Barley flour from Tibet wins international respect

Highland barley has been the staple food of Tibetans for thousands of years. Most recently, it helped Chinese bakers win international awards in Europe.

The Chinese team emerged victorious after a three-day baking competition in Munich, Germany, last week known as the iba.UIBC.CUP of Bakers 2023. The Chinese surpassed bakers from 12 countries, including Japan, France, Germany and Italy, from Oct 22 to 24, to win top honors. The event is Europe’s leading trade fair for the baking and confectionery industry.

Chinese contestants also won the award for Best Danish Pastries and Best Bread during the competition.

The event was held at the Baking Exhibition Center in Munich, a leading global venue since 1949.

While preparing for the competition, Wang Zi, the coach of the Chinese Bakery Team, had the idea of combining traditional Chinese culture with global fashion. He had searched a long time for the best original materials.

After a year of surveying the field, Wang met Pei Kang, head of the Qingpu district Culture and Tourism Bureau in Shanghai. Pei is also deputy secretary-general of the Shigatse city government in the Tibet autonomous region. He has promoted barley flour for making special baked goods.

“Our Shanghai Aid-Tibet working group assisted Wang’s team by coordinating with a local enterprise in Shigatse to carry out targeted research and development. A technical route was worked out before the competition,” Pei said.

Wang’s team agreed to use highland barley produced in Tibet as the key material for the Chinese entry. Under the guidance and matchmaking of Aid-Tibet cadres from Shanghai, Wang was introduced to Shigatse Zangyan Food Co, a local company that produces highland barley products.

“Using highland barley to make fermented seeds integrates traditional Chinese cultural elements into the baking and gives the world a glimpse of the unique charm of Chinese baking,” Wang said.

Most of the flour used worldwide in the baking industry comes from developed Western countries, he said. But this time, highland barley flour from Tibet was used in the competition, and it helped the Chinese team win the championship.

“This shows that highland barley has been recognized by the international banking industry, and that it provides a new choice in high-end baking flour,” he said.

Highland barley has gradually gained popularity within a wider community in recent years. It is considered a healthy food, enriched with nutrients, including dietary fiber, β- glucan, multiple vitamins and other trace elements.

Hu Fawei, deputy executive secretary of Tibet’s Gyalze county, a major barley cultivation area in Tibet, said the county now has three barley processing enterprises, and the county government has been making efforts to develop industries to increase the added value of barley for farmers.

The planting area of highland barley in the county has expanded slightly from 6,900 hectares in 2020 to more than 7,400 hectares at the end of 2022.

“The yield of highland barley has increased by 448.1 metric tons in 2022 over that of 2020,” Hu said.

“The Aid-Tibet team has effectively driven local employment and income growth by introducing the e-commerce platform Freshippo — Alibaba’s fresh-food chain — to cooperate with the local farmers starting in November last year,” he added.

Hu also serves as a leader of the Aid-Tibet cadres from Shanghai in Gyalze county.

Thanks to Freshippo, the first “Hema village” in the county — where farmers grow crops for the Hema company — was authorized in July.

“Now the planted area of the county’s Paljor Lhunpo Hema village has reached 100 hectares, including about 13 hectares of farmland for organic barley. It has basically met the needs of Freshippo for barley product research and development,” Hu said.

Tags: China, highland barley, Tibet