China's food characteristics
China is a country with a long history of food culture. I have been living in the world, eating and drinking for more than 21 years, and I have learned something. Now I will summarize the following characteristics of food culture, and I hope you can teach me:
First, the flavor is diverse. Because China has a vast territory, vast territory and abundant resources, there are differences in climate, products and customs, and many flavors have been formed in diet for a long time. There has always been a saying in China that "south rice is north", and the taste is divided into "sweet in the south, salty in the north, sour in the east and spicy in the west", mainly including Bashu, Qilu, Huaiyang, Guangdong and Fujian.
second, the four seasons are different. Eating according to seasons all year round is another major feature of China cooking. Since ancient times, China has been seasoning and side dishes according to seasonal changes, with strong flavor in winter and light and cool in summer; Stew more in winter and freeze more in summer.
third, pay attention to aesthetic feeling. China's cooking is not only skillful, but also has a tradition of paying attention to the aesthetic feeling of dishes, and paying attention to the harmony of color, fragrance, taste, shape and container of food. There are many ways to express the aesthetic feeling of dishes. No matter whether it is a carrot or a cabbage heart, all kinds of shapes can be carved, which is unique and achieves the harmonious unity of color, fragrance, taste, shape and beauty, giving people a special enjoyment of high spiritual and material unity.
fourth, pay attention to interest. China's cooking has long paid attention to taste, which has strict requirements not only on the color, aroma and taste of snacks, but also on their naming, taste methods, rhythm during meals and entertainment. The name of China cuisine can be said to be superb, refined and popular. The names of dishes are not only named according to the realism of the main ingredients, auxiliary ingredients, seasonings and cooking methods, but also according to historical anecdotes, myths and legends, celebrities' tastes and dishes' images, such as' family portrait',' general crossing the bridge',' lion's head',' beggar chicken',' auspicious dragon and phoenix',' Hongmen banquet' and' Dongpo meat' ... < P > China's cooking technology is closely related to medical care. Thousands of years ago, there were sayings that "medicine and food are of the same origin" and "medicine and food work together". Using the medicinal value of food raw materials, various delicious dishes were made to achieve the purpose of preventing and treating certain diseases.
Ancient China people also emphasized that eating should be coordinated with the cosmic rhythm. They should eat different foods in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and even consider factors such as season and climate when processing and cooking food. These thoughts had been formed as early as the pre-Qin period, and they were clearly recorded in the Book of Rites and the Moon Order, and they opposed the reversal of seasons. For example, there would be disasters in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Of course, we are also opposed to eating out-of-season food. Confucius said that "don't eat from time to time" has two meanings: one is to eat regularly, and the other is not to eat out-of-season food. Contrary to contemporary people's consciousness, some people eat out-of-season food to show off. In the Western Han Dynasty, the palace began to grow "onion and leek shavings" in greenhouses, and Shi Chong, a rich man in the Western Jin Dynasty, also had greenhouses. This ideology, which emphasizes adapting to the cosmic rhythm, is indeed unique to Chinese food culture. This kind of consciousness remains in modern times only about holiday food customs (there are some in traditional Chinese medicine, but they are not paid attention to).
The theory of "Yin-Yang and Five Elements" is a world model set by traditional thought, and it is also considered as the law of the universe. Man is one of the "three talents", and diet is indispensable to human life, so the cooking of making diet must follow this law. Therefore, not only the taste is divided into five, but also the theory of "five flavors" comes into being (in fact, there are more than five flavors that people can feel, but it is not too few to distinguish five kinds two or three thousand years ago), and a large number of grains, livestock, vegetables and fruits are included in the "five grains" and "five meats" respectively. This makes people feel absurd. What's even more surprising is that "anyone who drinks, raises yang"; Where food is eaten, Yin qi is also nourished "("Book of Rites, Suburb Special Sacrifice "). It is believed that only when drinking and eating are coordinated with the yin and yang of heaven and earth can we "communicate with the gods" and communicate with heaven, thus achieving the effect of "harmony between man and nature" Therefore, we should strictly follow the theory of yin and yang and five elements when offering sacrifices to heaven. This statement was inherited by later Taoism and became a starting point of their dietary theory. For example, it is believed that eating food can increase the body's yin, such as "grains can't fill the body but prolong life" and "those who eat gas can live longer". To cultivate and gain yang, we must eat as little as possible, and the best state is not to eat, and take the realm of "avoiding the valley".
