沈丘縣老城鎮，豫東平原上一顆璀璨的明珠，悠久的歷史，燦爛的文化，孕育出許多民間藝術之花，享譽全國的顧家饃就誕生在這片古老而又充滿生機的土地上。 
      
    沈丘縣“顧家饃”又稱“貢饃”，是沈丘縣著名的土特產品，距今已有四百多年的歷史，沈丘縣老城鎮下灣村是其產生、流傳、發展的惟一集散地。 
      
    沈丘縣老城鎮又名乳香臺，地處泉河之濱，南與安徽臨泉接壤，經濟發達，商業繁華， 老城鎮歷史悠久，遠古時代就有人在此勞動、生息、繁衍，境內的乳香臺為新石器時代的遺址，是古沈丘縣治所所在地。距今有五百多年的歷史。 
      
    顧家饃具有饃體渾圓，外型工整，無裂口裂紋，不歪不扭，立而不斜，臥而不堆；外觀潔白、光滑、逞亮，在陽光下如瓷般迎光閃亮；饃底部呈陰陽八掛圖形，構建了顧家饃的獨特標志；食之，饃味含香帶甜；存放之，不酸、不霉、不裂、不散、不變質、不變味，年余餾之，味仍如初蒸等特點。 
     
    1、 基本上以手工操作，家庭作坊為主。而作坊的制作工具，還保持著原式性、傳統性。揉面、制饃坯在木案上操作，蒸饃一律用大口鐵鍋，單竹秕，秫桿挺鍋蓋，燃料一律用木柴或莊稼秸稈等。而不用籠箱蒸，不用煤碳作燃料。如果用煤作燃料以籠箱蒸之，或用機械化制作，其產品就會出現變形，有裂口裂紋等瑕疵。 
      
    2、工藝流程：選小麥——淘洗小麥——磨面（只取60%的精粉）——制酵頭——調面發酵——揉面——發酵——再揉再發酵——揉面制坯——上鍋蒸制——晾——上色——描彩勾花紋等。 
      
    其品種花樣繁多，有十二生肖類、花鳥類、動物昆蟲類、人物類、山水類等。各系列并非孤立存在的，而是相互交融，互為襯托，互為依托，如鳳凰戲牡丹、雙龍戲珠等。而十二生肖，更是惟妙惟肖，個個玲瓏剔透，招人喜愛，從不同角度，以大寫意手法活靈活現地體現出生肖的各個個性，加以豐富的想像，淋漓盡致地把形、神、韻有機的融為一體。在彩繪著色上，施用分層著色法。以黃色襯底為主色，紅色點睛，藍、黑、青等色勾架描脈絡花紋。同時，注重彩繪與勾線相結合，以色傳神，以神著色，從而形成了色彩艷麗而不俗，美而不妖不媚的境地，充分顯示出了喜慶、祥和的韻致。充分體現了人民群眾對美好和諧生活的向往與追求，表現了民間藝人對美的非凡創造力和想象力。 
      
    “顧家饃”能存放年余，而不酸、不霉、不裂、不散、不變質，年余餾之，味仍如初蒸。“顧家饃”饃體渾圓，外型工整，無裂品裂紋，立而不斜，臥而不堆；外觀潔白、光滑；在陽光下如瓷般迎光閃亮；饃底部呈陰陽八卦圖形，構成了其獨特的標志。“顧家饃”發面用活酵頭，制饃坯用手工揉制，蒸饃用柴禾燃燒加熱，用大口徑鐵鍋、竹秕、秫桿梃顧家饃傳說動人 
讓時光追溯到清朝初年的后金時期，地處黃淮腹地的沈縣（現沈丘縣老縣城老城鎮）城南大門夏灣村，有一個人稱顧二別子的人，真名叫顧維臣。在夏灣村開了一個做饃賣饃的小作坊，由于其聰明好學，天長日久，顧維臣憑研制出一種狀似葫蘆的小白饃，晾干后堅硬如石，存放一兩年后不霉變不干裂，餾后食用仍似剛出鍋的饃一樣新鮮，人稱“顧家饃”。一時間，顧家饃在當地聲名鵲起，當地的官宦或商賈都以顧家饃饋贈親友，有錢人家祝壽辦喜事用顧家饃作為禮品贈送以示喜慶，老百姓更是把它作為娃娃的吉祥物，既可逗孩子玩耍，玩耍后洗凈溜后可繼續食用。 
      
