The Silk Road originated from the mutual attraction of different civilizations. For us today, because of this link connecting ancient China with the outside world, three meals a day have more flavor.

1. Foreign fruits and vegetables came across the ocean to feed you

It's hard to imagine that without the Silk Road, we couldn't even eat apples today.

apples. Even the apple, the most common fruit today, is not native to China. Although there is still controversy about the origin of apples at present, before the Ming Dynasty, apples did have other names. Jin Guo Yigong's Guang Zhi records: "Bai, there are three kinds of white, red and blue ...", and the word "Bai" in the article refers to apples. By the Ming Dynasty, apples began to be called "apples". According to the Ming Wang Xiangjin's "Qunfangpu", "Apple, out of the northern land, is especially good for Yanzhao, and then uses the forest." And "Ping" is the complicated form of the word "Ping".

grapes. "The grapes in Turpan are ripe, and Anaerhan's heart is drunk." As the song goes, when grapes are mentioned, people will naturally think of Turpan, Xinjiang. In fact, Xinjiang originally did not produce grapes. The earliest grape planting in China began in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and these grapes came from the seeds brought back by Zhang Qian's second mission to the Western Regions. In ancient China, grapes also had several nicknames, such as Putao, Pu Tao and Putao. "Historical Records Biography of Dawan" describes: "Around Wan, Putao is used as wine, and the rich hide wine to more than 1, stones, and those who stay for a long time are unbeaten for decades. Vulgar and alcoholic. " Grape, commonly known in ancient China, belongs to European grape in botany, and its native place is the Black Sea and Mediterranean coast. About 5, years ago, European grapes were cultivated in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, South Caucasus and Central Asia. Along with the introduction of grapes, there is also the method of brewing wine. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, grapes began to be planted on a large scale, and folk brewing and drinking wine were also more common, which led to the poem "Night Cup of Grape Wine" which was so popular later.

pomegranate. Like grapes, pomegranate was introduced through the Silk Road. However, the word pomegranate appeared later than grapes. According to Duan Chengshi's "Youyang Miscellany" in the Tang Dynasty: "A pomegranate is a Dan Ruo, and the sweet one is called Tian Jiang ... Don't leave the pomegranate as a tribute, and the big one weighs five or six pounds." Previously, the ancients called pomegranate "An Pomegranate". Zhang Hua's "Natural History" in the Western Jin Dynasty recorded: "Han Zhang Qian made a trip to the Western Regions, and he got the durian Anshi country to return." In fact, "Anshi State" refers to two places, namely, Anguo is Bukhara in Uzbekistan today, while Shishi State is Tashkent. Pomegranate is endowed with many symbolic meanings because of its multi-seed morphological characteristics. People in China regard pomegranate as a symbol of "many children and many blessings", and pomegranate trees in ancient Rome also represent marriage.

watermelon. Watermelon originated in Africa and was first planted in ancient Egypt. There are related records in the ancient book "Trapped Lu Ji" and Ouyang Xiu's "Appendix to the New Five Dynasties History and Siyi" in the Northern Song Dynasty. Tao Hongjing's Notes on Materia Medica in the Southern Dynasties: "Yongjia has a large cold melon. Every time you take it today, you will eat it after years." Compendium of Materia Medica says: Watermelon is also called cold melon, and Li Shizhen thinks that the cold melon mentioned by Tao Hongjing is watermelon. Since then, the nickname of watermelon "cold melon" has been widely circulated.

tomatoes. Since tomato was introduced into China in Ming Dynasty, it was only used as an ornamental plant for a long time. The record about tomatoes first appeared in Plant Products written by Zhao Han in Ming Dynasty. Legend has it that in the 17th century, after a French writer ventured to taste a tomato, people realized that tomato was edible. In the late Qing Dynasty, China people began to eat tomatoes.

