As a time-honored brand, Zhoucun Shaobing has a long history. Its handmade production skills have been included in the national list of representative projects of intangible cultural heritage and the first batch of "Good Products Shandong" brands.

In Shandong, when it comes to big crispy sesame cakes, it is hard not to think of the "Zhoucun sesame cakes" that are famous at home and abroad. As a time-honored brand, Zhoucun Shaobing has a long history. Its handmade production skills have been included in the national list of representative projects of intangible cultural heritage and the first batch of "Good Products Shandong" brands.

originated in 1800 " Silk Road "

Zhoucun Shaobing has a long history and can be traced back to Han Dynasty more than 1,800 years ago. The opening of the Maritime Silk Road brings the Western Regions specialty food culture to the source of , Zibo , and integrates it with local food to give birth to a new flavor.

In the late Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, a baked cake workshop called "Juhezhai" in Zhoucun improved the Western Region Hu cake production skills and made large baked cakes with four characteristics: thin, fragrant, crispy and crispy, which attracted the attention of the people. Because it is very thin and crispy, it is like the leaves falling from the trees in autumn, and is affectionately called "Guala Leaf" sesame cake by diners.

In 1904, Zhoucun was established as a commercial port. After the Jiaoji Railway was opened to traffic, the "Gualaye" Shaobing became a gift given to people when visiting relatives and friends and timely snacks for past business travelers, and became famous for a while.

On a night, more than 10 pancake workshops rose from the ground in Zhou Village, and the big suds and pancakes became the "weapon" for the people of Zhou Village to get rich. By the 1950s, in order to better develop Zhoucun Dashu Seed Bread, the small sesame cake workshop was uniformly incorporated into the state-owned Zhoucun Food Factory (now Shandong Zhoucun Sesame Cake Co., Ltd. ), and worked together. In 1961, the food factory registered the "Zhoucun" brand trademark for Dasu Shaobing. At this point, the thin, fragrant, crispy and crispy Dasu Shaobing had a new business card: Zhoucun Shaobing.

A piece of sesame cake, 3000 sesame

makes Zhoucun sesame cake, from selecting materials, mixing (mixing noodles), dividing, kneading, stretching, hemp, baking and packaging, there are 9 processes in total. Among them, key technical links such as kneading and extension have been passed down for more than a hundred years, and they still rely on the master-apprentice hand-made model of the master and apprentice, and the master teaches them step by step. In 2008, Zhoucun's sesame cake production skills were successfully included in the national list of representative projects of intangible cultural heritage.

"The cake is the best when you go out of the high school, how can you make a favor like a nanny?" The reason why the sesame cake, which made the poet Zhan Ruoshui , is popular is that in addition to following traditional production skills and exquisite craftsmanship, the choice of raw materials is also very important. It is reported that the raw materials needed to make Zhoucun sesame seeds, sucrose and salt are all pure natural ingredients. Among them, wheat flour is ground from a wheat variety unique to the hilly areas of Zibo. This flour has a suitable gluten level, which is convenient for the production and molding of Zhoucun sesame cakes, and also maintains good crispiness. The domestic sesame is selected with small grains, thin skin, thick flesh, rich nutrition and rich fragrance. Sucrose is sugar cane sugar produced in Guangdong and Guangxi. It has three functions in Zhoucun sesame cakes, namely coloring (golden), shortening and sweet taste.

After selecting materials and carefully crafted by the cake makers, the small cake baking was baked in the furnace of at 240℃. Finally, a sesame cake covered with nearly 3,000 sesame seeds were freshly released. Since ancient times, literati and poets have praised this thin and crispy big crisp cake, describing it as "shaped like a full moon, as thin as autumn leaves" and "beads falling on the ground are scattered and jade is broken, and the aftertaste is endless." It is reported that the royal family in the late Qing Dynasty repeatedly transferred Zhoucun sesame cakes, which also made Zhoucun sesame cakes famous all over the world.

"Two Creations" empowers enterprises to rebirth, and "shaocai" has become a new selling point for the integration of culture and tourism

Zhoucun Shaocai has been passed down for generations since its birth. It is still deeply loved by people in today's rapid development of machine production. It is the result of inheritors not forgetting their original aspirations and fulfilling their responsibilities.

In the late 1990s, Zhang Zhaohai, the head of Zhoucun Shaobing, who was the first to take office, judged the situation, reformed and innovated, and proposed the corporate spirit of "hard work, diligence and dedication, honest and enterprising, and serving the country with performance", forming a strong spiritual force to usher in a new spring for the development of the enterprise.In 2005, due to the needs of enterprise development, the company was renamed Shandong Zhoucun Shaocai Co., Ltd., and at the same time proposed the "second entrepreneurship" development strategy of "uniting one's heart and mind, sharing one's desire, development and improvement, and sharing of results". The company's development ushered in new glory and was awarded the honorary titles of "National Model Labor Relations Harmonious Enterprise".

In 2021, the company launched the "Zhoucun Shaobing" and "Lianlian" dual-brand dual-engine strategy, leading the new with the old and promoting the old with the new. In the first half of the year alone, the company's performance achieved a new breakthrough, and a series of products under Lianlian Food were unanimously praised by all walks of life, empowering the Zhoucun Shaobing brand to become younger and fashionable.

At the same time, it is committed to the new development of regional cultural and tourism integration. Zhoucun Shaobian Production Base and Zhoucun Shaobian Cultural Industry Creative Park have been completed successively. Today, the Zhoucun Shaobing Museum and the Zhoucun Shaobing Training Institute receive more than 2 million tourists every year.

In addition, it has joined forces with well-known e-commerce companies to position a new direction of development. Li Lian, general manager of Zhoucun Shaobing, said: "In the future, Zhoucun Shaobing must rely on technological power to empower traditional handicrafts, and develop new packaging that is more in line with the eating habits of modern people and the aesthetic and fashion needs of young people. At the same time, the new product structure must be adjusted in a timely manner and meet the requirements of nutrition and health. In this way, it can help the dissemination of traditional Chinese food culture and expand the influence and popularity of Zhoucun Shaobing."

"The people of Zhoucun Shaobing in the new era must always remember that 'the thin one is the thick one is the conscience'" is Zhang Zhaohai's corporate management philosophy. And between thin and thick, the quality of Zhoucun Shaobing and Zhoucun Shaobing people is fully displayed. The so-called thinness is the unique quality of Zhoucun Shaobing. It strictly controls quality and always serves as the industry leader; the so-called thickness is the century-old reputation of Zhoucun Shaobing and the historical responsibility of Zhoucun Shaobing people. As Zhang Zhaohai emphasized, Zhoucun Shaobing is a valuable asset for the people of Zhoucun. "The important task of inheritance and development falls on our shoulders. We must inherit and develop the Zhoucun Shaobing business well, and make the 'Zhoucun' brand a well-known regional brand."

New Yellow River reporter: Shi Xiaodan

Editor: Zhao Shanshan