The beauty of neutralization is the highest aesthetic ideal of China traditional culture. "If you are in the middle, you will be the foundation of the world; He who is in harmony is also the one who is in the world. To be neutral, the status of heaven is unknown, and everything is nurtured "(The Book of Rites, The Doctrine of the Mean). What do you mean "middle"? We can't simply use "middle" to summarize it. This "medium" means just right and appropriate. It's a bit like the "zhong" in Henan dialect. "Harmony" is also a cooking concept. There is a famous sentence in "The Ancient Book of History", which means that to make a good soup, the key is to reconcile the two flavors of salty (salty) acid (plum), which is a metaphor for governing the country. In Zuo Zhuan, Yan Ying also talked with Qi Jinggong about what is "harmony", pointing out that "harmony" is not "sameness", and it is based on the coordination of different opinions. Therefore, China philosophers believe that all things in the world find their place in a state of "neutralization" for reproduction and development. This aesthetic ideal is based on the harmonious unity of individual and society, man and nature. This idea of realizing "the beauty of neutralization" through tuning was inspired and influenced by ancient cooking practice and theory, which in turn affected people's whole diet life, especially for ancient literati who pursued artistic life and artistic life.
Contrary to "neutralization", extremes are not considered authentic in cooking. Those foods that are "too salty, too spicy and too sour" will be sought after by some people with abnormal health, but in the long run, they are harmful to the health. The disadvantages of extremism in social life and political life are even more unspeakable.
As mentioned above, the Chinese people's dietary life embodies the characteristics of traditional culture. Although some characteristics are incomprehensible or unscientific to modern people (in the past century, the word "science" has almost become a religious belief in China, and it is only a ruler to measure the right and wrong in all fields, but it itself cannot be questioned), is it just the word "science" that can be said? If we pay more attention to "culture", then studying China people's diet is not only a necessary part of studying China culture, but also a key to studying China culture.
At present, food culture is still a vague concept. Some researchers generally say that it includes three aspects: what to eat, how to cook and how to eat; Some researchers believe that food culturology breeds six sciences, namely, cookery, food manufacturing, dietotherapy, food folklore, food literature and art, and food manufacturing; Some researchers also advocate adding food aesthetics, food business, food utensils and so on. I'm too ignorant to dabble in so many subjects. The food culture I understand mainly refers to the relationship between food and people, people and its social significance. Therefore, although I also discussed food, dishes, food processing, cooking, eating customs and even dining environment, tableware, tableware, etc. in the History of Chinese Dietetic Culture, I introduced and commented on their relationship with people and people and their social significance. As for the pure technological process that has little to do with people, except the necessary knowledge introduction, most of them were omitted, aiming to highlight the material things that diet life brought to people.
American customs: 1. Dietary characteristics
Americans who live at home buy simple food. A bag of bread, a can of drinks, a bag of carrots, a few onions, and occasionally someone buys a plate of beef. They seldom use condiments, but salad oil is the most used.
American restaurants are generally small and clean, and there are not many kinds of food. Some people sum up the characteristics of American food, one is raw, the steak is bloodshot, the other is cold, all drinks are iced, and the third is sweet. This is of course the judgment made by China people according to their own tastes, but it is also to the point. In fact, Americans pay attention to nutrition, not taste, and the average American is not good at cooking.
In the urban and rural areas of the United States, coffee shops (which also run ice cream in Yunnan) and McDonald's fast food restaurants abound. The former is like a teahouse in Sichuan, China, while the latter is like a noodle restaurant in Henan, China. When you go to a coffee shop, you can have a cup of coffee for more than one dollar and a plate of ice cream for two or three dollars. It's very pleasant to chat while eating. American ice cream is a must, there are all kinds of ice cream, and it is full of crispy nuts, which is very delicious.