Sugar was a rare thing in ancient times, which was reserved for nobles, but Jiangsu and Zhejiang were rich places since ancient times. Many people added sugar to their dishes to show off their wealth, so they kept up with each other and the dishes became sweeter and sweeter until now. Think this is the reason why Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai love sweets? Hee hee, no, but in fact, until the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine was not sweet.

The origin of Jiangsu and Zhejiang's diet is Kaifeng in the Song Dynasty. For example, steamed buns were found in Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty. For example, the word steamed buns is obvious. In the Song Dynasty, steamed buns were stuffed and bread was not stuffed.

It is also recorded in Mengxi's written talk that northerners eat sweet food and southerners eat salty food. Later, the Song Dynasty moved south and gradually replaced the local diet.

There are several examples. People in downtown Suzhou like to eat noodles and put sugar in cooking, while those in the suburbs like to eat but don't like sugar. This is because people who move south are mainly concentrated in urban areas. Urban areas are the habits of northerners in the Song Dynasty.

The old city of Suzhou was divided into the southern district and the northern district in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The northern district was mainly populated by immigrants from the north, and the dialect spoken was close to the northern dialect. The southern district was mainly local, and the dialect spoken was even more Wu. There are many rich people in the north area, so they like to eat more noodles, and the garden is also in the north area.

In the food monograph "The Legacy of Yi Ya" in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, a * * * recorded 49 cooking methods of Suzhou cuisine, and explicitly mentioned that 33 kinds of salt were used, accounting for 67.35%; Only 7 kinds of sugar were used, accounting for only 14.29%. It can be seen that the proportion of seasoning with salt at that time was far greater than that with sugar.

The main reason why Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai love sweet food is that the development of sugar-making technology has made sugar become a common food in the south of the Yangtze River, which is generally affordable for ordinary people, and sugar has flown into the homes of ordinary people. Since the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine has begun to show a phenomenon of being sweet. Moreover, sugar can be fresh, and in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, the diet is delicious.