How to make betel nut cake, specific method.

Betel nut cake began in the early Qing Dynasty and was created by Tianjin Yangliuqing family. It is also one of the 72 shops in old Beijing. Areca catechu is a traditional Chinese medicine which uses Jinsheng liquid to help digestion. When areca nut is made into areca nut cake, it becomes a snack to relieve craving and help digestion. In Houjia Village, Houjia Town, Wendeng District, Weihai City, there is such a craftsman named Wang Zhongmao. The betel nut cake he made is bold and innovative on the basis of the original technology, and has the effects of clearing throat, relieving cough and resolving phlegm. Recently, it was listed in the intangible cultural protection list of Wendeng District. On September 23, the author interviewed 73-year-old Wang Zhongmao to see the production skills of betel nut cake.

Old pool master in a large field

On the morning of September 23rd, people came and went in Houjia Town, Wendeng District. On the east side of the market, you can see a red scorpion flag in the distance, which stands out from the crowd. Take a closer look, and the flag reads "betel nut cake". A burly old man with a heavy face is loudly introducing to customers: "Buy it, try it, the authentic betel nut cake has the special effects of clearing throat, relieving cough and resolving phlegm!"

The old man's name is Wang Zhongmao, 73 years old, from Houjia Village. On the shelf in front of him, there is a wooden box containing red and white betel nut cakes. Hearing the cries of the old man, people gathered around to taste and buy.

Selling betel nut cakes is a kind of business in old Beijing. In the past, many markets peddled it, and some even used rhyming drums to rap, which added a lot of fun to the market. With the changes of the times, it is difficult to find the footprints of betel nut vendors, but Wang Zhongmao is still making betel nut stalls and shouting for the market.

Re-innovation of heirloom craft

Wang Zhongmao made betel nut cake and became a monk halfway. 17 years old, was selected as a worker in Yantai Machine Tool Accessories Factory. 196 1 year, he returned to his hometown to farm, get married and have children. 1970, Wang Zhongmao traveled east with his wife and two children and settled in huanan county, Heilongjiang Province. 1986, the production responsibility system was implemented in his hometown, and he returned to Houjia Village with his family.

In order to make a living, after investigation, Wang Zhongmao bought a machine for making puffed food and produced sweet and crisp puffed corncob. At that time, the processing fee per catty was 1 min, and 20 yuan's daily income was 10 yuan, which was really cost-effective at that time. At 1988, people in the village and surrounding villages were curious enough, so he began to blow his own corn into a "golden hoop" and sell it in the market. He has been doing this business for more than 10 years, from his first local business to competing with many companies. By the end of 1990s, he found that the puffed food market had completely dried up and began to make betel nut cakes.

Wang Zhongmao's ancestors belonged to a family of traditional Chinese medicine. Before liberation, his father Wang Xiushan opened a drugstore in Houjiaji. The name of the shop is Yongchun drugstore, which specializes in pediatrics and gynecological diseases. When the puffed food market shrank and needed to be diverted, Wang Zhongmao began to make and sell betel nut cakes with the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine inherited from his father and his own thinking. In addition to Hou Jiji, he also went to Zeku, Song Cun, Bukou and other surrounding towns to sell betel nuts.

On the second day of the third lunar month, it is said that it is the birthday of mother Li. Hui Longshan and Yang Zheshan in Songcun Town, Wendeng District hold a mountain people's conference every year, and people from all villages and even other places come and have a great time. Since 2008, Wang Zhongmao's betel nut cake has become the most popular "old object" at Huilongshan Temple Fair.

Old enterprises are enduring.

Historically, Hou Jiaji's betel nut cake has always been managed by the Yang family, and the last descendant of the Yang family's betel nut cake is Yang. In the 1990s, after Yang's death, his descendants felt that this old business had no future and gave up the inheritance, so the betel nut cake business passed down from generation to generation by the Yang family ended. At this time, Wang Zhongmao officially made betel nut cake, which just filled the vacancy of Hou Jiaji's old betel nut cake business.

The production method of betel nut cake is passed down from generation to generation by the operators. Wang Zhongmao said that his skill in making betel nut cakes came from his father's teaching before his death. In the past, the formula of betel nut cake was generally mint and betel nut. In order to improve the curative effect, he improved the old prescription according to Compendium of Materia Medica and family medical books, and added Chinese herbal medicines such as Fritillaria cirrhosa, almond, licorice, loquat leaf, winter flower, aster and mulberry bark. , the number reached 60.

In the processing workshop of betel nut cake for the elderly, the author witnessed the whole production process. The old man first soaked 1 1 Chinese herbal medicine, then decocted the liquid medicine on fire, and added rock sugar, white sugar or brown sugar to boil to get juice. Boil to a suitable temperature, cease fire, and pour the mixture of medicine and sugar into a square wooden box covered with white cloth. The juice is naturally cooled to form an ice-like sheet the thickness of leek leaves, and then cut into small squares, and the betel nut cake is ready. You go to the market and sell by weight. Now the price is per catty 15 yuan. Ordinary customers buy a few taels at a time, and the dosage of children is light and the color is pure white. Adults have enough medicine, as yellow-brown as Chinese medicine soup. When they eat, the tip of their tongue is spicy and the taste is cold. If the throat is not refreshing, it will be effective on the spot.

Wang Zhongmao said: "The process of making betel nut cake looks simple, but a lot of efforts have been made in the process of heat, materials and cooling. Even if you see the production process, it is difficult to do it well without two or three years of production experience. "

Today, Wang Zhongmao's skill in making betel nut cakes has been listed in the intangible cultural protection list of Wendeng District. Wang Zhongmao told the author that he and his wife are living well now. He drives three sets of betel nut cakes every five days, and has two days off, or he has an acre of grain field himself, so he has income, and he doesn't have to reach out to his two sons.