The epidemic triggered a rush for snail noodles. The nutritional knowledge behind the annual sales of "top-notch" food worth 10 billion yuan

The topic #螺蛳粉還支付# has been read over 300 million times on Weibo. Why has it become such a popular food? What are the differences between fermented foods and pickled foods? How can we eat them healthily?

Written by reporter Zhao Tianyu, Photo and text editor Chen Yongjie

New Media Editor/Chen Xuanzhi

Interview experts:

Li Hong (Researcher at China Food Fermentation Industries Research Institute)

Fan Zhihong (Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, China Agricultural University)

Recently, the topic #雳蛳粉還費送曳# has been read 340 million times on Sina Weibo, and the number of discussions has soared to 170,000. Everyone's eager anticipation can be felt across the screen.

In fact, since the outbreak of the epidemic, snail noodles, which are sour, spicy and fresh, have become a phenomenal fast food product. Not only have they frequently appeared on hot searches, but many brands of snail noodles are in short supply. Wuling, which makes whatever the people need, has made snail noodles in addition to masks.

▲Wuling Motors started producing snail rice noodle (picture from the Internet)

With the development of the economy and society, people's demand for food has entered the era of "appearance control" of sensory consumption. Spicy and sour snail noodles have naturally become the "darling" of the times, and sales have increased significantly under the triggering of the epidemic. On the other hand, eating too much "spicy" and "heavy-tasting" snail noodles is not conducive to nutritional balance, and it should be eaten with vegetables, meat and eggs.

The stench of snail rice noodle comes from fermentation gas. Unlike traditional snacks such as shabu-shabu mutton and Guangdong rice noodle rolls, snail rice noodle does not have a long history. Legend has it that it originated in the Liuzhou night market in the 1970s and 1980s, but the specific inventor and shop are no longer traceable.

But similar to Chongqing noodles and stinky mandarin fish, snail rice noodle became popular in 2012 because of the TV series A Bite of China. This local snack originated from Liuzhou, Guangxi, and was successfully packaged by manufacturers and began to be sold in the market. The sour, spicy and refreshing taste of snail rice noodle and its unique taste bud characteristics make it a leader in the food industry.

There is a saying that people in Liuzhou "would rather eat without meat than without snail noodles", which is enough to illustrate the local people's preference for this snack. In addition to the main ingredient of rice noodles, snail noodles also contain sour bamboo shoots, oil fruits, sour beans, bean curd, fungus, day lily and peanuts. The most representative ingredient among them is sour bamboo shoots.

The documentary "A Bite of China" once introduced the production of Liuzhou sour bamboo shoots, in which "big sweet bamboo shoots" and "mountain spring water" are two crucial points. The sour bamboo shoots must be pickled in a large earthenware jar and placed in a cool place for about half a month.

▲In addition to snail rice noodle, many other spicy and delicious foods are popular among people (Picture from the Internet)

But the most controversial part of snail noodles is precisely the sour bamboo shoots. Some people think that the sour smell of sour bamboo shoots is unbearable, but some people think that this smell is similar to stinky tofu, "smelling stinky but tasting delicious", which is exactly the soul of snail noodles. Some people even tried to eat snail noodles without "sour bamboo shoots", but the result was disappointing.

Li Hong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Food Fermentation Industries, told reporters that the process of soaking sour bamboo shoots is also the fermentation process. The fermented sour bamboo shoots emit a variety of volatile components. Microorganisms will break down the macromolecular components on the bamboo shoots, such as starch and protein, into small sugars and amino acids. Elements such as sulfur in the amino acids will also produce other metabolites, making the sour bamboo shoots delicious while also producing other special flavors.

▲After fermentation, the sour bamboo shoots release 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, indole components and phenolic substances, which are similar to the brine of stinky tofu (picture from the Internet)

The sour smell of bamboo shoots is closely related to the components after fermentation. Scientific research shows that among the volatile components of fermented bamboo shoots, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, indole components and phenol substances were detected. These substances are similar to the brine of stinky tofu, which is the "culprit" of the stinky snail rice noodle.

In addition, the soup of snail noodles is also very particular. Although there are no snails, it is made by stir-frying snails and spices, and then boiling them. It also exudes a unique flavor. This flavor is blended with the sour and stinky smell of sour bamboo shoots, making the unique "stinky" flavor of snail noodles more intense.

Multiple factors have contributed to the popularity of snail rice noodle. There is a saying circulating among the people about snail rice noodle: "Once you have eaten snail rice noodle three times, you will become addicted to it." In real life, more and more people, represented by female consumers, are becoming addicted to it.

Statistics show that in 2019, the annual turnover of the entire Liuzhou snail noodle industry exceeded 10 billion yuan. During the epidemic, it was affected by factors such as insufficient production capacity and was frequently searched due to shortages and "urging by the whole nation".

