Before clarifying the historical origins of stone cakes, let us first understand how to make stone cakes. The making process of stone cakes is relatively simple and not complicated. Wash the smooth river pebbles, which are about the size of apricot kernels, pour them into a spatula and rub some oil on them (to prevent the pebbles from sticking to the dough), stir and heat repeatedly to make the pebbles heat up evenly. Then use the dough that has risen in advance to make a cake embryo, and wrap it with fillings made of oil, salt, cumin, sesame, pepper leaves, etc. After the pebbles in the griddle are hot to your hands, use a spoon to stir them continuously to make the heat even. Scoop out half of the hot pebbles and put them on another hot griddle to keep them warm. Then spread the remaining half evenly in the pot. Put the prepared round cake embryo neatly on the stones in the pot, then cover it with the scooped out hot stones, bake it on the top and bottom on a slow fire for about 5 minutes, until it is cooked and cooked. After baking, the surface of the cake is uneven and lumpy. At this time, the stone cake is white and yellowish, and tastes crisp and fragrant.

In the past, in our Yicheng, especially in rural areas, especially before the Mid-Autumn Festival, as long as you walked around the countryside, you could hear more than one "wow-la-la, wah-la-la, wah-la-la" sound. Since there are not many special iron griddles for making stone cakes, they are mostly used by several families. Since it is a special offering for worshiping the moon on August 15th, every family bakes stone cakes, and the scene is very lively. The chirping of village women, the laughter of children, and the clatter of stone cakes echoed each other, creating a lively scene. Most older people remember that every household bakes a lot. In addition to using it as offerings and as gifts for visiting relatives and friends, the leftovers are strung up with hemp ropes and hung in hard-to-find places. They can be kept for a long time. It is precisely because of this characteristic that it can be stored for a long time. After drying, the stone cake tastes crispy and crispy, and the more you eat it, the more delicious it becomes. The characteristic of stone cake is that the production method is ancient and very similar to the moon cake. It is an offering for worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, there is a saying that moon cakes originated from stone cakes.

Is stone cake really the originator of mooncakes? Why was this ancient stone cake made with this original processing method only a special offering during the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th? As we all know, mooncakes are a special offering for August 15th. The Mid-Autumn Festival is my country's "Reunion Festival", which is also a festival to celebrate the autumn harvest. Around August 15th, autumn fruits and crops mature, and every household takes out the fruits of the harvest to worship. Moon God, moon cakes, apples, grapes and other fresh and dried fruits are indispensable on the altar, but stone cakes are only available in Yicheng and a few places, and they are also special offerings for the Mid-Autumn Festival. After a long period of evolution and development, The patterns are constantly being renovated, the varieties are constantly increasing, and the craftsmanship is becoming more and more complex, forming a variety of beautiful mooncakes. Nowadays, various patterns on moon cakes are constantly being renovated, but whether the fine patterns are the marks left by the unevenness on the stone cakes, gradually many places use moon cakes instead of reunion stone cakes. However, because the preparation of stone cakes is relatively simple and the technology is not complicated, it has slowly been spread in some areas. For a long time, stone cakes, like moon cakes, have been regarded as a symbol of good luck and reunion. There are also copies of "rabbit-shaped", "pomegranate-shaped" and "peach-shaped" stone cakes in Yicheng, which shows the local people's legacy of "moon worship". When talking about stone cakes, you can't help but mention the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the custom of worshiping the moon in autumn in ancient my country. "Book of Rites" contains "The emperor springs and the sun rises, and autumn sets the moon." The "Xiyue" here means "worshiping the moon." It took shape in the Han Dynasty, and the festival of "Moon Appreciation in the Mid-Autumn Festival" was coined in the Tang Dynasty. Ouyang Zhan (AD 785 - about 827 AD) said in the "Preface to the Poems of Wan Yue in Chang'an" that "the eighth month is in autumn, the season begins with Meng Xiu, the fifteenth is in the beginning, and the moon is in the clouds, observing the way of heaven, then the cold weather will be uniform. Based on the number of months, it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. "Moon appreciation became popular in the Song Dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people have attached great importance to the Mid-Autumn Festival. "West Lake Tour" says that "folks use the sun and moon phases to take the meaning of reunion," in "Scenery of Shangjing". It is also said: "When worshiping the moon on August 15th, the cake must be round, and the melon must be broken into pieces." This kind of "reunion" cake is a small cake similar to moon cakes, with rabbit and pomegranate patterns pressed on it. After worshiping the moon, it is made at home. The elders cut the cake into pieces according to the number of people, one piece for each person. If someone is not at home, leave a portion for them, hang it in a ventilated place to dry, and share it when they return from the Spring Festival to show family reunion. Does this description of moon cakes match the local custom of stone cakes mentioned at the beginning? ?

