Jinyun Sesame Seed Cake

Jinyun Sesame Seed Cake

　　"Jinyun Sesame Seed Cake" has a long history. Legend has it that in ancient times, the Yellow Emperor once refined immortal elixirs on the stone bamboo shoots of Jinyun Xiandu using a large iron cauldron. After the elixirs were completed, he and the concubines and ministers who consumed them ascended to heaven on dragons and became immortals. Those who did not consume the elixirs began imitating him, casting iron cauldrons to refine their own. The villagers below the stone bamboo shoots of Xiandu watched this in confusion, wondering, "Why would eating something from an iron cauldron lead to ascending to heaven and becoming immortal?" Some even wanted to try it themselves, but they had no money to cast cauldrons and eventually gave up.

　　One day, a villager figured out the truth and said to everyone, "Eating something from an iron cauldron and ascending to heaven to become immortal — we can't afford to cast cauldrons and won't become immortals. But we can make earthen cauldrons, eat what's cooked in them, in hopes of gaining longevity and warding off disasters." Everyone thought this made sense, so they began making earthen cauldrons and gathering herbs in the mountains to refine elixirs. One village woman was baking cakes at home when she saw her son just finish refining some elixirs. Noticing there was still charcoal fire inside the earthen cauldron and that its inner walls were smooth, she casually stuck the cake onto the cauldron wall to bake it. Gradually, the aroma of the baked cake filled the house and wafted outside, attracting curious villagers. After tasting it, they found the baked cake crispier, more fragrant, and softer than those pan-fried ones. Over time, the villagers realized that eating elixirs refined in earthen cauldrons didn’t lead to longevity or disaster prevention, so they modified the cauldrons into dedicated baking barrels for making cakes. Some villagers even carried specially made baking barrels around the country, making a living by selling baked cakes.