2. exotic seasonings that go well with meat

in a word, these are probably the things that can make meat lovers eat more heartily.

pepper. Pepper introduced from the Maritime Silk Road originated from the coast of Malaba, India. In the Tang Dynasty, Duan Chengshi's "Youyang Miscellaneous Woodwork" said: "Pepper, when it leaves the country of Moga, is called a branch." Pepper can be divided into black pepper, white pepper, red pepper and green pepper according to different processing methods, and can be used as medicine, seasoning and soaking in wine. Volume 7 of Qi Min Yao Shu is quoted from the pepper wine method recorded in Zhang Hua's Natural History in the Western Jin Dynasty: "In the pepper wine side, there are five liters of good wine, one or two dried ginger, seventy peppers, and five good pomegranates at the end." Rare things are precious, and this pungent crop was not suitable in ancient China, so pepper was regarded as a "luxury" for a long time. In the Song Dynasty, sea transportation was developed, and pepper was widely spread to China market through sea trade. Nowadays, this kind of spice with unique charm has become a frequent visitor on the table of China people.

cumin. Another name of Cumin in ancient China is "rest fennel", and "rest fennel" is the Iranian area today. "Cumin" is actually a transliteration of Uyghur language. Cumin was first introduced to Xinjiang, China, and Xinjiang was the first area where Cumin was planted and used. Cumin has an aromatic and strong smell, which can remove fishy smell and relieve boredom, so it is often used to process beef and mutton.

Garlic, namely Hu garlic, is native to West Asia and East Asia. According to "Zhengbu" written by Wang Yi in the Han Dynasty, "garlic and alfalfa were obtained only when Zhang Qian returned them." Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" has a cloud: "Small garlic is old in China, and garlic comes from Alakazam, so it has a Hu name." Since then, garlic has officially settled in China. As the main condiment, it has given birth to a taste that fascinates countless people-"garlic fragrance".

coriander. Coriander, also known as coriander, is native to the Mediterranean coast and Central Asia. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "Zhang Qian made the western regions begin to be planted, so it was named Hu Wei." The agricultural work Qi Min Yao Shu in the Southern and Northern Dynasties recorded in detail the methods of planting coriander and making pickled coriander. In addition to medicinal value, coriander is often used as seasoning for cold salad and soup because of its special aroma. For the majority of meat lovers, the classic combination of coriander with beef and mutton is naturally good, the mutton is warm and delicious, and the coriander has a spicy and special fragrance, which can remove the fishy smell and relieve boredom. Putting coriander in mutton was also the earliest way to eat in the western regions. There were many cows and mutton in the western regions. Before the Ming Dynasty, when peppers were not introduced, coriander was an excellent seasoning to remove the smell and increase the freshness.

onions. Onion is one of the oldest plants in the world, which can be traced back to Central Asia more than 5, years ago. Onion was originally called "Hu cong" after it was introduced into the Central Plains, but it was introduced to Japan in the 17th century and renamed "Onion". Onion is also called "skin teeth" in Xinjiang. In many Xinjiang cuisines, skin teeth are an indispensable element.

3. Creative western cereals

Many grain crops were brought to China through the Silk Road at different times, such as barley, sorghum, oat, corn ... Who can not eat staple food?

wheat. The country of origin is West Asia and North Africa-including Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Turkey. China is one of the earliest countries to grow wheat. According to research, the earliest wheat site in China was found in Peacock River Basin in Xinjiang, about 4, years ago. During the long and tortuous spread of wheat, the eating habits of ancestors in the northern region have gradually changed. With the development of planting technology and grinding, many pasta products have been invented. Nowadays, the variety of northwest pasta can be said to have laid the foundation from the introduction of wheat.

oats. Oats are native to West Asia. In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Mengde said, "Tukui Oats shake the spring breeze", which shows that oats have a long history of cultivation and utilization in China. There are many delicious foods made of oats or naked oats in the western region, such as naked oats gluten, naked oats and so on. Oats can also be used to make candied fruit, also called oat wine, which is a special snack in northwest China. This dessert fermented by oat or highland barley is soft and glutinous, sour and sweet, and has a faint wine aroma, which has the effect of relieving summer heat.

corn. Corn, originally called maize, is also called "Six Grains" by the people, which, as the name implies, is another grain besides "Five Grains". Corn originated in America and was introduced to China in the 16th century. It was first recorded in Gongxian Annals, which was written in the thirty-fourth year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty, and was called "Yumai". The name "corn" first appeared in Xu Guangqi's "Agricultural Administration Encyclopedia" in the late Ming Dynasty. The function of corn is described in detail in Compendium of Materia Medica. It can be seen that corn was widely planted in China at that time.

From this point of view, from the food to solve hunger (barley, sorghum, oats, corn, etc.) to all kinds of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins (apples, grapes, watermelons, tomatoes, etc.), it was with the help of the Silk Road that our dining table was gradually enriched, and now our life is full of flavor.

References: Overseas crops introduced from the Silk Road to China [J]. Wild plant resources in China. Liu Qizhen, Wang Siming.