When it comes to China's food culture, I believe that every China person will feel a sense of pride from the bottom of his heart! People often say, "Chinese food culture has a long history." So, how far and how long is this origin? Some scholars believe that China people began to have their own food culture more than 511,111 years ago when Beijingers barbecued food with fire. According to the records in Huangdi Neijing, there were exquisite brewing techniques in the remote ancient times, and these liquors were applied to medical practice.

The processing technology and efficacy of soup and fermented glutinous rice were recorded in Su Wen's Theory of Fermented Gluten. Soup and fermented glutinous rice are both wines brewed from grains. Relatively speaking, the soup is thin and thin, and the mash is thicker and more mellow. In the process of making these liquors, it is required to use mature and full rice as raw material and hard rice as fuel. Because only this kind of grain can fully absorb the sunshine and rain of nature and be rich in various nutritional essences and energy. When a grain grows to be full of grains and fully mature, that is, when it has a good smell, it should be harvested at all times, so that the essence of heaven and earth (that is, the nutritional essence of plants) can be better condensed and contained, so that the nutrition contained in the seeds or fruits of plants can be more complete.

The method of processing and making liquor such as soup and fermented glutinous rice has existed since ancient times. At that time, people were simple in temperament, attached importance to moral cultivation, and knew how to preserve health. Most of them were able to keep healthy and basically did not get sick. Therefore, making soup and fermented glutinous rice at that time was just to prevent diseases.

with the development of human society, people's living standards are improving day by day, and people's desires and demands are also increasing. In the Middle Ages, people's simple morality gradually declined, the level of health preservation declined, and the external natural environment also changed. From time to time, abnormal weather appeared, causing exogenous diseases such as colds and chills. At this time, as long as you take soup or fermented glutinous rice in time, you can cure these minor diseases.

Huangdi Neijing tells us that the ancestors of the Chinese nation used their wisdom a long time ago to realize a series of cultural progress in diet and health preservation, such as meticulous processing of grains, meticulous preparation of food and beverages, and in-depth exploration of dietotherapy and health preservation.

dating back to the Zhou dynasty in the 2nd century BC, there was a record of "eating doctors" in the book, which set the officials in charge of medical and health care as medical officials with four different responsibilities, namely, eating doctors, disease doctors (physicians), choosing doctors (surgeons) and veterinarians.

The duty of a food doctor is to "keep the king's six foods, six drinks, six meals, one hundred dishes, one hundred sauces and eight treasures in harmony" (Zhou Li Tian Guan Food Doctor), which is served by two "sergeants", and is mainly responsible for regulating the cold temperature, taste and nutrition of the royal family's diet, and managing the diet nutrition and hygiene of the members of the royal family. It can be seen that the food doctor at that time should be a senior physician who integrated medical knowledge and dietary nutrition knowledge.

Although the preparation and cooking of diet are done by chefs, the food to be eaten, the drinks to be drunk, and the preparation of delicious meals should be reconciled and matched according to the different climates and dietary tastes of the four seasons under the specific guidance of food doctors. For example, the staple food should be warm, the soup should be hot, the sauce should be cold, and the drinks and wine should be cold. The five flavors of diet should correspond to the seasons, and the combination of meat and grain should be appropriate. All these fully show that as early as thousands of years ago, the ancients in China had a certain theoretical understanding of diet and health preservation.

As long as you walk into China people's kitchens, you can feel the colorful food culture in China: all kinds of dining utensils, food processing tools and cookers, from pots and pans to cups, plates and jars, from knives and forks to cutting boards, panels, rolling pins, garlic jars and peelers. There are also condiments made from Chinese traditional medicines such as pepper, aniseed, cinnamon, dried tangerine peel, ginger, dried ginger, jujube, fennel and nutmeg. It is with these condiments that all kinds of classic Chinese dishes and local snacks with unique flavor can be prepared. Every kind of food has a unique seasoning formula, which has been the "secret" of China cooking for thousands of years. To trace the root of China's delicious and nourishing diet, we have to mention the scientific research and correct guidance of ancient food doctors on diet nutrition.

Let's say this garlic jar was invented by China people. When people in China eat garlic, they should first peel the garlic, then mash the garlic cloves until the juice is squeezed out and mashed into mud, which is called garlic paste, and then used as seasoning. This process requires a garlic jar. It should be easy to get a jar suitable for mashing garlic with a medicine jar in front. It is not difficult to invent the garlic jar itself. The key is that our ancestors invented the scientific eating method of mashing garlic and then eating it.

Now it is found that garlic has bactericidal effect, and the main effective component is a substance called allicin in its volatile oil, and this kind of garlic capsaicin is produced by the hydrolysis of alliin contained in garlic by alliinase. The research also shows that it is best to leave garlic for 11 ~ 15 minutes after it is crushed, so as to produce allicin better, and then eat it again to give full play to its bactericidal effect. The process of mashing garlic in China can achieve the above-mentioned required effect.

We can't verify how long the history of garlic jar has been, but from this process, we can know the depth and grasp ability of the ancient people in China to study food and drink. Chinese medicine believes that garlic is pungent, sweet and warm. It can warm the middle warmer, strengthen the stomach, promote digestion, regulate qi, detoxify and kill insects. It is a good product for both medicine and food, which can be used to treat diseases and nourish food. There are many ways for doctors to use garlic to treat diseases and recuperate their bodies in past dynasties, and there are related records in medical books.

Nowadays, it is often seen that some people pick up garlic cloves while eating and put them directly into their mouths, thinking that this can play a role in sterilization. In fact, this way of eating has not produced allicin, which can not play its due best role. On the contrary, it will stimulate the oral mucosa and gastrointestinal tract to feel uncomfortable or cause ulcer disease because it is too spicy. Whenever I pound garlic, I will feel a sense of gratitude to my ancestors from the bottom of my heart.

It can be asserted that the reason why Chinese cuisine can maintain its strong vitality and endure for a long time is because it has already been infused with the soul of the road of Chinese medicine!

Wisdom-culture-diet-health, which is the main theme of China's diet culture, is also the general principle of Chinese medicine.

As long as we study carefully and taste carefully, it is not difficult to find those health-preserving ideas contained in China's food culture. While enjoying the delicious food in China, we should know how to understand and feel the wisdom and kindness of ancient sages, and never forget that we should eat for the sake of maintaining health!