Chapter 242 Osmanthus Cake

Osmanthus cake is a classic Chinese pastry, and its name and method of making have been passed down in China for a long time.

Classic dishes like these are usually accompanied by a legendary story, which adds to their luster.

Osmanthus cake is no exception.

According to legend, during the Ming Dynasty, a scholar named Yang Shen was reading at night by candlelight. He was too tired to read and fell asleep. At this time, Kuixing appeared in his dream and asked him if he wanted to go to the Moon Palace to pick laurel. The scholar said yes. So Kuixing ordered the Dragon King to carry him to the Moon Palace to pick laurel. In the Moon Palace, the scholar saw a tall and beautiful osmanthus tree. He struggled to climb up the tree, picked the laurel branch, and then returned to his study.

Afterwards, the scholar took part in the imperial examination, and everything went very smoothly. In the end, he successfully passed the examination and became the top scorer.

This is the origin of the saying "winning the laurel".

Later, a chef heard this legendary story and made cakes with osmanthus flowers, which became the famous osmanthus cake.

The young man chose to make osmanthus cake because he placed a good wish in it through the meaning of osmanthus cake. He hoped that the plate of osmanthus cake in his hand could bring good luck as the legend said and help him realize his wish.

When people are nervous and anxious, they always place their hopes on unreal things, such as a sky full of gods and Buddhas, a good feng shui site, an auspicious time and day, or some symbol or symbol that can bring them good luck.

Because human resources are limited, there are always things that people cannot do, and people always doubt their own abilities.

When there are things that one cannot do, when one feels powerless, when one is filled with doubts, one hopes that gods and Buddhas will come to help and make the impossible possible.

But there have never been gods or Buddhas in this world.

The scholar was able to pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar not because of his success in the Yue Palace, but because he had sufficient strength.

He doesn't need legends, but legends need him.

The legend of "Winning the Prize in the Moon Palace" needs a top scholar to prove its value.

If a scholar who won the first prize in the Moon Palace failed the exam many times afterwards, "winning the first prize" would probably become a symbol of bad luck.

It is useless to ask gods and Buddhas for help for things that cannot be achieved by human power.

Asking for help from gods and Buddhas for things that can be accomplished by human power is just using your own achievements to gild the gods and Buddhas' reputation.

Since gods and Buddhas are such dispensable things, why bother with them?
Just like the osmanthus cake in front of you.

What ultimately brings good luck is not the legend, but the chef's own ability.

If you don't have the strength, no matter how good the meaning is, it's just empty talk.

When you put the osmanthus cake into your mouth, the first taste that comes to your mind is sweetness.

The elegant fragrance and refreshing sweetness are just right.

Chinese people like desserts that are not too sweet, which is often said to be sweet but not greasy. In other words, they are sweet but not so sweet that people feel uncomfortable and lose their appetite.

If a dessert makes you never want to take a second bite after taking one, or if you never want to eat a second one after eating one, or if you never want to eat it a second time after eating it once, then it can only mean that it is a failed dessert.

Delicious food should not only satisfy momentary appetite, but also bring people continuous longing and love.

Primary appetite is for immediate satisfaction, to satisfy temporary hunger, desire, and greed.

But humans are not beasts.

Human appetite has higher pursuits than primary appetite, and what people pursue is no longer momentary and complete satisfaction, but a slow and lasting sense of pleasure.

Although this feeling of pleasure is not strong at first, it is like a continuous wave, constantly bringing happiness to the body and mind. At the same time, when the body's desire is satisfied, the mind is looking forward to the next encounter.

The philosophy of the Chinese people is "moderation", or to put it another way, "just right". We have been looking for the "just right" range in everything, not too strong to bore people, nor too light to make people lose interest.

It seems to be there and not there, close yet far away.

Eventually reach a range that is both pleasant and not annoying.

Just like a dessert that is sweet but not greasy, it does not give people a strong impact on the taste buds, so the body's desire for sweetness will not be satisfied instantly, but will present a state of slow satisfaction.

The refreshing sweetness slowly melts in the mouth, as clear as a spring, flowing slowly on the taste buds on the tip of the tongue, leaving a moving sweetness. When you want to capture it, it slips away from the taste buds, leaving only the aftertaste of expectation.

The texture of osmanthus cake is delicate and soft, melting in your mouth, sliding across the tip of your tongue as lightly as a cloud, leaving behind an indescribable tenderness and satisfaction.

The reason why Guixianglou's osmanthus cake is famous is because of the master chef's unique secret recipe. He added a new ingredient to the original ingredients of the osmanthus cake, which is mint.

Subsequently, many pastry shops followed suit and added mint to their desserts, but none of them could achieve the harmonious and wonderful taste of Guixianglou. Instead, the spicy taste of the mint destroyed the original sweet taste of the pastries.

In the end, the attempt to draw a tiger failed and ended up drawing a dog.

And the osmanthus cake in your mouth at this moment cleverly blends the fragrance of osmanthus, the sweetness of sugar and the spicy and stimulating aroma of mint. The chef tamed the spicy fragrance into a fresh and natural taste, making the sweetness in your mouth lighter, more distant, more elusive and more irresistible.

After eating one piece, I can’t wait to eat the second piece, then the third piece, the fourth piece…

It seems that no matter how many cakes are placed in front of me, I can eat them all without getting tired of them at all. The pleasure brought by the cakes has never diminished, but keeps coming one after another, making my heart not feel tired from the continuous pleasure, but more and more excited and expectant.

In addition to mint, the osmanthus cake in your mouth hides a more wonderful taste.

This taste is as fresh as mint, as fragrant as osmanthus, and as sweet as sucrose.

It is hidden among these three, but with its commonalities with the three, it turns itself into a bridge, connecting the three different flavors and integrating them at a deeper level, leaving no gap between the three flavors, as if this is the case in nature.

The taste of this integrated whole is more mysterious, more harmonious, more just right and closer to that perfect range than the osmanthus cake from Guixianglou.

But what does it taste like?
There is actually a taste in the world that blends these three flavors into one.

Master Luo Tian savored the food carefully and kept thinking in his mind. The taste and appearance of various ingredients flashed through his mind, but he couldn't figure it out.

Because the taste is so light and hidden so deep that it is difficult to detect.

Master Luo Tian was too lazy to think about it anymore. He has always been a lazy person.

And with such a gifted genius around you, do you still need to use your brain?
He asked directly: "Xu Qing, what is the fourth flavor hidden in the osmanthus cake?"

Xu Qing didn't keep the question secret and answered directly: "It's orange peel."

Orange peel!

As soon as this answer came out, Master Luo Tian suddenly understood.

Yup!

It's orange peel.

What else could it be other than orange peel that has fragrance, freshness and sweetness at the same time?
But Xu Qing could instantly detect such a subtle smell...

Even though Master Luo Tian thought he was already accustomed to Xu Qing's powerful talent, he still couldn't help but be amazed.

(End of this chapter)