It seems that moon cakes evolved from stone cakes, and stone cakes are the originators of moon cakes. This statement has a certain degree of credibility. Since the Tang Dynasty, the production of mooncakes has become more and more sophisticated. Su Dongpo wrote in a poem: "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crisp and sweet fillings in the middle." Yang Guangfu of the Qing Dynasty wrote: "Moon cakes are filled with peach meat fillings, and ice cream is sweet with cane sugar frosting." It seems that the mooncakes at that time are quite similar to the mooncakes now. At the same time, they are similar to the stone pancakes made by adding oil, salt, sugar, fresh pepper leaves, aniseed, green onions, etc. at that time. . ?

So where did the stone cake originate? After consulting a lot of information, I also analyzed it like this. This kind of pancake made using hot stones is called "stone cooking" in today's cooking language. "Stone cooking method" refers to a food processing method of "adding things on flint". The food raw materials are placed on small stones that are heated until they are hot red, and the high temperature of the stones is used to cook the food, or the red-hot stones are used to cook the food. The stones are thrown into the water with the food until the water boils and the food is cooked.

The current dishes such as "Teppan Fat Sausage" and "Stone Kidney" are baked using this method. It can be seen that the production of stone cakes can be traced back to the cooked food cooked on fire in the Paleolithic Age, and entered the Neolithic Age and primitive agriculture. The formation of cooking method is to add millet rice to the burning stone and bake it, which also led to the emergence of "stone flakes" (a thin stone slice made by polishing that can be burned underneath), which is called "stone flakes" by the cooking industry. "The Stone Cooking Period", it is said: "When Shen Nong was in the period, he was surprised to eat grains, mixed the rice and burned it on the stone and ate it." In the Zhou Dynasty, "burning millet was done by adding millet rice to the burning stone and burning it to make it cooked." This shows that stone cakes evolved from the ancient "burnt millet" and have gone through a long process of spread and continuous improvement. "Book of Rites" has "burnt millet and pork dolphins". Zheng Xuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty noted: "There was no cauldron or steamer in the Middle Ages. Rice was boiled, meat was broken, and meat was added to the burning stone to eat." Shanxi is the birthplace of Chinese civilization. Folk stone cakes are still cooked and eaten by using stones to transfer heat. The uneven scars look like burnt grains, so they are called the "living fossils" of ancient cooking. ?

Especially from primitive society to the era of Emperor Yao, although pottery was flourishing at this time, stone cooking still existed. According to "The Origin of Noodles", there is a folk legend in Shanxi that "Yao made stone cakes, and the noodles became fragrant": Yao taught people to grind millet and wheat with stone plates and stone sticks, and bake flour cakes using the "burnt millet" method. To celebrate the harvest of grain and the prosperity of the descendants, now, after the wheat harvest in southern Shanxi, every household bakes stone cakes, visits relatives and friends, and celebrates the harvest. This ancient custom originated from Yao, and the people also call stone cakes " "Yao Wang Cake" or "China's No. 1 Cake" ("Famous Food Stories")?

The ancient stone cooking technology spanned more than two thousand years of the Pottery and Bronze Ages and entered the Iron Age. In 403 BC, the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei were divided into the Jin Dynasty. The earliest three-legged iron mortar imitating the pottery mortar appeared in the Wei state (unearthed in Wanrong County, Shanxi). At that time, it was only used by the nobles. By the early Western Han Dynasty, with the widespread popularization of iron tools and the development of stone grinding technology, iron spatulas were gradually used instead of stone spatulas among the people, forming a method of placing river beach stones on flat-bottomed iron spatulas to bake pancakes. At that time, Yicheng Lian Iron technology is very developed. The iron-making ruins of the Han Dynasty found in Yenan Village show that iron was very popular in Yicheng at that time. Among the people, the iron pan quickly replaced the stone pan. However, because the cakes baked in the iron pan were not used in the stone pan. The cake baked in the griddle was delicious, so people put a layer of river pebbles on top of the iron griddle and baked it. This became the prototype of the stone pancake today, so this cake is also called "river egg baked" in our local area.

