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Micro-life, all things
From the Titan giants of ancient Greek mythology to the giant-like human creator created by Ridley Scott in Prometheus, we have always tended to attribute the origin of life to certain forms of gigantic creatures, endowed them with divinity, and even molded them as the masters of all things in the world, but the microbes that are really silently manipulating us are likely to be so small that they cannot be seen at all.
The engineer in Prometheus is the human origin portrayed in the film
A flower is a world, a leaf is the same.
This Zen phrase from Buddhism, interpreted from a scientific point of view, accurately describes the true power of microorganisms.
An average human body can have 100 trillion microbes; 1 milliliter of fresh water or seawater contains 1 million bacteria; and just adding up all the bacteria on the planet (not including germs and fungi in the microbiome) is likely to exceed the number of stars in the universe that we have counted so far.
The world of microbes is as vast as the universe
These invisible microbes form a pair of invisible hands that manipulate our moods, tastes, actions, and beliefs.
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Do microbes determine our tongue?
The alien microbes in the movie "Parasite Beast" obtain the right to survive by modifying the human brain, while the real microbes control the second brain of human beings: the intestine, to achieve the purpose of manipulating human beings.
The microbiome MIGI does not eat the protagonist's brain, but replaces his right hand
The reason why the intestine is our second brain is because the intestine is an organ with the second largest neural network system in the human body, and the intestine is closely related to the "captain" brain through the secret channel of the "brain-gut axis", the active molecules on this secret channel, including lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria that we often see on yogurt packaging.
Brain-gut axis
The intimacy of the intestines and brains also explains the principle of "a wave of hunger rushing into the heart" every day.
And this hunger, this impulse from the intestines, is the cosmic radio waves emitted by the microorganisms in our intestines.
The bacteria in our gut weigh about 1.82 kilograms, and the genes of this huge empire are not the same, and the distribution of the microbiota in each person's intestine determines what we love to eat.
Everyone has their own dietary preferences, this preference, in fact, depends on the kind of food that the microbiome in our gut prefers, to put it bluntly, eating something will help it reproduce itself, then, the intestine will continue to convey such instructions to the brain, and through the release of chemical transmitters by bacteria to affect our emotional response, "You are what you eat", should be changed to "You are what eat microorganism".
The number of good and bad microbes in the gut determines our dietary preferences
The junk food that is popular today is also a masterpiece of gut microbes in a sense.
Of course, microbes manipulate us more than just food.
People who fast lightly often feel a relaxed and pleasant feeling, which is not only from the excitement of about to lose weight, but because in the process of fasting, the microorganisms in the intestine will produce serotonin, and serotonin is a small messenger that transmits messages between nerve cells, the level and stability of serotonin, equivalent to opening up the channel of communication between human nerve cells, communication is usually, people are naturally relaxed and happy.
People say that those who love to eat love life.
In fact, it is better to say: those who love to eat, the intestinal brain link is more active, the microflora is active, and the brain is also happy.
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Microorganisms ferment
The Tower of Babel collapsed
The cultural differences between China and the West can be metaphorically used in various foods, such as tea and coffee, liquor and wine, rice and bread... Of course, it can also be curd milk and cheese.
The fermentation process of microorganisms creates a completely different character of curd milk and cheese.
Modern biologists refer to the process of mass production or accumulation of microbial cells, enzymes and metabolites using microbes to mass-produce or accumulate them under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. The cultural map of the earth is also divided by the fermentation of microorganisms, Western culture dominates the hot fermented dairy products and meat products on the territory, the Dairy Products of the Arab Diet in the Middle East, and the Asian culture, which is as vast as the territory of fermented soy products.
De Gaulle said, "How can a country with 246 varieties of cheese be governed?" "The cheese actually owned by France is conservatively estimated to be more than 500.
In China, curd milk is also unpredictable. Different types of microorganisms, fermented on different substances, shape different cultures, and the diaphragm in them is comparable to the collapsed Tower of Babel.
The shelves of curd milk in supermarkets are often squeezed in a corner of the sauce, and a few bottles are lonely and unimpressive.
Open Taobao, you will find all kinds of curd milk in the land of China in the shortest time.
If divided according to the national standard processing technology, you can simply and clearly divide the curd into "red curd milk", "white curd milk", "green curd milk", "sauce curd milk" four kinds, if according to the different strains, you can divide the curd milk into "hair enzyme type", "root enzyme type", "bacterial type" three kinds, but such a seemingly scientific classification, for our taste buds, meaningless.
For example, Shaoxing's Xianheng ham curd and Beijing Wang Zhihe's rose curd are all red curd, but the difference in the mouth is like two worlds, one is a sweet and sour steak, and the other is the simplest curd milk.
Shaoxing's Xianheng ham curd
The complexity of the taste of curd depends on the quality of the tofu itself, the type of local microorganisms, and the temperature of fermentation. That kind of handmade curd, the richness of the taste is much richer than the factory assembly line, such as a handmade curd made in a taste store, fermentation techniques from Taiwan, after many experiments, repeated research and development to be successful, densely emitted Chongqing strange flavor of the bean version of the compound feeling, sweet and sour and spicy and numb, although the formula comes from the light taste of treasure island, but the kernel is as narrow as the mountain city jianghu cuisine.
A taiwanese handmade curd made in a taste store
And There are more practices about curd in Taiwan, adding plums, or using taro to make curd, all of which make Baodao curd bloom with a sweet and sour taste.
Taiwan's taro curd
The real Chongqing water curd milk is a rare dry type of curd milk, pepper and pepper noodles wrapped in curd milk, there is no bit of sauce in the bottle, but the fermentation aroma is strong, making people appetite.
Chongqing catches water curd milk
Speaking of "mao enzyme type" curd milk, it is necessary to say the iconic Anhui edamame tofu milk, which is also the most inclined to the cheese dense taste, and it is rare that it has the charming slight acid after fermentation, as well as the faint taste of wine, thick and dense, slightly salty, so that you can smear a thick layer of enjoyment, without tasting it.
Anhui edamame tofu milk
Another milk curd with a sour taste is Yunnan Muding's oil curd milk, which is very highly acidic, coupled with a special sauce aroma, showing the use of acidity in the Yunnan-Guizhou area.
Yunnan Muding's oil curd milk
Fermented soy products, into the bone marrow of the East, and the west of the rich taste of dairy products, the fermentation of beans, shaping the pattern of the oriental table.
If the "Trinity" on the Western table is cheese, wine, and bread, then the "four kings" on the Chinese table are: rice, grain wine, and fermented soy products.
Coincidentally, the raw and perfect cheese and wine, in the East, correspond to rice wine with bad goods, white wine with sauce goods, are all fermentation troubles.
Socrates declared that "the unexamined life is not worth living", and I feel that "unleavened food is not worth nostalgia".