Weinan Daily reporter Bai Bingtao
This autumn is particularly rainy, the days are always gray, and the temperature is low. In this gloomy atmosphere, desserts can bring some solace. On the morning of October 12, when the reporter came to the Jianmin Food Factory located in the west section of Zhanbei Street in Linwei District, the first pot of lime kiln crystal cake had been baked, and the aroma filled the entire courtyard.
"Try the freshly baked crystal cake." Ms. Xi, a staff member of Jianmin Food Factory, warmly brought a plate of dim sum, 8 crystal cakes, 2 chestnut cakes, and 2 plum blossom puff pastries. The crystal cake is mainly white throughout, the skin is crispy, the top layer is burnt yellow, and the three words "lime kiln" printed in carmine are embellished with it, which is soft and sticky, warm and long, and full of sweetness.
Approaching the production workshop, the aroma of pastries is even stronger. Dozens of master workers skillfully operate, salting, stirring, making skins, wrapping, stamping, baking, all without sloppiness.
Make excipients
"Our crystal cake is a handmade work, but also a conscience work." Zhang Aiting said that the lime kiln crystal cake has always followed the traditional craftsmanship and insisted on hand-making.
In 2011, the lime kiln crystal cake making technology was included in the third batch of Shaanxi Province's intangible cultural heritage protection list. In that year, "lime kiln" was rated as a famous trademark in Shaanxi Province.
Zhang Aiting, who is over 70 years old, is a provincial inheritor of the lime kiln crystal cake making skills. According to her, crystal cakes have a thousand-year history in Weinan, and the name "crystal cakes" was named by Kou Zhun.
Legend has it that in the third year of Jingde (1006 AD), Kou Zhun returned to his hometown of Xiayi, and when he passed through Huizhao Temple, he found that the pagoda had not yet been completed, so he gave away some silver. The monks of Huizhao Temple bought famous pastries from the Xia Yi Trading House to entertain Kou Zhun. One of the pastries eats cold tongue and teeth, fragrant and delicious, and looks closely at its transparent and shiny crystalline filling, like crystal. Kou Zhun asked what the name of this pastry was? The monk said, "I don't know, I just know that this is made and produced by a local trading house." Kou Zhun said, "I'll call it 'Crystal Cake'." Since then, the name "crystal cake" has spread. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Yongxing Zheng Trading Company in Weinan City introduced the traditional recipe and production process of crystal cake from Xia Yi. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Master Zhang Caifeng of Tongyi Stack Trading House inherited traditional recipes and production processes. In 1956, Tongyi Zhan Shang Company joint ventured to Weinan Food Factory. In 1959, Zhang Aiting entered the Weinan Food Factory, and the crystal cake making process was further developed in her hands.
Bake crystal cakes
"The 'lime kiln' was called out by the customer, it was originally just a place name." Zhang Aiting said that shortly after retiring in 1993, she made crystal cakes to make a living at her home in a lime kiln, which is a north-south alley at the junction of JiayiShi Lane and Renmin Street in Linwei District. Word of mouth spread to customers, and over time, the "lime kiln" became the signature of crystal cake. In 2004, Zhang Aiting registered the trademark "Lime Kiln".
While inheriting the traditional craftsmanship, Zhang Aiting improved the crystal cake, one is to adjust the size of the crystal cake, the original 10 pounds to the current 12; the second is to increase the accessories. The improved crystal cake is more delicate and better-tasting.
With the changes in people's diets, Jianmin Food Factory has innovated and launched more than 20 kinds of products since 2012, of which seven or eight are low-sugar products to meet the different needs of the public. At present, crystal cake is still the fist product of Jianmin Food Factory, and the sales volume is also the best.
In terms of business methods, Zhang Aiting insists on direct operation, and has laid out 4 stores in the central urban area of Weinan, and some supermarkets in the central urban area of Weinan and surrounding counties are also selling on behalf of others. In 2018, Zhang Aiting opened a Taobao shop, operated by relatives, and hitched a ride on the Internet express. Commodity packaging is still mainly bulk, and the price is close to the people. In recent years, the output value of Jianmin Food Factory has maintained positive growth, and the current annual output value is about 5 million yuan.
Make crystal cakes
"The market is big and there is limited capacity now. My idea is to choose a place in the urban area, build a new factory building that integrates product exhibition and sales, intangible cultural heritage technology display and standardized production workshop, expand production capacity, and take the road of integrated development. Zhang Aiting's son Cui Zhi said.
Zhang Aiting has a different view on this. She said: "Under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, my goal is to stabilize, maintain quality and wages. It is not easy to create a brand, we must be conscientious, make cakes with integrity, do a good job of this traditional food, and keep the brand of 'lime kiln'. ”
Li Li is the deputy director of the Linwei District Cultural Center in charge of the protection of intangible cultural heritage. In her view, as a local specialty food in Weinan, lime kilns need to establish a sense of innovation, while further improving product quality, gu ben Peiyuan, shouzheng out of the new, increase product development efforts, innovative product forms and marketing models, to create "old- brand" national tide products, expand the young consumer market, to adapt to the diversified consumer needs of modern people. It is necessary to strengthen the sense of competition, use modern management concepts, expand the scale of production, extend the industrial chain, and polish their own golden signboard in the fierce market competition. It is necessary to improve publicity awareness, spread brand culture, tell brand stories, improve the popularity of Weinan intangible cultural heritage cuisine in the country, and achieve greater development of enterprises.