When it comes to Luzhou's local specialties, you will generally immediately think of Luzhou Daqu, Pig Rice, White Cake, Yellow Rice, etc., in fact, Luzhou's local specialties are not only these, there are many people who do not know.
In the Naxi District of Luzhou, there is a local specialty that has been praised by Zhang Zhidong, a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty and a representative figure of the Qing Dynasty's Western Affairs School, which is Guilin Jai Bubble Gum.
Guilin Jai Bubble Gum has a long history and a rich culture. As early as the Qing Guangxu period, it became a famous food for entertaining the members of the imperial court. When Zhang Zhidong inspected Xiachuan South Province, the governor Tian Zishi entertained guests with bubble gum, and after tasting it, this Lord Zhang gladly said five words of poetry:
"Yunxi Guilin Zhai, bubble gum in the world, crispy and precious, delicious and cheap", and praised: "Yunxi special ear!" This Yunxi is another name for Naxi.
According to local literature and history, during the Qing Guangxu period, The long-established Guilin Zhai master Leng Chengyuan and Leng Guilin explored and improved the production process of local famous flower pole sugar, sesame sugar, inch golden candy, and hollow golden melon candy, and the original punching secret not only made the surface of the variety shiny, the texture crisp and not sticking to the teeth, but also as many as 2320 inner pull holes (data records Ha, wine sellers have not counted), so that sugar cubes are slagged into the mouth, suitable for all ages. Because of the taste of puff pastry (bubble is Luzhou dialect, a little fluffy meaning in it), the entrance is not top-notch, eat sugar without sugar, plus the surface sesame seeds, imported chewy, sweet and sweet, named "Guilin Jai bubble gum".
In February 1916, the Great Victory of the Battle of defending the country, General Cai rewarded the meritorious soldiers with Guilin Jai Bubble Gum, which was also rumored to be a good story.
In March 1939, Mr. Huang Yanpei, a Chinese educator, industrialist, politician, and one of the main founders of the China Democratic League, visited Naxi, tasted the bubble gum, and gladly inscribed a poem:
"The wind is kneaded into jade delicacy, and the beauty of the real is in the middle." The sesame seeds are coated with a large amount of chewy flavor."
And said that "bubble gum wei Na Xi Guilin Zhai is the most beautiful, sweet and crisp". In 1940 bubble gum became a gift to the expeditionary force. In early 1945, the Allied Logistics Department at Lantian Airport selected bubble gum as a sweet tooth for pilots. After the opening of the Hump Route, General Chennault's Flying Tigers often brought bubble gum from the air to Burma, India, and the United States.
In March 1942, Guilin Zhai Bubble Gum participated in the Chengdu Qingyang Palace Material Exhibition and sold, and became a sensational flower party with its local famous food. After the founding of new China, Guilin Jai bubble gum was processed and produced by Naxi and Anfu candy factories, and the palm ink master (originally referring to the carpenter engineering master) was Xiao Bingkun. Still maintain the traditional craft production mode, the annual output value of 50-600,000 yuan, the products are exported to Kunming, Guiyang and surrounding cities in Chengdu.
Na (Yun) Xi Bubble Gum has been rated as a national children's quality food, a high-quality special product of the Ministry of Commerce, and has been selected into the "China Food Industry Yearbook". Scientist Hua Luogeng's "preferential method and overall planning method" were promoted in the production process; Yang Chao, vice chairman of the Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, wrote an inscription for the product "Suitable for all ages".
Guilin Zhai bubble gum process is complex, artificial production, according to the master's words and deeds, of which pulling strips, pulling holes, starting cylinders are the key processes, which are not easy to pass on. After research, the first generation of bubble gum traditional handicrafts was Leng Guilin and Leng Chengyuan of the Qing Dynasty. The second generation is Xiao Bingkun and Yang Can during the Republic of China. I also heard that Naxi and other people knew this craft, but I didn't verify it.
About the bubble sugar production process, through the selection of materials, boiling sugar, sugar, pulling strip, drawing hole, roll, covering sesame, cooling, shaping, cutting and other more than 20 processes, production tools such as wood stove, iron pot three, five mouths, hook, board two, three, three pieces, manual pull strip, roll, hole forming, through several generations of inheritors of continuous improvement, summary to make the process more complete and complete.
In 1997, the enterprise was transformed, the workers were laid off, and the traditional handicraft bubble gum faced no successor. In 2006, when Xiao Bingkun was dying, he hoped that Xiao Chengbinzi would inherit his father's business and pass on the old brand that lasted for nearly a hundred years. Xiao Chengbin studied art from his teacher for 20 years and was able to pass on Xiao Bingkun's skills. In 1998, Xiao Chengbin found a way out of himself, raised funds to open a store, and established Naxi Yunxing Food Company, mainly engaged in bubble gum and peanut cake, so that bubble gum could be passed down.
From the raw materials to select high-quality white sugar, rich and smooth production of high-quality sugar clear, high-grade white sesame seeds, and from the boiling sugar, heat, temperature repeatedly tested, in the hook on the sugar delay of five or six minutes, grasp the temperature difference, the two people pulled in pairs, folded in half, and then synthesized into a barrel, hole, so that the pull hole increased hundreds of holes until 2320 holes, to the extreme, of which 8 large holes, small holes around large holes, holes are round, for this stunt. The upper sesame section is flat, square, neatly arranged, unique in shape, exquisite in craftsmanship, shaped like foam board, flat section, packaging, and complete all the processes of hand-making.
Handmade bubble gum has the characteristics of "unique shape, bright surface, pure color, exquisite craftsmanship, crisp texture, crisp entrance, sweet slag", which is deeply loved by consumers and has become a famous local specialty in southern Sichuan.
However, although it is a famous specialty of Luzhou, but in the past few years in Luzhou can be seen, but the best-selling may still be a little reluctant, the reasons for market factors are many, it may also be necessary to have a better packaging marketing method to let many earthy products re-enter people's vision, although the older generation misses these things, but because of the old age, many things can only feel the shallow taste, and now the younger generation of people choose too many snacks, and seize the young people, fashion petty bourgeoisie taste and other appeals, but a lot of earthy food, In fact, there is often thunder and rain, such as wind ice cream, peanuts and so on. I am afraid that if you want to make a comeback, you still need to keep pace with the times and consider many market factors.