Shaped like a jade comb as thin as a cicada wing, filial piety is sweet for a thousand years

Jimu news reporter Chen Yong

On October 14th, the final of the 3rd Hubei Geographical Indication Conference and Brand Cultivation Innovation Competition ended in Enshi City, and Xiaogan Ma Sugar won the gold award. "Shaped like a jade comb, white like a bi, thin as a cicada wing as sweet as honey." This thin piece of hemp candy seems to have magical powers that make people unforgettable.

"Eight ports on both sides of a river, two pieces of hemp sugar and a glass of wine." Xiaogan Babukou as the birthplace of hemp sugar, originally a swampy area of rivers and lakes, low-lying terrain, after long-term siltation and year by year construction and reclamation into a field embankment, fertile and watery, the production of glutinous rice, barley and sesame seeds of excellent quality, famous in the township, especially sesame flavor, white light, bright color, for others can not reach. The River runs around the city, to xiaogan ximen outer city god temple to return to the formation of a deep pool, south flow straight down the babukou, the pool water after precipitation, clear and sweet, for the formation of Xiaogan hemp sugar production technology to provide the necessary high-quality raw materials.

The reason why hemp sugar can become the pride of filial piety is not unrelated to the way it is processed. In 2013, Xiaogan Hemp Sugar was included in the list of traditional skills of intangible cultural heritage in Hubei Province. Among them, the more unique links are a total of 12 processes and 32 links such as sesame peeling, sugar pulling, hemp mixing, kneading sugar, and slicing. Of all the processes that require the most technology, it is sugar mixing and slicing. Nowadays, Xiaogan Hemp Sugar has long been separated from the small manual workshop, but in the whole process, about 30% is still purely manual operation.

On October 20th, Jimu News reporter came to Xiaogan Ma Sugar Rice Wine Co., Ltd., just entered the factory area, the smell of the smell can be smelled through the mask, and when he arrived here, the air became a sweet taste. In the workshop, workers are making hemp candy, boiling sugar, pulling sugar, mixing hemp, sorting, every step, meticulous. What made the reporter feel most deeply was the hygiene requirements in the production process, which were almost harsh. When the reporter goes in to visit, he must wear special overalls, wear a work hat, touch food, and must wear disposable gloves.

According to the master of mixing hemp, the white sesame seeds of Xiaogan hemp candy are actually peeled, and the hemp candy that comes out of this way can be fragrant and not greasy. White sesame seeds from Xiaogan locally, with thin skin. Before mechanization, the soaked white sesame seeds were put into the stone mortar, beaten with a mallet, repeatedly pounded, the sesame seeds were rubbed and heated, the epidermis became soft, gradually peeled off, and then put into the water to wash. The sesame peel floats on the surface of the water, and the sesame seeds sink to the bottom of the water, repeating several times to get the sesame seeds. "Xiaogan hemp sugar made with sesame seeds has no residue in the mouth and is not greasy to eat."

According to reports, this is also the secret of Xiaogan hemp sugar "shaped like a jade comb white as bi". When the peeled sesame seeds are roasted, a small amount is put into the pot and cooked several times, so that each sesame seed is evenly heated, and the color is not yellow or burnt.

In the production process that has been maintained to this day, pulling sugar, mixing sugar, and kneading sugar are also intangible cultural heritage skills. According to reports, although most of the processing links have been changed to mechanization, but the sugar, sugar mixing, kneading sugar is still maintained manual operation.

Sugar pulling is the repeated pulling of the boiled maltose, during which the amber maltose gradually turns into a brilliant white jade color. The white sesame seeds are poured into the maltose after the change of color and mixed. The mixed sugar is also kneaded by hand. A piece of sugar of about 20 pounds is placed on the case, the temperature is still around 100 ° C, the worker wears gloves while rubbing while hot, so that the sesame seeds and maltose are fully bonded, kneaded to a certain hardness, molded into strips, kneaded into sugar strips with a diameter of about 10 cm, and sent to the next link - slices.

Xiaogan hemp candy has been sweet for thousands of years because in the production process, in order to ensure traditional taste, we always insist on using local raw materials. According to the masters, the glutinous rice used to make maltose is produced in Zhuhu Lake, Xiaonan District, Xiaogan City, where the glutinous rice produced here is large, flat and long, and full; and sesame seeds are also produced in Xiaogan. At the planting end, enterprises use order guaranteed purchases to improve farmers' enthusiasm for planting in the way of companies + cooperatives + farmers, and ensure the supply of raw materials.

Xiaogan hemp sugar people feel that in the old craft of hemp sugar making, people can taste the taste of perseverance, because on the way to maintain traditional tastes, it is not only the skill that is inherited, but also an attachment to the old taste, and this unique crisp and sweet has melted into the local local culture that has continued to this day.

"While retaining the ancient process, we have innovated and integrated modern bioengineering and production technology, and developed more than 20 varieties." Xiao Duanwu, head of Xiaogan Hemp Sugar Rice Wine Co., Ltd., introduced that in recent years, Xiaogan Hemp Sugar has not only made the nutrition of the product more comprehensive and the quality more stable through continuous research and development, but also developed a series of products that cater to young consumer groups and leisure snacks. Xiao Duanwu introduced that although the new crown pneumonia epidemic in 2020 has a very large impact on enterprises, the company still achieves annual sales of 77 million yuan, the most important of which is the special harvest brought by the candy-type hemp candy developed by the company.

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