In Lanzhou, people's warm narratives about the city cannot bypass "a river, a bowl of noodles, and a book". However, when we really walk into the fireworks in the city, savor a piece of soft and sweet rose cake, or take a sip of floral yogurt, we will find that there is also an indispensable mellow fragrance on the taste map of this city - it comes from Bitter Water Town, Yongdeng County, Lanzhou City, which is a bitter water rose that spans more than 200 years, takes root in 100,000 acres of flower fields, and is watered by countless hands. This unique "sweetness" is the affectionate gift of the land, the slow brewing of time, and the taste nostalgia hidden in the daily life of Lanzhou people.
Flowers bloom bitterly: the sweet gene of a rose
To explore the source of "sweetness", we must go up the Zhuanglang River and enter Yongdeng. Among the local population, the legend of the bitter water rose began with an unexpected natural cross. More than two hundred years ago, when the local wild small-leaved rose and the traditional Chinese red rose met here, the harsh environment of drought and little rain, large temperature difference between day and night, and selenium-rich soil not only killed this new life, but tempered it into a rare and excellent variety in the world.
"Bitter water rose can become a representative of 'sweetness', first of all, because it is unique." Wang Zuopeng, vice president of Lanzhou Rose Industry Association, was full of pride in his words. His Gansu Oriental Tianrun Rose Technology Development Co., Ltd. is rooted in this land. In his view, the "sweetness gene" of this flower lies not only in its more than 200 years of planting history, but also in the irreproducible land imprint - it is one of the two types of cognate roses recognized by the state, which has both edible and medicinal value.
This gift from the earth is confirmed by accurate data: the oil yield of bitter water rose is as high as 4 per 10,000, which is twice that of other varieties; The content of citronellol in rose essential oil is also much higher than that of other varieties. The numbers are cold, and the feeling on the tip of the tongue is alive. Wang Zuopeng picked up a dried flower bud and twisted it gently, and the fragrant aroma came to his nose. He smiled and said: "Our rose soothes the liver and relieves depression." Today's young people are under a lot of pressure, and a cup of rose tea can relax your tense nerves. It is not only sweet on the taste buds, but also a kind of 'spiritual sweetness' that can awaken pleasure and soothe the body and mind. ”
Today, this flower is not only blooming in the fields. In the processing workshop of Dongfang Tianrun, fresh roses are distilled and condensed into "liquid gold" worth a thousand gold - rose essential oil, and clear and fragrant rose hydrosol. From here, they are shipped to cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai, becoming secret recipes for all kinds of cosmetics. From a flower to a chain, Bitter Water Rose quietly rewrites the city's industrial map with its "sweet gene".
Cake aroma conveyance: the sweetness of the time-honored brand sticks to it
When the first rays of sunlight in the morning shone on Yongdeng, the factory where Dingwa sesame cakes were already floating with the fragrance of wheat. The masters followed the old fermented noodle fermentation method passed down from their ancestors, rolled out the fresh and soft dough into a dough as thin as cicada wings, first brushed with a layer of clear rapeseed oil, then evenly spread golden turmeric powder, emerald green fragrant bean powder, and finally spread the attractive crimson - hand-boiled bitter water rose sauce. "It's like putting a rainbow on a cake." A master said with a smile. The dough is carefully rolled up and pressed into a cake blank, and what is rolled in is not only rose sauce, but also Yongdeng's mountains and rivers and the taste of the four seasons.
After the cake blank is put into the oven, the water evaporates quickly and the rose aroma is thoroughly stimulated. The baked rose mille-feuille cake has a golden and crispy outer skin, and it will fall off with a light touch. Take a bite, the mellow aroma of wheat comes first, followed by the strong aroma of sesame, and finally the sweet aroma of bitter rose melts on the tip of the tongue, sweet but not greasy, and the aftertaste is long.
Wu Haiyan, the inheritor of Dingwa sesame cakes, was in the workshop, looking at the busy workers, and said with emotion: "Many old Lanzhou people came here and ate this bite." For them, this is not a piece of cake, it is a thought of decades. He hopes that in the future, when people mention Lanzhou, they can not only think of "a river, a book, and a bowl of noodles", but also take away "a piece of cake". This persistence makes the "sweetness" thick and long.
Drink renewal: cross-border and local sweetness breaks the circle
"Sweetness" never stops at tradition. In the hands of the younger generation, bitter water roses are breaking the circle with a new attitude and becoming the most regionally recognizable finishing touch in trendy drinks.
Walking through the supermarkets in Lanzhou's major business districts, the pink rose yogurt printed with the logo of "Reader" is particularly eye-catching - this is a romantic crossover between the manor ranch and the national magazine, integrating bitter water roses into mellow yogurt. Unpacking, the elegant floral fragrance comes to the face; Under the careful tasting, the sweetness stretches layer by layer on the tip of the tongue, just like reading the warm text of "The Reader" while wandering in the sea of roses. This cup of yogurt perfectly integrates the cultural heritage of Lanzhou's "one book" with the romantic feelings of "a flower", making the abstract urban memory tasteable, palpable and memorable.
If rose yogurt is a gentle tribute, the "Bitter Water Manufacturing" café in Lanzhou Old Street is a bold and avant-garde taste experiment.
After graduating from university, Li Yihang, the owner of the post-90s family, keenly captured the new possibilities of his hometown's specialties. "I don't want everyone to feel that the specialty is 'rustic', and I don't want the coffee to look too high-end." He said with a smile. In this small shop of less than 50 square meters, Bitter Water Rose collides with coffee beans in countless unexpected ways.
The signature Bitter Water Rose Latte is by no means a simple petal embellishment. "Before opening the store, I visited a number of rose factories in Yongdeng, compared dozens of flavors, selected the rose sauce with the most mellow aroma, and specially customized coffee beans that could balance with the flavor." Li Yihang said that although there were doubts, he always insisted on his ideas. On the counter, the rose mille-feuille cake is layered, and more than ten layers of puff pastry are wrapped in rich rose sauce, which is solid and satisfying in the mouth; Western-style desserts such as rose scones and rose cookies are staggered, allowing local flavors to meet Western baking. The exquisitely packaged dried rosebuds have become a must-have souvenir for customers, Li Yihang told reporters: "Many foreign tourists will contact me to mail them after returning. ”
From traditional rose cakes to cross-border rose yogurt to creative rose coffee, the "sweetness" of bitter water roses has completed a gorgeous transformation. It is no longer just a sweet fragrance in the memory of old Lanzhou, but also a trendy drink in the hands of young people and a special souvenir in the suitcases of foreign tourists. This "sweetness", rooted in historical heritage and embracing the innovation of the times, can not only withstand the precipitation of the years, but also bear the new trend. ( Our reporter Tao Yibing text/photo)