Author: Li Qiuying Zhang Nan
"Pear paste candy, sweet jinjin, eat in the mouth beautiful in the heart..." In the TV series "The Age of Awakening", pear paste candy left a deep impression on many people.
Screenshot of the TV series "The Age of Awakening".
"Sweet as honey, loose and crisp, non-sticky and non-greasy" Old City God Temple pear paste candy is one of the longest-standing traditional souvenirs in Shanghai, and it is also a delicious tip of the tongue in the childhood memories of many Shanghai children. Its production technology began in the old city of Shanghai, when the people had no money to see a doctor, they boiled Chinese herbs, sugar and pear juice together to make pear paste sugar for treatment, and the cheap and high-quality "health food" was born.
Later, in the fifth year of Qing Xianfeng (1855), with the first generation of the head of the family, Mrs. Zhu, founded the first pear paste candy shop "Zhu Pin Zhai" in the Old City God Temple in Shanghai, where the sweet taste and the effect of coughing and dissolving phlegm took root. In May this year, the pear paste candy making technology from Shanghai was selected into the list of representative projects of national intangible cultural heritage.
Autumn pear paste. Courtesy of Yu Garden
According to legend, pear paste sugar originated in the Tang Dynasty. During the Zhenguan years, Ming Xiang Wei Zheng's mother often coughed and gasped, but she was afraid of suffering, refused to take medicine, and eventually her condition worsened, and Wei Zheng, who knew a little about medicine, used the pear juice and sugar that his mother liked to eat with almonds, Sichuan shellfish and other herbs to make a paste for his mother to take, and soon recovered.
The recipe of the old city god temple pear paste candy is more exquisite than this prominent palace secret recipe, based on the homology of medicine and food, taking the essence of hundreds of herbs, in addition to pear paste, bitter almond, Sichuan shellfish, there are more than a dozen kinds of chinese medicines such as loquat leaves, aster, qianhu, half summer, and winter flowers.
Photo by Xu Mingrui
Bitter almonds: relieve breath, cough and asthma, moisturize the intestines and laxative
Loquat leaf: has a certain effect on lung hot phlegm, coughing up blood and blood
Aster: Can cure cold cough, fatigue cough and vomit pus and blood
Front Hu: degassing phlegm, dissipating wind and heat
Half summer: eliminate phlegm dryness and wetness, appetize and strengthen the spleen
Winter flower: moisturize the lungs, dissolve phlegm and relieve cough
Platycodon: cough and expectorant, lung discharge
Orange red: clear lungs and dryness, clear liver and eyes
Mulberry leaves: evacuate wind and heat, clear the lungs and moisturize
Poria: Water seeps wet, healthy spleen and calm heart
Citron: Rational qi wide, reduce swelling and reduce phlegm
Smallpox pollen: clear heat and fire to quench thirst, drain pus and reduce swelling
Chuanbeimu: moisturize the lungs, relieve cough, relieve phlegm and relieve asthma, clear heat and dissolve phlegm
There are more than ten kinds of medicinal herbs used in pear paste sugar. Photo by Xu Mingrui
The medical community evaluates it as: "reasonable formula, balanced medicinal properties, widely used, new and old cough, less long and salty".
So, how exactly is a piece of traditional pear paste candy made? A few days ago, Wu Shengzhong, the third-generation inheritor of pear paste candy making technology, showed reporters the ancient method of making pear paste candy to reporters on the spot.
Paddled pear paste sugar. Photo by Xu Mingrui
The production process of pear paste sugar is mainly thirteen processes such as ingredients, turning sand, boiling sugar, pouring sugar, flat sugar, sugar stroke, edge brushing, sugar brushing, sugar turning, and sugar breaking.
Pear paste sugar is different from other candies, it is made of pure white sugar, does not contain caramel, flavor, pigment, so the process of turning sand is necessary, turning the sand well, pear paste sugar will be loose, easy to break, easy to eat.
Do you think you're just stirring it up there? It's not that simple. It takes 45 minutes to boil a pot of sugar, stirring constantly. I also know that my hands will be very sore, and I need to pay attention to the size of the bubbles in the pot. This is still a technical work, to consider the change in temperature, when the bubble is small and dense, you must bravely touch the syrup with your hand to see if it reaches about 135 degrees, and whether the two fingers can be pulled when they touch. Of course, this is an ancient method, and with the invention of the thermometer, there is no need to test the temperature with the body.
Ancient method of boiling sugar. Photo by Xu Mingrui
Pouring sugar, flat sugar, scratching sugar, scratching edges and brushing sugar, mainly pear paste syrup is boiled and poured on a wooden board, a series of processes. When pouring sugar, it should be uniform, and it should not be staggered when it is flat, and it should be moderately operated in the temperature controlled by itself; the sugar and the edge should strive to be stable, the knife should be calm and peaceful when it falls, and the pear paste sugar on the board after brushing sugar is required to be clean, and there is no sugar crumbs around it.
Ancient method of drawing sugar. Photo by Xu Mingrui
Turning sugar, breaking sugar and packaging are also steps that require concentration of thought. The pear paste candy after the stroke is brushed over, in this process, the operator needs to be calm and calm, and can not tolerate a little sloppiness, otherwise it will be abandoned, and the previous steps will have to start again. When breaking sugar, be soft and rigid, meticulous, and take it seriously.
Packaging is also critical. The wrapping paper of the pear paste candy handed down from the ancestors is generally not colorful. It is said to be traditional, but not fashionable, the main reason is that the package is not plastic paper, but cellophane. This kind of paper is breathable, the products packaged with them are not easy to deteriorate and moldy, and the shelf life is extended, so this traditional packaging has continued to this day. Thanks to this, this ancient method of pear paste sugar has a shelf life of 6 months.
Sugar packets. Photo by Xu Mingrui
On the basis of continuing the tradition, Wu Shengzhong also boldly led the team to innovate, "both to adhere to and innovate, without adherence to the tradition, without innovation, the enterprise will have no vitality, it will be eliminated by the market." ”
When it comes to the new generation of R & D and marketing team, Wu Shengzhong is full of praise, young people use their imagination, constantly develop new products and improve publicity methods, so that this "old man" who has gone through 165 years of life is rejuvenated again, from medicinal pear paste candy, rich taste type pear paste candy, pear paste dew, to pear paste lollipops, flower language series pear paste candy, as well as Internet red products peach peach pear paste...
Pear paste lollipops. Courtesy of Yu Garden
In addition, after market research, Wu Shengzhong's team focused on improving the volume and packaging of sugar, and successively developed Yuyuan Memory, Pear Paste Gift Box, etc. The small literary packaging is more suitable for carrying and tasting, catering to the modern public consumption concept, making it one of the first choices for souvenirs in Shanghai.
"To bring Home Shanghai is to bring home pear paste candy and spiced beans", this enduring sweetness is a city card of Shanghai in the eyes of Wu Shengzhong, witnessing the transformation of Shanghai in more than 160 years and accompanying the growth of generations.
Source: China News Network