In China, the traditional food culture is rich and diverse, among which rice product technology occupies a very important position that cannot be ignored.
Rice cakes are a product derived from the rice farming civilization. They are a snack with a unique flavor when used in daily life. They are deeply loaded with the profound meaning of folk culture and the preservation of historical memories of past years.
This article will start from an academic perspective on intangible cultural heritage to deeply analyze this traditional handicraft that seems simple but is actually very exquisite.
1. The taste memory of rice farming civilization: the historical and cultural origins of rice cakes
The making and eating of rice cakes can be traced back to the origins of rice farming thousands of years ago.
During the long agricultural society, rice was not only used as a staple food, but also transformed into various snacks by the ancestors with their simple wisdom, of which rice cakes are a very representative one.
It appears during the seasons, as well as during weddings and funerals. It exists in different folk cultural spaces and has become a carrier of ritual and a thing that carries emotional sustenance.
From the hair cake in the south to the cut cake in the north, the shape has changed and the taste has also changed. In fact, this is a microscopic history of regional food culture exchanges.
The inheritance of its production skills is not only the passing on of the formula, but also the continuous progress of the charm contained in the craftsmen's skills and the wisdom contained in life.
2. Fermentation and grinding: the core of traditional handicrafts in rice cake making
There is an authentic rice cake, and its production process contains a rigorous system of technical nouns. At the same time, it also contains rigorous and academically normative content.
When selecting rice, you must pay attention to the amylose content in the rice. This situation will have a direct impact on the softness of the finished product.
In the classic production process, "rice soaking" is a critical first step. It requires soaking in water for a long time, such as soaking overnight, so that the rice can fully absorb water and soften, thus facilitating subsequent grinding.
This process is called "waking up rice" in traditional craftsmanship, and is the physical prelude to stimulating the aroma of rice.
Then comes the "refining" stage.
Traditional stone grinding is a low-temperature and slow-grinding method, while modern food processors are a high-speed grinding method. The tools are different. However, the core point is to control the ratio of water to rice to form a "raw rice slurry" with a suitable thickness.
This is a litmus test for a craftsman’s ability to control materials.
The real essence of the craft lies in the subsequent "mashing and fermentation".
This is directly related to whether the gas can be evenly distributed during fermentation. The concentration of rice milk needs to be adjusted to a "one-line flow" or "hanging spoon" state based on experience, just like the spoon demonstrated in the original article.
Adding dry yeast or using traditional "old pulp" to carry out biological fermentation is the key to obtaining the fluffy structure and unique flavor of rice cakes.
How to control the fermentation time depends entirely on the craftsmen's keen perception of temperature and humidity. This is a perfect fit between experience and nature.
The final "steaming" is also a science.
Take out the rice milk put into the mold and put it into a steamer that is heated to a boiling state. Steam it quickly with extremely fierce fire to firmly fix the expanded shape. After the fire is extinguished, you need to perform a so-called "steaming" for a short period of time to avoid the sudden injection of cold air and causing the formed state to shrink back.
This series of actions together constitute the core keyword of the inheritance of rice cake making.
3. Aesthetics and Implications: The artistic aesthetic value and folk symbolism of rice cakes
Rice cake is not only food, but also a simple folk art.
The wolfberry and sesame seeds embellished on the surface are exquisitely shaped from the mold, and even the layers of two-color rice cakes (such as adding juice to color) all reflect the folk artistic aesthetic value of "eating must seek truth and then perfection."
In terms of visual presentation, the white rice cake symbolizes purity and abundance, and the embellished red wolfberry symbolizes auspiciousness and joy. These elements together constitute its symbolic meaning in folk cultural spaces such as weddings and birthdays.
4. Documentary Value and Living Inheritance: Current Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Status and Development Path of Rice Cake Skills
Examined from a philological perspective, the production methods of rice cakes are scattered in the food classics and local chronicles of the past dynasties. It is a living object with historical documentary value for studying the ancient dietary structure and the development of food technology.
However, industrialized food has had an impact. This skill relies on manual experience and needs time to wait. It is facing the situation of the inheritors entering the aging stage and the gradual loss of technical standards.
At present, the move to include rice cake making skills in the national protection list of representative intangible cultural heritage items is precisely an affirmation of its social and cultural significance.
Moving forward along the path of inheritance and development, on the one hand, we must resolutely protect the authenticity of traditional core skills and record the essence of empirical craftsmanship such as "how long to soak rice" and "check the state of fermentation". On the other hand, we must also explore its contemporary activation value.
For example, the optimization of formulas based on modern nutrition, or the development of experiential courses in the context of the integration of culture and tourism, can encourage the younger generation to experience the inner cultural warmth behind the fragrance of rice during the grinding and steaming process.
This is not only the continuation of skills, but also the intergenerational transmission of Chinese farming civilization and life aesthetics.
To sum up, there is a bowl of rice cake that looks ordinary. In fact, it is the crystallization of Chinese rice farming culture, the crystallization of folk wisdom, and the crystallization of life aesthetics.
To deeply interpret it and protect it is to retain this nostalgia on the fingertips, so that ancient skills can continue to exude its unique charm in contemporary society.
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