    據夏灣人相傳，當時清朝有一位皇帝得了重病，宮中的太醫輪流為其把脈問診，但誰也不能治愈皇帝的病。皇帝的病情日益加重，正當滿朝文武一籌莫展之時，一名云南籍李姓御大夫猛然間想起沈縣的鄉醫劉先生曾經用當地的狀似葫蘆的小白饃，治愈了兒子多年不愈的頑疾。于是，李御大夫極力推薦讓鄉野的劉先生為皇帝治療。劉先生被召到京城后，為皇帝把脈開出藥方后，便把隨身攜帶的顧家饃也送上，并囑咐皇帝身邊的人說，在皇帝進膳時每頓飯可餾兩個顧家饃食之。皇帝調理一段時間后終于龍體康復。遂傳出手諭，要求沈縣縣衙每年都要往皇宮進獻一些顧家饃，自那時起，顧家饃被選為御用貢品。 
      
    相傳在晚清時期，當時袁世凱還沒有登基當大總統，正為手上無尤物奉獻給慈禧太后而終日悶悶不樂。袁世凱偶有一次回鄉時，品嘗到了親友前來拜訪而帶來的顧家饃。袁世凱當即被顧家饃的色亮如釉，形真似寶葫，入口津甜香醇，回味綿綿不絕的獨特風味而傾倒。他如獲至寶。為了能取悅于慈禧太后，便帶了許多顧家饃去孝敬慈禧太后，深得太后的贊賞，因此，顧家饃又有“貢饃”之美譽。鍋蓋等都保持著原生態性。


 

Gu Family’s Steamed Bread

　　   
    Old Shenqiu County is located in Yudong Plain. Shenqiu is also called Yuxiang plat, lying along Quan River, which has a long history and is a transportation junction. Gu Family’s Steamed Bread in Shenqiu is also called Tribute Steamed Bread, which is a local specialty and has a long history of over 400 years. Xiawan Village is the only place where it produces, spreads and develops.
      
    Gu Family’s steamed bread has the qualities of perfectly round and careful shape, no-cracks, not-twisting, steady; white, slide and bright which makes its shimming in the sun; an eight diagrams at the bottom which is a special figure standing for Gu Family’s bread; sweet when ate; without getting rotten and eats like new ones when kept for a long time.
      
    Mainly all the breads are handmade with traditional tools and making skills: Knead dough on wood table, steam them in a big iron pan with bamboo bars supporting the pot cover, choose firewood or straw as material. Only in this way can the steamed bread keep perfect shape. Besides, it has dainty and careful making process flow: choose quality wheat, wash them, mill them into flour, make ferment, mix, knead dough, ferment, knead and ferment once again, make original shape, steam in ban, dry in the sun, color, paint pictures. Follow these processes one by one then we can get all kinds of lifelike lovely steamed breads, including twelve Chinese zodiac signs, flowers, animals, plants, landscape, human figures and so on, which are all not only joyful and peaceful artistic conception but also express people’s hope for the harmonious society and life. These steamed breads contain human’s great talent of imagination and creativity.
      
    In the terms of its origin, in as early as then beginning of Qing Dynasty, Gu Weichen, who lived in Xiawan Village, Shenxian County, trial-produced a cucurbit-shaped steamed bread which was well received at that time for its cucurbit-liked shape and last-long quality. They are widely used to send others as gifts as well as toys for children. It’s said that in Qing Dynasty, there was an emperor who got heavy sick for many years without cure until he ate Gu Family’s steamed bread. From that time, Gu Family’s steamed breads were brought to the Imperial Palace every year and became a tribute.