Beijing, an ancient and modern city, is quietly witnessing a crisis of taste and tradition. In a bustling corner of the market, a once-thriving tofu shop faced unprecedented challenges.
Three hundred years of history, the fame is prominent, but now only a thin shell remains, and the inner essence seems to be gradually being lost. This is not only a crisis for one restaurant, but also a crisis for the entire traditional food culture.
In recent years, China's traditional food scene is experiencing an unprecedented crisis. In particular, long-established food brands such as Goubuli Baozi and Peking Duck, which were once the pride and symbol of Chinese food culture, are now mired in consumer skepticism and market neglect.
Outside the Goubuli Bun Shop, the queue of people is no longer crowding. The gold-lettered sign hanging at the entrance still glistens in the sunlight, but the atmosphere inside the store is a bit depressed.
The movements of the steamed bun masters are still skillful, but the faces of the customers are less anticipatory and excited. Although the price of buns continues to climb, their taste and quality seem to be declining. Customers often shake their heads and sigh after tasting it, and they have lost faith in the former food giant.
The same thing happened at Peking Duck's restaurant. It used to be a must-visit for tourists and food lovers, but nowadays, the seats in the restaurant are often empty.
Roast duck chefs are still trying their best to maintain the traditional roasting process, but their efforts seem to be struggling to compensate for the decline in the quality of the ingredients and the increase in prices. Consumers often leave dissatisfied reviews after tasting roast duck, disappointed by the once-praised traditional dish.
In a supermarket in Beijing, Mr. Wang's stinky tofu and tofu are prominently displayed. Once upon a time, these products were a regular on the tables of Beijing citizens, but now, customers' interest in these bottled foods has significantly decreased.
They stop in front of the shelves, carefully check the price and ingredients on the label, but often end up giving up on the purchase. The price of the product is rising, but the tofu cubes are getting smaller and smaller, and the texture of the bean curd has changed from thick to thin.
In an old neighborhood in Beijing, several residents gathered to discuss the recent changes to these products.
"Look at this tofu, it's getting more and more unseemly now. A middle-aged woman held a bottle of Wang Zhihe's tofu and complained to a friend next to her. Her fingers tapped lightly on the bottle, her voice revealing a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Yes, I remember that this tofu was big and had a strong flavor. The old gentleman next to him answered, and his eyes behind his glasses revealed a hint of nostalgia. He shook his head slightly, as if sorry for the change.
"Now the tofu is small, not to mention, the taste is also light, and it is so mushy that you can't even hold it with chopsticks. The middle-aged woman said again.
A young clerk walked over and tried to explain, "We are also doing it according to the traditional process, maybe it is a problem with the raw materials. ”
But customers clearly aren't buying it. The old gentleman shook his head and said, "We grew up eating this, and we can see the changes at a glance." I can't find the rich flavor of the past, but now I can't find it. ”
As time goes by, this once-popular long-established store is facing unprecedented challenges. The quality of raw materials has deteriorated, and the cost reduction in the production process has made the quality of the final product much worse than before. Although stores have tried to compensate for rising costs by raising prices, this practice has only exacerbated consumer dissatisfaction.
On the other side of the street, a few regular customers gather in front of a food stall to savor freshly baked handmade tofu. Their conversation was mixed with nostalgia for traditional cuisine and criticism of modern production methods.
"That's the real taste of tofu. An old man said with emotion while eating.
"That's right, some big brands nowadays only know how to make money and forget the original taste. Another old man chimed in.
Listening to these words, the owners of the food stalls knew in their hearts that although it was hard to make by hand, it was their pride to maintain the traditional taste. He smiled and said to the old people, "As long as you like it, we will keep doing it." ”
This scene in the old neighborhood is a microcosm of the changes in traditional cuisine in Beijing.
On the one hand, the quality and taste of time-honored brands are declining under the dual pressure of market and cost, and on the other hand, some small workshops adhere to traditional craftsmanship and strive to retain those traditional tastes that are gradually disappearing. In these changing times, the future of traditional cuisine seems to be hanging by a thread.
What is the reason for the change, a series of surveys and analyses point to a surprising conclusion: the root cause of this change is not the rise in production costs, but the problem of the company's pricing strategy and market positioning.
Workers are busy in a long-established tofu factory in Beijing. Amid the roar of the machine, the conversion process from soybeans to finished tofu seems smooth and efficient. At the same time, however, a manager was in his office discussing the pricing strategy with someone from the marketing department.
