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Text: Wordy Shoko
Editor|Akiko long-winded
Preface
On our Chinese dining table, porridge and steamed bread often appear, and for us, steamed bread is a perfect match no matter what it goes with.
The Xi of life in the West are completely different, and milk and bread generally appear on their table.
Although the two things are made differently, they both have one thing in common, that is, they are made from wheat.
So, why is there such a big difference between the foods derived from the same thing?
Spread of wheat
Wheat plays a very important role in our country, both now and in ancient times, and it can be said to be the "big head" of our food source.
When wheat did not appear, people in our country generally cultivated rice and millet, and after the appearance of wheat, the crops grown by people in the north began to be mainly wheat, so what was the spread of wheat?
In fact, China is not the "origin" of wheat, the origin of wheat is in West Asia, thousands of years ago, China has had exchanges with West Asia, during this period, a lot of things were introduced to China.
And wheat only entered China around 4,000 years, compared to other things, wheat was introduced into our country late, what is the obstacle that makes the introduction of wheat into our country late?
There are indeed several unavoidable reasons for this, first of all, because of the cooking technology at that time, some people may be curious, is there any inevitable connection between cooking technology and the introduction of wheat?
In fact, it still has a lot to do with it, because at that time, people's main crops were still millet and rice, so when people were cooking food, they threw these things directly into the pot until they were cooked.
millet
It is also known that even after the husk of wheat is shed, its shell is still somewhat hard, and it takes longer to cook wheat than rice and millet.
However, when we look at this reason now, it is indeed somewhat untenable, because in the past, it was already very difficult for people to just live, so people attached great importance to food.
If the yield of a grain is very large, even if it tastes bad, people will grow this crop, and only to fill their stomachs can they pursue something else.
There is another important reason that affects the spread of wheat, that is, because of the environmental restrictions at that time, some people may raise objections at this time: since the climate at that time was limited, why can wheat still develop in our country?
In the past, because of the climate, people generally pursued the principle of "planting a grain of millet in spring and harvesting 10,000 seeds in autumn", but the sowing time of wheat is generally in March in spring, or in October in autumn.
During this time, wheat is the fastest growing time, and people generally choose to plant in October in the fall, but at this time, the land is relatively dry, so people need to water the wheat.
Due to the productivity of the time, people did not have the means to irrigate water conservancy facilities, but with the research of people, people gradually mastered the growth Xi of wheat.
As for the water conservancy facilities, they began to develop slowly, so all the conditions for growing wheat were in place, and around the year 4,000, the scope of wheat cultivation began to "expand".
Wheat spread to Europe relatively early, such as Greece and Spain, for example, for 7,000 years, and the birthplace of wheat is in West Asia, where they have been cultivating wheat for 10,000 years.
The development of bread
Through archaeology, people in West Asia have been able to use tools to press some grain into powder more than 10,000 years ago.
After getting the powder, people will add water to these powders and mix them up, and through barbecue, they can become cooked food, but it also has a fatal "flaw", that is, it is very "strong" and even some "waste teeth".
This practice continued for a very long time, until 2600 BC, when the ancient Egyptians discovered fermented bread, which was called "leavened bread" due to its fluffy taste.
Another hundred years have passed, and the technology of fermentation in Egypt has become more "perfect", but the taste of bread is not as good as it is now, and in the exchange of cultures, bread has entered the tables of Europeans.
The development of steamed buns
Chinese have had steamed buns for a long time, and if you go back in time, you can trace back to the Neolithic Age, when people were already able to make steamed buns.
Steamed bread is still relatively easy to preserve, so at that time, people still have a "soft spot" for steamed bread, and under the inheritance of generations, steamed bread has begun to become a very common food on the table of Chinese.
There are also steamed buns in the south, but the pattern has changed somewhat, and the buns and flower rolls are another form of its display, and in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people chose to ferment steamed buns with koji.
After the Yuan Dynasty, people began to ferment more ways, wort, wine troughs are OK, it can be said that the emergence of steamed bread makes people's survival have a certain "guarantee".
With the development of the times, people have also begun to understand the cultures of different countries, so people have found that because of the geographical environment and the different cultures of various ethnic groups, Chinese steamed bread and Western bread are somewhat similar, but there are many differences.
Some foreigners feel that it is very "magical" after trying Chinese steamed bread, after all, steamed bread can be matched with everything, and if it is paired with spicy strips or others, it is simply a delicacy in the world.
And there are many people in our country who like to eat bread, because the soft texture of bread and the sweet taste make people "can't stop".
The collision of Eastern and Western cultures makes people's lives different "wonderful", which also makes people more willing to try new things, of course, some things do not like, but this does not prevent another wave of people from liking.
It can be said that "turnip greens, each has its own love", but the existence of each thing does have a certain meaning and its unique history.
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