On November 29, the reporter came to Luokou Brewing Co., Ltd. located at No. 153 Jiqi Road in Jinan City, although it is not the production season, the reporter can still smell a strong vinegar sour smell.
At the beginning of the last century, there was a folk reputation of "Jinan Province's soy sauce Luokou vinegar". "Sweet and sour carp" has become a famous dish because of Luokou vinegar, and Luokou vinegar is also famous for "sweet and sour carp". However, compared to the aura of Luokou vinegar, the Luokou Brewing Company and the workers here are slightly lonely in the depressed environment.
Centennial lochlor vinegar
Pinning on the nostalgia of a generation
Started in 1855, it has a history of more than a hundred years and has long enjoyed a high reputation.
In 1952, there were 23 households in the melting and pickle industry in Luokou, most of which were mainly brewed vinegar. Among them, Xincheng, Yuxing, Huiyuan and Fuju are more famous, in addition to Huiquan and Fusheng.
In 1956, 19 long-established vinegar mills such as Luokou Xincheng merged to form a public-private partnership Yuxing Sauce Garden, which had 64 employees and produced 38 tons of vinegar that year.
In 2000, it was restructured into Jinan Luokou Brewing Co., Ltd.
According to Li Ziping, the fourth generation of Luokou vinegar inheritor, earlier, most of them were solid brewed vinegar methods, which generally needed to be fed at one time, and Luokou vinegar used the vinegar method of thinning and then solidifying, and the vinegar produced by this method had the five characteristics of acid, sweetness, clarity, brightness and aroma, so Jinan people liked Luokou vinegar after tasting and comparison. In particular, the big restaurants in Jinan City cook, such as sweet and sour carp, stir-fried waist flowers, etc., "dishes that need vinegar, must use Luokou vinegar, do not use Luokou vinegar, it does not taste, in the 80s Luokou vinegar is often specially supplied." ”
It is worth mentioning that Luokou vinegar is not only very famous in Jinan, it has also spread to other places, zhengzhou, Xi'an people and so on come to Luokou to buy vinegar. Li Ziping said, "Many Shandong people who live in other places will let them give them a little bit of vinegar in order to alleviate their homesickness, which is normal." In addition, Luokou vinegar has become synonymous with Luokou, and generally if Luokou is mentioned, it will naturally be said to Luokou vinegar.
Traditional craftsmanship cannot be lost
Pay more attention to their own signboard
The whole brewing process of Luokou vinegar looks a bit "cumbersome", according to Zhang Mingyuan, general manager of Jinan Luokou Brewing Co., Ltd., the brewing of Luokou vinegar is generally in the annual Dragon Boat Festival, "this has a certain relationship with the temperature", the whole cycle is about 20 days, after brewing, it takes a year to dry, and after drying, it can enter the market after filtration, sterilization, disinfection, and canning.
It is worth mentioning that in the entire brewing process, the "pickpocketing cylinder" link is the most typical, it is also one of the traditional processes mainly retained by Luokou vinegar, the process requires continuous manual stirring every day, neither overheating, nor complete heat dissipation, it takes about half a month for the original vinegar to be drizzled.
Wang Ting, the fifth generation of Luokou vinegar inheritor, told reporters that in the process of "picking the cylinder", in order to avoid scratching the hand during operation, the workers would wear iron finger sleeves on their hands and bend down every day to stir the vinegar in the cylinder. If the stirring is uneven or leaky, it will seriously affect the yield and quality of vinegar, and inadvertently burn the body, "in the summer, the temperature of the workshop can reach fifty or sixty degrees, and the whole workshop is 'cloudy', and no one can be seen at all." ”
The reporter observed that Wang Ting's hands were obviously cracked, and he said that acetic acid would definitely irritate the skin, "However, now we are used to it." ”
It can be said that with the development of society, the equipment and technology of vinegar making have also been greatly improved, but Luokou vinegar is still continuing many traditional processes in brewing.
In this regard, Zhang Mingyuan said: "Shou humble out of the best, we according to the traditional process, follow the ancient law, do this out of the things, is not the same, now are machines, this is very fast, but the mechanized taste is very monotonous, single, less mellow in it." ”
Li Ziping also said that the traditional craft can not be lost, once lost, it is equivalent to the soul of The Luokou vinegar is lost, "Special eating things, you changed the original process, it is certainly not OK, our leadership team and the leaders above comprehensive consideration, is to polish the Luokou vinegar this signboard." ”
Traditional craftsmanship is passed down from generation to generation
Carry forward the century-old brand
As a well-known Luokou vinegar, Zhang Mingyuan told reporters that Luokou vinegar has these major characteristics: thin mash wine, handmade steaking tank, aging and flavoring. It can be said that while continuously applying new technologies, Luokou vinegar is still continuing many traditional things, and therefore, how to find inheritors and find what kind of inheritors are always the key issues facing the company.
In this regard, as the fourth generation of heirs, Li Ziping, since 1981, he has been in the production line, inheriting the "Luokou brewing technology", and has been dedicated for nearly 40 years.
In the process of communicating with Li Ziping, the reporter found that the word inheritance is always intertwined in the process of conversation. As for the choice of heirs, Li Ziping also has his own views, he told reporters that the inheritors want good character, love this line, love work, and have feelings for Luokou vinegar.
In line with this principle, the inheritor he finally chose, that is, the fifth generation of heirs Wang Ting, who is nearly 40 years old, has been with Luokou Vinegar for more than 20 years and seems to be not good at talking, which also confirms what Zhang Mingyuan said: Those who do this line of work will only work and will not express.
Wang Ting said, "The machine is dead, there is a fixed program, the manual can be based on their own experience, such as the process of 'picking the cylinder', the teacher can judge the quality of vinegar according to the temperature and smell", pure manual can also be mixed according to experience.
Wang Ting also said that in line with the concept of inheriting a hundred years of Luokou vinegar, he followed the teacher Fu (Li Ziping) to learn the traditional process of vinegar making and the methods in the whole brewing process, "I just want to pass on the traditional things, I can't say that I lost them in the young generation, and I have learned a lot of things under the leadership of Teacher Li over the years." ”
It is worth mentioning that Luokou vinegar is also planning to find the sixth generation of inheritors, "hand-brewed vinegar work intensity, conditions are more difficult, but we still hope that the process of Luokou vinegar can be passed on from generation to generation." Zhang Mingyuan said.
(Qilu Evening News, Qilu one-point reporter Wu Hao)
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