Xiaoxi Liquor Cake

Xiaoxi Liquor Cake

　　The "Xiaoxi Liquor Medicine," also known as "Xiaoxi Liquor Cake," of Yudu County has a long history, originating in the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty and dating back over 260 years.

　　 The optimal time to produce Xiaoxi Liquor Cake is during the seventh, eighth, and ninth months of the lunar calendar, when the weather is dry, not too hot or cold, and the humidity is suitable. After the Dragon Boat Festival each year, the cake grass and peach leaves are harvested, dried, and ground. The ratio is one jin and two liang of cake grass and one liang of peach leaves per hundred jin of rice. Before making the cake, the powder is soaked for two hours and then set aside for later use.

　　 Only early-season rice is selected for the ingredients; late-season or glutinous rice, though tougher, are not suitable. During production, the early rice is first pounded into powder in a stone mortar. Around seventy jin of water is added per hundred jin of rice, along with the pre-prepared cake grass and peach leaves. These are mixed thoroughly until the consistency is neither too dry nor too wet—just enough to hold a shape when squeezed by hand. The mixture is then placed in a frame, pressed into a cake, sliced into strips with a knife, and cut into small pieces before being placed in a fermentation room. After two days, once all the fine fuzz has disappeared, the cakes are sun-dried. At this point, the liquor cake is complete.

　　 For over two hundred years, Xiaoxi Liquor Cake has been popular among folk communities and has flourished across the provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, and Guangxi. It has made an indelible contribution to the liquor-making and alcohol industries. Currently, Xiaoxi Liquor Cake remains at the handmade workshop stage, with individual households managing their own modest operations.