Ye Family Pastry

Ye Family Pastry

　　    Suqian’s Ye Family Pastry is a specialty of Suqian City, Jiangsu Province. Known also as "Qianlong Tribute Crisp," it boasts four outstanding qualities: aromatic, crispy, flaky, and tender. Local government officials used to send the pastry as a tribute to the emperor in the capital every year, hence the name “Qianlong Tribute Crisp.” Today, the Ye family’s pastry-making craft has been passed down to the ninth generation. Visitors from other regions always make it a point to try the taste of Qianlong Tribute Crisp when they visit Zaohe.

　　    Suqian’s Ye Family Pastry was already well-known as early as the Tang Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, during Emperor Qianlong’s second southern tour, he tried this pastry and found it deliciously fragrant and crisp. He then issued an imperial edict summoning the eldest Ye to the palace to serve as an imperial chef. Later, he was brought into the palace to cook exclusively for the emperor. When the elder Ye turned 60 and could no longer adapt to life in the palace, he resigned and returned to his hometown to continue making and selling pastries. Since then, the Ye family’s flaky pastry has become even more famous. Local officials continued to send the Ye family’s crisp pastries as a tribute to the emperor every year, which is how it got the name “Qianlong Tribute Crisp.” Today, the Ye family’s pastry-making craft has been passed down to the ninth generation. Visitors from other regions always make it a point to try the taste of Qianlong Crisp Pastry when they visit Zaohe. In 1989, the renowned poet Ding Mang visited the Qianlong Palace in Zaohe. After tasting the Ye Family Pastry, he happily composed a poem in its praise: “A wisp of fragrant crispness emerges from Zaohe, collected by soldiers into rowing songs. By Ye’s oven, people speak of skill, eight generations of beauty offered in countless pieces.”

　　    Qianlong Tribute Crisp has four outstanding qualities: aromatic, crispy, flaky, and tender. The so-called aroma refers to the unified fragrance of the pastry, oil, and sesame. Especially the sesame aroma—legend has it that while sesame husks are bitter and astringent, the sesame kernel is where the true fragrance lies, and the Ye family uses only top-grade sesame kernels. The crispness means the pastry shatters upon touching the lips; it must be handled gently, yet even when left out for 3–5 days in summer, it remains fragrant and crisp. If packaged in plastic bags, the crisp layer can be preserved for over 2–3 months. The flakiness refers to its soft and airy texture, not just on the outside but consistent throughout. The tenderness means it is delicate and translucent, with an attractive appearance. Freshly baked, the pastry is snow-white and golden-yellow, adorned with glistening sesame kernels that look like exquisite art—tempting to the appetite, yet almost too beautiful to eat.