Traditional artificial memory

China, in this ancient and vast land, is rich in primitive culture and folk traditional crafts. Traditional handmade twist has a long history in China. According to research, the earliest traditional handmade twist originated in its heyday. When Qinggan Longnan visited the Yellow River ferry, the wind smelled fragrant. On the road, he saw a man cooking twist, and he was full of fragrance and wanted to eat it. Then served to the emperor, crispy and delicious, praised as a royal diet. It has been more than 300 years since now.

Later, the formula of twist spread more and more widely, so that both north and south have different practices and formulas.

In Kengyan Village, Huzhen Town, Jinyun County, Zhejiang Province, the traditional handmade twist is very historical and delicious. It is a daily snack for every household and a childhood memory for everyone.

Bite down the crisp "click click", and the sweet taste comes from the handmade twist that overflows from the mouth. Crispy outside and sweet inside. No wonder Su Dongpo, a gourmet in the Song Dynasty, wrote in "Poems on Cold Equipment": "Fine hands are rubbed into jade, and jade oil is fried into light yellow and deep. Sleeping at night, spring scenery is insignificant, crushing beauty and holding gold rings. "

When we marched all the way to Kengyan Village, Huzhen Town, and walked on the ancient street, we smelled a fragrant twist. The entrance of wheat yellow twist has a strong noodle flavor, as well as the sweetness of sugar and the fragrance of sesame. Behind this seemingly simple turning point, there is an amazing process.

The process steps of making twist are very strict. If the strength of the twist is not enough, the thickness of the twist will be different, some places will be too hard to fry the twist, and some places will be too "cooked". This kind of twist is not only not crisp enough, but also a little sticky.

It is very important to treat each process in an orderly and meticulous manner, and any step that goes wrong will lead to total annihilation. Such mistakes will happen in the early years. Now, the producers of each process are handy. Relying on their own experience and the tacit understanding formed by long-term contact with twisted dough, they have mastered the accuracy, how to mix dough, how to knead dough, how to cut noodles, how to rub shapes and how to fry fine.

Behind this precision is the repetition of every day and the dedication of every drop of sweat.

Grandma Chen Chunmei and her friends make nearly100kg of twist every day. Twist in their hands is like acrobatics. If they were alive, they would be famous. The guests who come to buy twist every day are naturally in an endless stream.

Mix noodles. Mixing dough is a craft. How many noodles and how much water are needed, and the corresponding proportion is quite important. Grandma Chen and the dough made up soon after a long run-in. Then add a proper amount of sesame seeds and water to mix, and knead the dough while stirring, so that the black sesame seeds can be fully integrated into the dough.

Friction. Cut the dough mixed with black sesame seeds into large pieces and knead them into long strips. It's hard to knead, so it's elastic to twist. The strip is squashed and then cut into small pieces. Grandma Chen's knife work is particularly neat, and her long-term experience in making twists makes her cut dough uniform in size.

After cutting, it is a twist. Small pieces of dough were quickly kneaded into slender lines by grandma Chen, and the dough was thrown into the air like acrobatics. Between the rubbing of her fingers, a twist happened quickly.

Fried. Pour the rapeseed oil into the pot and fry the molded twist one by one. This is a very critical step in making twist.

Oil temperature and frying time need to be familiar with. Grandmothers use their own experience of more than 20 years to fry the twist in the pot like a fish jumping in the water. In just a few minutes, every twist became extremely crisp.

Wrapped in sugar. Don't think that the fried twist is finished, and the twist with sugar will taste more delicious and fluffy. Boil the water in the pot, pour in the sugar, stir-fry until it is brushed, and the sugar becomes Huang Shi. Pour in the twist and stir-fry until it is completely coated with syrup. When the syrup is completely covered, the twist can be cooked.

The twist out of the pot smells delicious and tastes crisp and sweet. This kind of twist is loved by everyone in this village. Every villager passing by grandma Chen's shop will bring one or two bags more or less.

Many years ago, in fact, every family in this village made some twists more or less, but now the younger generation is not at home all the year round, and twists are not easy to preserve. Naturally, the older generation will not make them again.

However, Grandma Chen has always kept this craft left by her ancestors. Twenty years ago, Grandma Chen rented a shop and made handmade twists with her sisters.

This small shop, to some extent, reflects the rich rural life and customs. It is regarded as a special language, accompanied by people's beautiful life and emotional expression, and it is a connection between people and childhood and distant years.

Adhering to the traditional hand-made twist means giving up the calmness and safety brought by mechanical power, mixing, kneading, shaving, kneading and frying ... Grandma Chen and her sisters have invested extra money in every process of hand-made twist. Although their experience makes them feel comfortable, they have been serious about every process for more than 20 years.