▲"Snail noodles" frequently appeared on hot searches during the epidemic (picture from the Internet)

Why is eating snail rice noodle so addictive? Li Hong told reporters that this is closely related to the ingredient "sour bamboo shoots" in snail rice noodle. As a fermented food, sour bamboo shoots will produce amino acids after fermentation, which is similar to stinky tofu that smells bad but tastes good. This is an organic substance that can stimulate people's taste buds, making people feel that the taste is extremely delicious after tasting it, and eventually make people feel "high".

According to Fan Zhihong, associate professor of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the School of Food Science and Engineering at China Agricultural University, the reason why snail rice noodle is so popular is not only because it is fermented food, but also because of its ingredients and taste. Fan Zhihong said that snail rice noodle is sour, spicy, fresh and oily, which meets the tasters' dual needs of vision and taste.

Fan Zhihong further explained that acidic food can cause the active enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract to volatilize, producing acidic enzymes to promote digestion, and the appetite will be increased after eating acidic food; and the capsaicin in peppers will produce a spicy feeling. This spicy feeling is an alkaloid that can "heat up" nerve cells. People don't like pain, but they like the burning pain in their bodies. The endorphins produced can bring people neural pleasure. This is why many people "like to eat more the spicier the food."

▲Snail rice noodle has become a name card of Liuzhou. In order to promote the culture of snail rice noodle, Liuzhou once held an event where 10,000 people cooked snail rice noodle together. (Picture from the Internet)

"From the earliest hot and sour noodles, to pickled fish, old-style pickled cabbage noodles, to today's self-heating hot pot and snail noodles, it is not difficult to find that it is not just snail noodles. Hot and sour and delicious foods have always been recognized by consumers, and are also easy to create some Internet celebrity brands. Driven by the brand effect, they are more popular among young people."

Li Hong believes that when some black swan events occur, they will trigger an explosive growth in demand for certain foods. Triggered by the epidemic, the sales of snail noodles have increased significantly.

Li Hong said that in reality, not all fermented foods can make people drunk. Chinese people have the habit of eating instant noodles, and many people have become somewhat "immune" to them. "If there is a food like instant noodles that can conveniently solve the problem of eating in the short term and has a significantly different flavor, it is easy for people to get drunk and sales will easily increase."

More attention should be paid to balanced nutrition. Previously, the World Health Organization had announced the top ten junk foods, and barbecued, fried, and pickled foods were on the list. This can't help but make people sweat for the popular snail rice noodle. So, as the most direct beneficiary of sour bamboo shoots, is snail rice noodle a healthy food?

In fact, "pickle" and "fermentation" are two different food processing methods. Fermentation refers to the process of preparing microbial cells themselves, or direct metabolites or secondary metabolites by means of the life activities of microorganisms under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Pickling, on the other hand, involves adding some chemicals or spices, such as edible salt, without any microbial transformation.

"The sour bamboo shoots produced by regular methods are fermented foods, not pickled foods, and can be eaten with confidence," said Fan Zhihong. In comparison, some pickled foods such as pickles, salted fish, and bacon are not so "friendly." Pickled foods contain a large amount of nitrites, nitrosamines and other substances. Among them, nitrites taste salty, and long-term consumption can easily cause diseases such as high blood pressure and affect gastrointestinal health. Nitrosamines are undoubted carcinogens.

In addition, in terms of the operation process, pickled foods are much more complicated than fermented foods. The former not only has higher requirements on the ingredients, but also has very high requirements on the purity, concentration of the edible salt or spices used for pickling, and even the humidity and temperature of the air. This is also the reason why many people fail to make homemade pickled vegetables and other foods at home.

▲The process of pickling sour bamboo shoots (picture from the Internet)

"The purchase and consumption of many 'Internet celebrity' foods are irrational." Fan Zhihong also reminded that in daily diet, in addition to ensuring safety, we should also pay attention to the balance and matching of nutrition, eat less salty and spicy foods, eat more vegetables and fruits, and supplement protein and vitamins. Obviously, eating too much "sour and spicy" and "heavy-flavored" snail noodles is not good for human nutrition and health. It is recommended to eat some vegetables, meat and eggs when eating.

An interesting phenomenon is that studies have shown that compared with men, women have a higher preference for fermented foods such as snail noodles. The scientific basis behind this remains to be explored, but what is certain is that the number of women who use e-commerce platforms to purchase products such as snail noodles is indeed far greater than that of men.

Eating snail noodles can easily solve the "problem of eating", which is still beneficial during the epidemic or when processing work. In Li Hong's view, it should be noted that when buying food, you should not only look at the "appearance" but also pay attention to the nutritional value behind it. Like all commercial foods, when buying snail noodles, you should also look for regular products produced by regular manufacturers, and do not eat products made by some small workshops, and grasp the health and hygiene.

Reference: Changes in flavor substances during the natural fermentation of bamboo shoots--《China Brewing》2019 Issue 08

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