the origin and development of cooking in China
1. Cooking, cooking and cooking technology
Cooking is an activity in which human beings process edible raw materials into directly edible finished products in order to meet their physiological and psychological needs. It includes cooking production, food consumption and various cultural phenomena related to it. The word "cooking" was first seen in the book "The Book of Changes Ding" 2,711 years ago. The original text is "Fire with wood, and it is also delicious." The Book of Changes is one of the classic works of Confucianism. Under the cloak of religious superstition, it introduced the social situation at that time and preserved some ancient ideas of simple dialectical method. "Ding" was a utensil for cooking and eating in the pre-Qin period. It was shaped like a incense burner in a temple. It was made of pottery at first, then copper, and it also served as a sacrificial vessel. "Wood" refers to fuels, such as firewood and grass. The original meaning of "Xun" is wind, which means ignition with the wind. "Heng" was common with cooking in the pre-Qin period, which means cooking. "Cooking" refers not only to the maturity of food, but also to the standard of raw and cooked food. It is a general term for ancient cooked food. "Fire with wood, and you can cook well" means:
Put the food raw materials in a cooker, add water and seasoning, and cook with firewood with the wind. Therefore, the concept of cooking in ancient times included cookware, fuel, food raw materials, condiments and cooking methods, which reflected the living conditions of ancestors in the slave society and their understanding of drinking. In ancient times, there was no obvious division of kitchen affairs. Chefs were in charge of both cooking and cooking, but also making wine, making sauce, slaughtering and storing. Therefore, the word cooking was actually a general term for food processing technology in ancient times.
cooking, the technology of making dishes and food. Generally, it includes the whole process of raw material selection, rough machining, fine machining, cooking, fire, seasoning and plate loading. The word cooking appeared in the Tang and Song Dynasties. For example, Lu You's "Jiannan Poetry: Planting Vegetables": "The vegetables are green and fragrant, and the black beans are cooked with salt." At this time, the "cooking" is heated and fried, and the "adjustment" is the seasoning. Cooking technology is the general name of all processing techniques and processes for making all kinds of foods. Its main function is to make the cooking raw materials into delicious food, that is, to cut, mix, season and cook the cooking raw materials purposefully, planned and programmed, so as to make it a standardized method of dishes that can meet people's dietary needs.
2. Dishes, dishes and dishes
Dishes, dishes and dishes all refer to foods made by cooking. However, according to the language usage habits of the catering industry, there are some subtle differences in their meanings. Dish has a wide meaning, sometimes it is called singly (such as this dish) and sometimes it is called repeatedly (such as soup dish), and its connotation depends on the specific language environment. Cuisine refers to the variety and color of dishes (such as barbecue dishes), which is mainly found in the south. Dishes are the general name of handmade foods, including dishes and soups. For example, Mongolian dishes are divided into "red food" and "white food"; Nowadays, the word "dishes" is mainly distinguished from light industrial food and natural food.
3. Pasta, dim sum, snack and staple food
Pasta is a food made of rice, wheat, beans and potatoes as the main ingredients, and meat, egg milk, fruits and vegetables and condiments as the auxiliary materials through embryo making, stuffing, molding and cooking. Its extension is the widest, including mid-point and west point, road snacks and banquet snacks, daily snacks and seasonal snacks, popular and local pastries, as well as historical famous spots, sacrificial spots and ethnic snacks. Its characteristics are: long history, rich varieties, numerous types of help, timely and flexible, and far-reaching influence at home and abroad.
Dim sum, also known as fine pastry or flower pastry, is a big category of pastry. Its characteristics are: paying attention to style and grade, paying attention to modeling and matching, exquisite and exquisite, with high ornamental value, and serving as a snack or refreshment. Some areas, such as Shanghai and Guangdong, collectively refer to pastry as dim sum. Snacks, also known as snacks and snacks, refer to food products or other foods used to satisfy hunger and relax besides meals and staple foods. Also served as breakfast or supper. The formulation of snacks is mainly found in Sichuan and the north, and its characteristics are as follows: First, the ingredients are both meat and vegetarian, and each serving is large. Second, most of them are road varieties with low grades. Third, it is often made by the vendor system and sold on the street. Fourth, the local flavor is rich and there are many customers. The staple food is pasta. Including rice, porridge, noodles, cakes, buns, dumplings, cakes, cakes, etc., which can be used as dinner, are generally made by family or collective canteens, and their characteristics are also very distinct: First, most of the materials are single, and there are few ingredients, mainly providing sugar, which occupies a dominant position in the dietary structure. Second, the variety is basically fixed, and the three meals in the four seasons have not changed much, and people have become accustomed to eating. Third, the technology is simple, easy to master, ready to eat, and matched with dishes. Fourth, the cost is low, it is necessary for every meal, and it has obvious regional orientation.
4. Cooking history, cooking (pastry) technology and cookery
Cooking history is the history of cooking. It mainly studies the development course and laws of cooking. It focuses on the cooking materials, cooking utensils, preparation techniques, dish attributes, banquet patterns and the evolution of cuisines in the past dynasties, and also answers questions about the food market, food folklore, dietotherapy, fitness and cooking, and outlines the food styles of each era, and discusses its achievements and shortcomings. This science is closely related to social and economic history, agronomy history, animal husbandry history, fishery history, food preservation history, biochemistry history, food appliance development history, nutrition history, dietotherapy history, diet custom history, national culture history, and Chinese and foreign economic exchange history, and it is an important field in cooking research. Cooking (pastry) technology is a discipline to study cooking technology, and it is a science to study the laws and regulations in cooking technology of vegetables (pastry). It focuses on the role of ingredients, taste, water, fire, stove, utensils, knives and spoons in cooking, and their constraints or influences on the texture of dishes (pasta); It should summarize the rules of various techniques to make the cooking process scientific; And put forward the physical and chemical indexes and aesthetic principles of the quality inspection and evaluation of dishes (pastry), and study how to make dishes (pastry) is conducive to strengthening the national physique, in line with the needs of the times and national conditions; It is also necessary to analyze the origin of the flavor characteristics of dishes (pastry) and establish a scientific cooking system. At present, the research on cooking (pastry) technology in China has just started, and the existing teaching materials are not perfect, which needs several generations to develop.
as for the attributes of culinary science, there are different opinions at present. Some people think that this is the science of studying food sources, cooking, preservation and improving edible value; Some people think that this is the science of studying cooking history, cooking principle and cooking technology; Some people think that this is a science to study Chinese food and the laws of its production and consumption, and it has the attributes of comprehensive science and marginal science. Now, the third view has been recognized by more and more scholars, and many practitioners have devoted themselves to this research. Considering the purpose of this textbook, this book only briefly expounds the main principles of China's cookery from the perspective of overview.