In 113 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty visited the east of the river, offered sacrifices to the queen, and had a banquet in a boat on the Fen River. He used the stone cakes presented by the people as delicacies, and wrote "Autumn Wind Ci" in which tigers roared and dragons roared. ("Poetry of Hedong Scenic Spots"). (See "Ancient Cooking and Customary Stone Cake" written by Li Xingmin) ?

In the Tang Dynasty, stone cakes were also called stone cakes and served as tributes to the emperor. There is an interesting legend about stone steamed buns. According to legend, in the Tang Dynasty, Tongzhou (now Dali County) used this cake as a tribute, and it was called Ji cake at that time. Because the people of Tongzhou are strong-willed and unyielding, when they are arrested by the government, they "will carry this cake with them and prepare food for the prison." This means that they have been prepared in advance. Once they are thrown into prison, they will carry stone buns , so as not to go hungry. In the "Sui Yuan Food List" of the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Mu called the stone steamed bun "natural cake" and gave a detailed summary of its production method. "Famous Food Stories" records that according to Yongji folk legend, Cui Yingying took refuge in Pujiu Temple and fell in love with Zhang Sheng, but was blocked by the old lady and could not meet. Yingying asked the matchmaker to buy stone cakes for Zhang Sheng every day to express her feelings. Therefore, Puban people in the holy land of love also call this stone (sand) cake "Yingying cake". In the Ming Dynasty, according to the "Fanzhi County Chronicle", during the Zhengde period, Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty once visited Beijing and tasted Scar Cake (because the stone cake has uneven scars, the locals also called it Scar Cake). In the Qing Dynasty, stone cakes were operated by three Jin professional workshops such as "Wandechang" and "Sanhetang", and spread all over the country. In some places in Yuncheng and Shaanxi, there was also the name "旮旯Tuo", which was baked with stone cakes. The cake is called "Da Nao Tuo"?

From the above, it is not difficult to see that our Yicheng dialect is also reasonable. "Ge Lao Tuo" is closer to the production process, while "Gelan Tao" The sound is closer to the dialect and richer in local connotations, but using stone cakes is more direct. ?

I would also like to mention that the tradition of "Mooncake Mountain" is very similar to the "Stone Cake Mountain" offered on the night of August 15th in our county. This custom has existed in the Qing Dynasty. The "Mooncake Mountain" that serves as a memorial to the moon in the Qianqing Palace is as high as ten floors. The giant cake at the bottom is dozens of feet in diameter and weighs more than twenty kilograms, while the small cake at the top of the mountain is only two inches in size and weighs three taels. After the emperor worshiped the mooncakes to pray for a good harvest, he rewarded his favorite concubine with exquisite and unique "mini" cakes. He presented the crispy, fragrant and soft "Aoerhe" mooncakes in Manchu, which means "breast" mooncakes to the Queen Mother, and cut the bottom cake and gave it to the Queen Mother. Each of the princes, ministers, concubines, princesses, and married women of Fujin will have a share. The "Pebble Cake Mountain" is similar, except that on the top level there is a rabbit-shaped pebble cake inserted with chopsticks, and it is flying towards the moon, which means bringing the offering to the moon god. Maybe our Yicheng stone cakes were once used as tributes.

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Nowadays, the stone cakes in different places are different. The stone cakes in Yicheng (Geran peach) are thick and firm, with pits on the cake. They are moderately wet and dry, golden in color, and have the soft and delicate fragrance of stuffed melons. It has the crispy taste of dried fruits, tastes dry and delicious, is durable in storage, does not deteriorate after being stored for a long time, and is very convenient to carry. Very popular with people. The stone cakes produced in Dali and Taigu, Shaanxi, are both "dry cakes" that are thinner, have similar production methods, and are easy to carry. Crispy and durable, it is also produced in Fenyang, Guanzhong, Fanzhi, Hejin, Lucheng, Luliang and Pingyao. When you taste it carefully, it is not as good as the customs and stories. Although you can enjoy the ancient cooking and customs full of Jin style and Jin charm with the villagers. Nowadays, although the value of stone cakes has doubled, it has become a good product for consumption and as a gift when visiting relatives and friends. There are already knowledgeable people in other areas who, with their unique economic consciousness, have registered trademarks and are specialized in the production of stone cake series, and the products have been sold in supermarkets and high-end restaurants. As for our Yicheng specialty "Gerlan Tuo", currently it only has packaging and no registered trademark, which is a great pity for the regional economic development of our county.