In the winter, the weather in the north is getting colder, especially in our coastal areas, and the wind is very strong, as if it is going to blow people away, so there is a joke in our place: it is only windy twice a year, the first half and the second half of the year. And this season is the season of oyster fertility.
When it comes to oysters, everyone must be familiar with it, and the most impressive thing is the detailed description of eating oysters in the Novel "My Uncle Hule" by the French writer Maupassant: an old sailor with ragged clothes took a knife and pried open the oysters, handed them to two gentlemen, and then handed them to the two wives. They ate the oysters in a small handkerchief with a small handkerchief and their heads slightly forward so as not to stain their robes; then with a quick slight movement of their mouths, they sucked in the juice and threw the oyster shell into the sea.
This sentence is still fresh in my memory, but when I was a student, I created countless versions of reading comprehension with this paragraph alone, which caused every scum a great headache (far away...). However, from the detailed description of the article, we can also see how much Europeans in that era loved oysters.
Now people often say that oysters are "men's gas stations, women's beauty salons." In fact, this recognition was first known to Europeans, and the Europeans' enthusiasm for oysters can be said to occupy a thick history book.
The probability of oysters appearing in European paintings is really high
From the appearance of oyster shells in the "pottery banishment method" of ancient Athens, to the later oysters becoming a popular food among the nobility, oysters can be said to have always played an important role. It is even called "hero's cuisine". Legend has it that the famous Julius Caesar expedition to England was for oysters, which is not entirely credible, but it is enough to show Julius Caesar's love of oysters; napoleon, who founded the French Empire, was also a "fanatical fan" of oysters, and he once boasted: "Oysters are the best food for me to conquer women and enemies."
Of course, not only heroes, but other celebrities love oysters no less than the above two. In addition to the aforementioned Maupassant, there is Shakespeare. Balzac once ate 144 oysters a day, and Bismarck, the "Iron-Blooded Prime Minister," ate 175 a day...
The French literary hero Dumas is not only a writer, but also a gourmet, and at the end of the "Oysters Chapter" of dumas's Gourmet Dictionary, he summed up the way oysters are eaten: "The way oysters are eaten is the same all over the world, and it is so simple. Peel off the shell, pull it out, pour a few drops of lemon juice, swallow it in one gulp... The most discerning gourmets mix vinegar, pepper and green onion into a sauce, dip and swallow. Others — which I thought were true oyster lovers — didn't dip anything and swallowed them raw. (Chinese: You know nothing about power. ）
Dumas, not coming to China limits your imagination
The nutritional value of oysters is recognized by people in the East and the West, but compared to westerners' hype for oysters, Chinese appear to be more subtle in this piece, according to the "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Oysters, cure weakness, aphrodisiac, detoxification, replenish male and female qi and blood, make the skin delicate and anti-aging, and improve the body's immunity." It can be seen that Chinese at that time already had a detailed understanding of the efficacy of oysters. And the famous great writer Su Shi, in the process of being degraded, can be described as where to eat, after discovering the delicacy of oysters, he also specially wrote an article called "Oysters", detailing several ways to eat oysters (unlock the ancestors of oysters in a variety of ways to eat oysters, Su Shi deserved it!). Even in order to prevent others from knowing, he specially warned his son not to tell the secret of oysters!
In addition to eating, oyster shells are also used by the ancestors of our wisdom. In addition to medicinal effects, there are also oyster shells to build houses, known as "oyster houses", it is said that "at that time, oyster shell walls mostly appeared in ancestral halls or rich people's homes." The reason why it is particularly favored by large households is because the oyster shell wall is full of corners and unevenness, if there is a stingray in the dark night, it will cut him 'damaged hands and feet', with anti-theft function. "The oyster shell house in a village in Guangdong has a history of more than 600 years.
Oyster house, a little scary...
Nowadays, oysters are already a common delicacy, in addition to raw and charcoal-grilled oysters, there are also oyster stew soup, oyster porridge, golden half-stewed oysters, oyster oyster oysters, oyster oyster oysters, fried oysters with leeks... It can be said that fried and fried are all available, as for Xiaobian, the most commonly eaten is of course steamed oysters! Now is the season of oyster fat, the sea is also busy, Xiaobian will buy a lot of food every year, this year, of course, is no exception~