I have eaten the plum blossom cake of Nanjing in Suzhou, and the most intriguing thing is still the Ziyang Street in Linhai

There are dozens of kinds of pastries in Jiangnan, and there is a folk song in my hometown called "Making Pastries": chicken cake, baked with fire; oil bubbles in oil columns; five-color bean cakes with pigments; mint puff pastry is the most flavorful; banana bean cake, with bananas; square cheese cakes; almond crisps, good pastry; eight immortal cakes printed with che ma cannon; osmanthus cake, big reputation; steamed bun cake, high and heavy; mung bean cake, mung bean cake, mung bean powder for cakes; nine fragrant cakes, eating fragrant in the mouth; cloud cake, slices and slices; chain cakes, two ends; sour plum cake, two points, eating the mouth sour and sweet; orange red cake , bright red, apricot blossoms and hemp flakes are round. Plum blossom cake is not necessarily the most delicious one, but it is the most romantic name. In the old days, the literati made offerings, washed the plum plums, cooked the white rice with snow water, and when they were cooked, they added plum blossoms to become plum blossom porridge. Then there is the ordinary meal, which is as elegant as promised, and this taste is beyond the knowledge of the people of wine and meat. The "Mountain Family Offering" writes that "soup blooms plums", picks the buds of plum blossoms, dips them in wax, puts them in a honeypot for preservation, and waits until the next summer, soaks in water to drink, and plum blossoms slowly bloom in the cup. As for the plums, they are made into honey-stained plum meat, "peel a little white plum meat, soak in snow water, and brew it with plum blossoms." Sleep on the edge, take it out, honey stain it. Wines can be recommended. Compared with snow-sweeping tea, the flavor is not different." These foods are related to plum blossoms, but there are no plum blossoms in plum blossom cakes. Carefully pondering the name of this plum blossom cake, I think this should not be a local snack in Taizhou, the character of Taizhou people is an intestine through the end, hard and bold, see the cake is called cake, meet is called noodles, never think of this such a fragrant name, and later inquired to know, this was originally Suzhou snacks, it suddenly realized, Suzhou's fragrance is worthy of such a poetic cuisine. Plum blossom cake is not only available in Suzhou, it is a common flavor snack in Jiangnan. Plum blossom cake originated in the Ming Dynasty and may have been found only in Suzhou at first. By the time of the Qing Dynasty, many parts of Jiangnan, such as Wuxi and Nanjing, had already adopted it as a flavor snack. Until now, plum blossom cake, together with osmanthus sugar taro seedlings, osmanthus wine brewed small lantern, honey juice lotus, is the four classic snacks on the streets of Nanjing. The name of the plum blossom cake is said to be related to the Qianlong Emperor, when the Qianlong Emperor went down to Jiangnan, he saw that this cake was shaped like a plum blossom, the color was attractive, and he was greatly applauded, so he opened the golden mouth and named it plum blossom cake. Qianlong is the most famous foodie in folk tales, and every time he travels around, as long as he has eaten anything delicious, usually, this delicacy has the name of the Qianlong Emperor. Even if he hadn't eaten anything, posterity would have forced him to put him on the food. Whether the plum blossom cake is named after Qianlong is no longer verifiable, but its name, derived from the plum blossom shape of the pastry mold is undoubted. In traditional Chinese culture, plum blossoms are repeatedly praised by literati and scholars, and are regarded as the most backbone flowers of the Chinese nation. Therefore, the name of the plum blossom cake is also attached and widely praised. The plum blossom cake on Ziyang Street in Taizhou Linhai is made of wheat flour, brown sugar powder and black sesame seeds, and the filling is more elaborate in Suzhou and other places. Mixed with fine flour, yeast powder and water into a pulp, injected into a roasted plum blossom-shaped mold, and then added bean paste, fresh meat, lard, roses and other filling cores, and then poured on the batter, sprinkled with sugar, red and green melon shreds, black sesame seeds, when grilled, the aroma is fragrant, hooking people with worms. The plum blossom cake that has just come out of the pot is soft and sticky, hot and hot, and the bottom of the plum blossom cake is like a flower holder, a few black sesame seeds, such as the flower buds of the plum blossom, and the red and green melon silk makes the plum blossom cake attractive in color. The plum blossom cake should be eaten while it is hot, standing by the fire, swallowing the saliva with his eyes, waiting for it to come out of the oven hot. A bite down, gentle sweetness, boundless glutinous, you don't have time to think about the gentlemanly quality of plum blossoms, what integrity, purity, chastity, integrity and the like, you only feel a mouthful of belly, all kinds of comfort, only feel relaxed, only feel unprecedented satisfaction with life. For me, who often runs from east to west, the plum blossom cakes in various cities have their own subtle differences, I have eaten the plum blossom cakes in Suzhou, Nanjing, and Shanghai, and the most intriguing is the plum blossom cakes in Ziyang Street, Linhai. Linhai is a famous historical and cultural city, I followed my parents here in high school, and when I was studying, I often went to Ziyang Street to buy plum blossom cakes to eat. After work, accompany friends from other places to visit Ziyang Street, stand in front of the stall, watch the aunt pour the batter into the plum blossom-shaped iron mold, watch the plum blossom cake come out of the pot hot, watch the friend eat the plum blossom cake while the mouth is not clear and only delicious. At that time, one dollar could buy four plum blossom cakes, and at that time, one dollar could bring us a lot of happiness. The happiness at that time was really simple. A bite of plum blossom cake is enough.

Column Editor-in-Chief: Kong Lingjun Text Editor: Chen Shuyi Title Image Source: Visual China Image Editor: Yong Kai

Source: Author: Wang Han