◎Our reporter Liu Hao
This bowl of noodles has always been "hot".
Combining the five flavors of "sour, refreshing, fresh, spicy, and hot", Liuzhou snail noodles, as a unique local delicacy, have not only continued to sell well both at home and abroad in recent years, but also made their city famous throughout the country.
In 2020, the sales revenue of Liuzhou pre-packaged snail noodles will reach 11 billion yuan, and "millet noodles" is developing into a "big industry".
On the afternoon of April 26, General Secretary Xi Jinping, who was investigating in Guangxi, came to the Liuzhou snail powder production cluster area to learn about the development of characteristic industries.
Liuzhou is the birthplace of snail noodles and the earliest place where snail eating was found in domestic archaeology.
The embryonic form of Liuzhou snail noodles roughly originated in the 1980s.
In 2012, the documentary "China on the Bite of the Tongue" brought snail noodles and sour bamboo shoots to the nation's attention.
"A bowl of authentic Liuzhou snail noodles with'sour, refreshing, fresh, spicy and hot' flavors. It needs to be boiled with snail meat, chicken skeleton, tube bones and more than 10 ingredients to make a stock, and then paired with sour bamboo shoots and capers , Yuba, peanuts and other ingredients.” On April 27, Ni Shuyang, president of Liuzhou Snail Noodles Association, master craftsman of Snail Noodles, and representative inheritor of Liuzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Project, introduced to the reporter of Science and Technology Daily.
In 2015, the city's output value of Liuzhou snail noodles was only 500 million yuan at the initial stage of industrialization, and by 2020, it has reached 11 billion yuan.
The industrialization development of Liuzhou snail noodles from scratch, from small to large, only took five or six years.
The "popularity" stems from continuous innovation.
At the beginning of 2015, Liuzhou City put forward the development concept of "industrialization, standardization, branding, and scale" of snail powder, and determined that the Liuzhou snail powder industry would take the road of mechanized production in bags.
How to make snails noodles into instant noodles to realize bagged instant food and realize large-scale production?
Local food production companies have started to explore.
With the continuous improvement of rice noodle production technology, physical sterilization, vacuum packaging and other technologies, breakthroughs have been made in the research and development of instant bagged snail noodles, and the production efficiency has been greatly improved.
"After countless attempts, we have broken through many technical barriers and increased the production capacity of bagged snail noodles by nearly ten times." said Yao Hanlin, chairman of Guangxi Luo Bawang Food Co., Ltd.
"A good bowl of snail noodles must ensure the original flavor." Due to the limitation of industrialization technology, the early bagged snail noodles often have defects such as impure spicy taste, not soft powder, single taste, taste and substance. The reduction degree of snail noodles in the store is not consistent.
After continuous technological innovation, some companies have developed instant snail noodles in bags that restore deliciousness, can be stored for a long time, and are convenient to carry. The shelf life of bagged snail noodles has been increased from 30 days to 60 days or 180 days, which is snails. Fans became popular throughout the country and laid the foundation.
Not only attaches importance to technology research and development, related companies are also committed to continuous innovation of varieties, so that snail powder products flourish.
From spicy snail noodles, dried snails noodles, snails and duck feet in pot, to snails noodles, and boxed snail noodles, the varieties are updated and new ones are frequently created for consumers.
Innovation is also reflected in the manufacturing and technological transformation of production line automation equipment.
"We have carried out the innovation of the localization of automated machinery, independently developed 3 sets of production equipment, 2 sets of batching and mixing equipment, and applied for 7 national invention patents, 6 utility model patents and 2 appearance patents, and improved the traditional snail powder. The production process has realized the standardized production of products." Yao Hanlin said.
The production of bagged snail powder in Liuzhou is a brand-new production mode, which requires a lot of new equipment and new technology, and it also promotes the continuous improvement of independent research and development capabilities.
Guangxi Ruizhi Machinery Co., Ltd. was originally an enterprise that provided automation solutions for manufacturing enterprises. After the rise of the bagged snail flour industry, the company closely integrated the needs of snail flour enterprises, developed an automated production line and obtained a number of patents.
Standards promote innovation and lead development.
In order to further standardize the brand and expand its development, Liuzhou City has also issued the "Liuzhou Snail Noodles Local Standard" and the "Prepackaged Liuzhou Snail Noodles Local Standard".
Yufeng District, Liuzhou City, the main producing place of snail powder, promotes the establishment and improvement of raw material varieties, planting procedures, primary processed products, deep processed products and other pre-production, mid-production, post-production and various stages of standards for the establishment and improvement of raw materials for snail powder. The production line realizes automation and intelligence, and continuously improves the added value and technological content of products.
Through continuous technological innovation, in recent years, Liuzhou City has accelerated the development of industrialization, large-scale and branding of snail flour, opening up the entire industrial chain of raw material planting and breeding, production and packaging, and e-commerce services.
Nowadays, with the characteristics of "sour, refreshing, fresh, spicy and hot", snail noodles are popular all over the country, and they are also exported to more than 20 countries and regions, becoming a city card of Liuzhou and a representative of overseas export of Chinese food culture.
Small snail powder, leveraging the big industry.
The old street snacks gave birth to the entire industry chain, and the tens of billions industry has gradually become a scale, riding the wind and waves.