Pingyao's beef cakes in Taigu ... "This popular song has been sung all over the country. Before Pingyao became familiar with the world as a world cultural heritage, Pingyao's food culture had long been famous throughout the country.

Pingyao ancient city, with developed commerce and dense population since ancient times, especially in the middle of Qing dynasty, Pingyao became the most prosperous commercial and financial cultural center, and the prosperity of commerce promoted the development of Pingyao food culture. Not only have famous recipes such as "Four Four", "Eight Eight", "Four Dishes of Hot Pot", "Eight Eight One Get Two", "Nine Bowls and Nine Dishes", "Ten Bowls" and "Twelve Chess" been accumulated in traditional banquets, but also "Pingyao Beef", "Pingyao Bowl Tray", "Caojia Smoked Elbow" and "long yam" have been formed in famous products. When Empress Dowager Cixi visited Pingyao in 19, the then magistrate of a county entertained the Empress Dowager with more than 3 famous local delicacies, including Pingyao beef, smoked elbow and long yam, which won the favor of the Empress Dowager. In terms of pasta, people in the ancient city have refined the characteristics of the hometown of pasta. It is said that there are 18 kinds of pasta in the ancient city alone, but local cultural figures believe that there are far more kinds of pasta in the ancient city. At present, there are more than 6 kinds of ancient city dishes that have been excavated, collected, sorted out and written, and there are all kinds of local flavors, and the delicious dishes with color, flavor and shape are memorable for a long time after eating. Recently, the book Pingyao Diet was published, which systematically sorted out and excavated the food culture of the ancient city.

Pingyao beef Pingyao beef is famous in the world before the name of world cultural heritage. It is said that the history of beef in Pingyao can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty, and it has become the signboard of Pingyao in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and it entered glory in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At its peak, there were hundreds of workshops for processing beef in Pingyao, and Pingyao people's love for beef can be seen. Today, Pingyao beef is still the most resounding signboard in the ancient city, and the beef trademark "Guanyun" is also the first well-known trademark in China in the meat processing industry in our province. Lei Bingyi, chairman of Pingyao Beef Group Co., Ltd. told reporters that the most essential feature of Pingyao beef is "a piece of meat and a handful of salt", and its taste is really pure. If other seasonings are added, it will not be Pingyao beef. He said that the production technology of Pingyao beef was originally born because of the spoilage of processed beef. The owner of a Pingyao beef shop named Xingshenglei, adhering to the frugality of Shanxi merchants, refused to discard the spoiled beef, salted it with salt and cooked it again. Unexpectedly, he found that its taste was strange and attractive. He blurted out "This is Pingyao beef", and this regional brand was born. Beef workshops and shops can be seen everywhere in Pingyao City.

But in the early days of liberation, people could hardly afford to eat beef because of lack of material, and the beef processing factory in Pingyao also stopped production. After that, Pingyao's beef processing technology formed a blank for decades, which almost made this unique technology lost. Later, after excavation and rescue, the new generation of Pingyao people improved their predecessors' production technology and polished the golden signboard of the ancient city again. With the reform and opening up and the rise of tourism in the ancient city, the beef processing in Pingyao entered its heyday in the 199s, until "Guanyun" won the well-known trademark in China. Pingyao beef, which is ruddy in meat color, fragrant and mellow, fat but not greasy, and thin but not firewood, has been favored by more and more diners. At present, beef and the ancient city are almost inseparable, and it can be called Pingyao's "second face" except the ancient city.

Variety pasta and snack Pingyao pasta have a wide variety and are well-made. There are three characteristics: a variety of patterns, a variety of dishes, a wide range of materials, eclecticism, a variety of ways to eat, and never tire of eating. There are also two major stresses on toppings and food codes. There are so many kinds of pasta in Pingyao that even many diners who are mainly pasta and grew up in Shanxi can't name them. Besides the well-known types of pasta, such as Lamian Noodles, Tiaojian and Noodles, I'm afraid the authentic "Laoxier" can't name them.

