"Butterfly puff pastry was originally just an ordinary pastry variety, the raw materials are high in butter or cream, easy to melt, not easy to process in summer, and previously only available in winter. But now, butterfly puff pastry has become one of the representative works of Haipai dim sum, coupled with the continuous innovation of major brands, it has become a souvenir for all seasons. Gao Kemin, executive vice president of the Shanghai Food Association, said. In front of him, it is the works of the international hotel, Harbin Food Factory, Lao Xiangzhai and other brands that have won the gold medal of the Shanghai Butterfly Crisp Skills Competition in the past - these days, they are busy developing new products that participate in this year's Shanghai Municipal Consumer Protection Commission's "Shanghai Special Souvenir", which has achieved little results.
They are all well-known brands, all called butterfly crisp, but it is not difficult to find out that the "butterfly" shape of each family is different, and the taste is different -
The International Hotel uses a unique production process to make the middle of the butterfly 'wings' bulge up, and the shape is very chic. The traditional sweet butterfly puff pastry has been treated with reduced sugar, except for a circle of sugar grains embellished on the edge, the whole butterfly puff pastry is not very sweet, and the taste is more "crisp".
A butterfly puff pastry for hotel afternoon tea is coated with French-imported Fabner dark chocolate on the edges of its wings and accented with crushed pistachios. Wu Jianglei, a pastry technician at the International Hotel, said that the embellished butterfly puff pastry has a higher "appearance", and dark chocolate can neutralize the sweetness of butterfly crisp, and nuts can enrich the taste.
The butterfly crispy wings of Harbin Food Factory are full, hundreds of layers of puff pastry are clearly distinguished, and the sugar granules on the edges are very uniform, and the bite is very "crisp". New products that have been put on the market are chocolate flavor and matcha flavor, one mellow and one refreshing.
Xu Weichuang, manager of Harbin Production Management Department, also brought two unlisted "internal test models" and took the two-color mixed route - "original + chocolate flavor" and "original taste + matcha flavor". He said that although it is a long-established brand, it is necessary to carry out technical reserves, so it has been mixed according to the preferences of young people at present. Of course, to perfectly combine two different raw materials, it is a test of technology.
The products of the old xiangzhai such as butterflies spread their wings, the milk flavor is very strong, and the taste can be described as "crispy pine".
Xiang Zhiqun, a senior technician at Lao Xiangzhai, said that the raw materials of butterfly crisp are simple, only wheat flour, cream, white sugar and other kinds, without artificial synthetic agents, not to mention preservatives, preservatives and so on. To be delicious, it is a test of recipes and baking methods, "The newly baked butterfly puff pastry is often the most fragrant and tempting, but as the storage time is extended, the aroma will decrease. If we want to make a souvenir with a long shelf life, the way we have figured out is to reduce the moisture content. It is reported that the water content of the butterfly crisp of the old Xiangzhai is relatively low in the industry, which is also the main reason why the taste is more "loose".
In addition to the innovation in variety and taste, these brands have also improved the packaging of butterfly puff pastry, both simple packaging suitable for consumers to eat themselves, and added a foil packaging to prevent butterfly puff pastry from breaking, so that butterfly puff pastry can become a souvenir circulation. Tang Jiansheng, deputy secretary-general of the Municipal Consumer Protection Commission, said that in the "Shanghai Characteristic Souvenirs" in recent years, there are Haipai dim sum figures, of which butterfly puff pastry is particularly popular with its unique shape and taste. This also makes more and more production enterprises of butterfly puff pastry in the market, and they are optimistic about the potential of butterfly puff pastry in the souvenir market. For example, in this year's "Shanghai Characteristic Souvenirs" selection, there are "foreign brands" that also sign up for the competition with "net red butterfly crisp".
Gao Kemin saw the development momentum of Haipai dim sum from various new butterfly crisp products, "Butterfly crisp is a typical pastry, with a history of more than 100 years, and the time to enter the Chinese market is not short. But without Haipai innovation, it is difficult to have the current results. He said that most of the traditional butterfly puff pastry in Europe and the United States is sweet, and some can even be described as "sweet", but now the Haipai butterfly puff pastry is not only less sweet, but also the international hotels, Harbin and other cheeses have produced milky and salty butterfly puff pastry to meet personalized consumer needs. The "value" of Haipai butterfly crisp is also getting higher and higher, and different brands use chocolate, nuts and other accessories, or innovative processes, so that the product has a lot of new ideas in retaining the overall shape of the butterfly. Also, Haipai butterfly puff pastry pays more attention to the ingredients. Looking at the ingredient lists of most well-known brands, it is not difficult to find that there are almost no products that use vegetable cream or synthetic raw materials, although natural materials will increase production costs, but also make Haipai butterflies healthier.
Source: Author: Ren Chong