ouyang Xinyu was suddenly as happy as a child. From the time she crossed over to the present, she had stayed in the Shangguan Mansion for too long, and she was grounded and stayed in the mansion all day, and she lost the joy that a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl should have. If you don't have some fun, you really can't go on this day!