Bowl saucers are a famous flavor snack in Pingyao, which is said to have been created by Dong Xuan, a famous chef in Nanbao Village, outside the south gate of Pingyao ancient city. Pingyao bowl tray is round and thin, light yellow and shiny, soft and stiff, freely folded, smooth at the entrance and never tired of eating for a long time. Both cold and hot food are memorable. Dishes with different flavors can be made by various cooking techniques, and even if the dishes are mainly made of the dishes, a rich and delicious "dish banquet" can be made.

Cao's smoked elbow is another traditional famous food in Pingyao, and it is well-known all over the world because it was selected as a court tribute. Cao Jia smoked elbow with exquisite materials and unique technology. In the Qing Dynasty, Wuwei Mountain people wrote the poem "Smoked Elbow", which described the charm of this famous food. In addition, there are yellow wine and so on, which also have distinctive Pingyao characteristics.

long yam Pingyao, a health food, is called "the hometown of long yam". Pingyao long yam was originally a local variety in our province, and was later introduced to Henan, Shandong and other places. The sandy soil with thick soil layer, loose and fertile soil, sunny, smooth drainage, underground water level, hydrogen ion concentration of 1-1 nanoliters and pH of ph6.-8. is the best cultivation method. The soil in Yuebi Township, Pingyao is the most suitable for cultivation in long yam, and the long yam produced there has the highest value. Yuebi Township has been planted and processed in long yam for more than 8 years.

It is pointed out in Compendium of Materia Medica that Chinese yam can treat all kinds of deficiency and all kinds of injuries, treat five tuberculosis and seven injuries, remove wind from the head and face, stop lumbago, remove annoyance and heat, replenish heart and qi deficiency, open your mind, remember more, strengthen bones and muscles, benefit kidney and qi, strengthen spleen and stomach, stop diarrhea, eliminate phlegm and saliva, and moisten fur. Raw pounded paste swollen, hard poison can cure. The Zipei decoction of Yuye Decoction in Medical Enthusiasm and Journey to the West, with Chinese yam and Astragalus membranaceus, can cure thirst, fatigue and asthma. Long yam also has a certain anti-tumor effect, which can treat hypertension, diabetes, asthma, neurasthenia and lumbago and leg pain. Eating long yam for a long time can also delay aging, and it is known as "China Little Ginseng".

Many delicacies processed in long yam are very popular, such as snowflake long yam, honey sauce long yam, barbecued long yam, etc., especially the "Ancient Pottery Long Ginseng Banquet" presented by Mr. Cheng Jianyu, Mr. Wang Shuying and Mr. Deng Ruilin of Pingyao Cuisine Association, in which one product is long ginseng, diced ginseng with pickled pepper, colorful ginseng flowers, sea buckthorn ginseng slices, godmother ginseng strips, scallion-roasted Qinghai ginseng, stewed beef with ginseng, rongshan mushroom ginseng and ginseng. These dishes are favored by consumers, especially tourists who come to Pingyao for sightseeing. Some people say, "The three treasures of Pingyao-beef, lacquerware and long yam."

At present, the development of Pingyao long yam has reached a considerable scale, and its processing techniques are more exciting and diverse, which has been unanimously praised by gourmets and ordinary diners.

There are countless other food cultures in the ancient city, which are dazzling. In particular, the development of tourism has injected new connotations into Pingyao's food culture. Because tourists come from all corners of the country and have different tastes, Pingyao's traditional diet is constantly incorporating new elements. There are also many foreign food cultures gradually integrated into Pingyao's food culture and become an inseparable part of it. Strolling through the streets of Pingyao, you can see the blending of North and South food and the collision of East and West cultures everywhere. When the reporter passed the folk inn of Pingyao South Street, the freshly brewed coffee was fragrant on the antique table of Eight Immortals. The shopkeeper spoke English and served coffee to foreign guests, and served pineapple cakes with western flavor. The shopkeeper said that he had specially studied spoken English in colleges and universities, learned many western food practices under the guidance of foreign guests, and often changed to Pingyao snacks according to the tastes of foreign guests. For a long time, he has been exploring the convergence of Chinese and western cultures, on the one hand, providing delicious food for foreign guests, and on the other hand, introducing Pingyao's special food to them in a special way. I believe that the food culture of the ancient city will get more international development and be better passed down under the collision of eastern and western cultures.