"We have to raise prices to maintain the brand image. The manager said firmly.
An employee in the marketing department hesitantly responded: "But our production costs have not increased significantly." ”
"It's not just about cost. We need to consider brand positioning, and the pricing strategy is also part of the brand image. The manager explained.
Amid the roar of a huge machine, a large amount of tofu is being processed, bottled, and capped on a high-speed production line. With the advancement of industrialization, this efficient production model has gradually become mainstream, and the share of traditional handmade tofu and tofu milk in the market is decreasing.
Next to the production line of the factory, workers are busy operating various machinery, and automated equipment replaces a lot of manual labor.
The process of making tofu is broken down into a series of mechanized steps: from the washing and soaking of the soybeans, to refining, to making koji, to fermentation and packaging. Each step is precisely controlled and adjusted to ensure high efficiency and stability of production.
However, while this industrial production method improves efficiency, it also brings quality problems. Industrially produced tofu often makes compromises in the selection of materials and processes because of the excessive pursuit of yield and efficiency. The taste and texture of tofu are significantly different from those made by traditional hand, which also directly affects the final quality of tofu milk.
In an old handmade tofu workshop in Beijing, the contrast is stark to the factory's scene. The tofu chefs here still adhere to the traditional handmade method, and each piece of tofu is carefully cared for. They believe that good tofu is not only food, but also a cultural heritage.
"Today's tofu is almost losing its original taste. An elderly tofu master said to the young apprentice next to him while slowly stirring the soy milk.
"Master, how do we maintain the traditional taste?" The young apprentice asked curiously.
"It's all about mindfulness. From bean selection to tofu making, every step must not be sloppy. The old master replied seriously.
In this workshop, the process of making tofu relies almost entirely on hand. The soybeans are selected and soaked, then slowly ground into a pulp with a stone mill.
After the soy milk is boiled, the chefs will carefully add a coagulant, and then put the coagulated tofu into a cloth bag to squeeze out the water using the traditional pressing method.
The tofu produced in this way has a delicate taste and rich aroma, which is very different from industrially produced tofu.
With the spread of industrial production methods, what was once a wide variety of small handicraft workshops has now been greatly reduced and replaced by products from large industrial producers. These products dominate the market with their uniform packaging and extensive distribution network.
A middle-aged woman stops in front of a tofu stall and carefully examines the tofu on the stall. Although she can easily find tofu from large industrial producers, she doesn't seem to be happy with the products.
She turned to the stall owner and asked, "Is there any handmade tofu here?" The stall owner shook his head and replied, "It's all factory goods now, and there are fewer and fewer handmade tofu." ”
This phenomenon of market monopoly is not limited to tofu products. In another area, a young consumer is looking for a traditional flavor of tofu. He scrutinized every bottle of tofu on the shelves, hoping to find that distinctive, traditional taste.
However, most of the shelves are made up of products from a few big brands, which are markedly different from the tofu he remembers in terms of texture and flavor.
At the other end of the market, a small artisanal tofu shop is struggling to keep it afloat. The owner is an elderly man who insists on using the traditional method of making tofu.
Although his shop is small, each bottle of tofu is full of handmade temperature and unique flavor. "Although there aren't many of these handmade products on the market now, I want to preserve the taste of this tradition," he said to one of his regulars. ”
This change in the market not only affects the quality of traditional food, but also limits the choice of consumers. For those looking for traditional flavors, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a product that suits them.
They often wander between supermarket shelves and market stalls, hoping to discover traditional treasures hidden among industrial products.
At the same time, producers face challenges. How to maintain the traditional flavor while adapting to the needs of the modern market has become a problem they must think about. Some small producers are beginning to explore ways to combine traditional craftsmanship with modern marketing in an attempt to find a foothold in a highly competitive market.
At a food trade fair in Beijing, several small producers gathered to discuss their business strategies. "We needed to find a way to preserve our traditional craftsmanship while also capturing the attention of the modern consumer," said one young producer. "They are exchanging experiences with each other in the hope of finding new ways to survive in this volatile market.
Overall, Beijing's traditional cuisine is undergoing a profound transformation.
Resources:
Jin Sanfeng, Zuo Xiang (Guidance).Hometown of Tofu[J].Today's Education:Composition Base Camp,2023(7):37-39