What is the Chinese culinary tradition?

The original way of eating for human beings was not much different from that of animals in general; when they got food, they ate it alive. The ancients called it "eating and drinking blood". Initially enjoy the food, can only rely entirely on nature's arrangements and gifts, there is an abundance of time, there is also a shortage of time, especially in the harsh winter in the north, the fruit of the grass and trees are withered, if you can not catch to feed the beasts, then you have to go hungry.

When mankind recognized fire, it entered a new era of diet - the era of fire food. Humans who mastered the skill of using fire, and then invented ways to get and keep fire, so that there is light, warmth, and hot food. The earliest human beings used natural fires, including volcanic lava fires, natural fires in dead wood, fires ignited by lightning strikes and meteorites falling to the ground. Humans initially saw a blazing fire, as with other animals, always to avoid it. But people are different from animals, after all, after the fear, they feel warmth next to the embers, may intentionally collect some kindling to save, in order to use it to survive the winter. Sometimes in the flames engulfing the forest, but also found some burned beasts and roasted nuts, take a taste, have a taste, may be inspired by this, began to embark on the road of fire food.

China's prehistoric era, the earliest beginning of fire is unknown, Zhoukoudian Peking Man cave site found fire remains, archaeological excavations to see up to 4-6 meters thick layer of ash, interspersed with some burnt stones and charred animal bones, as well as burned seeds of the park tree, which is certain that the kitchen garbage, but also clear evidence of the use of fire, the age in more than more than half a million years. In addition, some charcoal chips and burnt bones have also been excavated in the sites of Lantian Man and Yuanmou Man.

With fire, the proportion of cooked food gradually increased, the way of fire food also evolved from simple to complex, and cooking skills were gradually developed and perfected. The first human beings, neither stove, but also do not know what pots and pans, pottery has not yet been invented, then the main way of cooking Hemudu culture kettle or barbecue - the food in the fire directly baked, which has been handed down, used to modern times. Human beings also further invented the "cannon" method - using sticky mud to wrap the food and then roast it over the fire, which is still in use today.

After fire became an indispensable means of production and life, mankind invented a number of artificial fire methods to create fire. Humans became the masters of fire, which is the same as becoming the masters of the world. This is the first attempt of human beings to dominate the forces of nature, which opened a brilliant chapter of human beings to transform nature and conquer it.

While the era of cooking by fire without cooking utensils may have been long, and the roasting or concocting method could bring deliciousness, mankind was not satisfied with this, and the ancestors continued to seek new flavors. The most important of these was the invention of the kettle - the pot - a regular cooking utensil used by humans for no less than 10,000 years.

The earliest cooking utensils made by humans were made directly from natural materials, not necessarily with meticulous processing. Among these materials, stone slabs and blocks were the most common. The ancient and modern "slate burning", the origin of the invention of pottery before. In modern times, some ethnic minorities still use stone slabs to cook cakes, which is a legacy of ancient times. Some other ethnic groups have the custom of cooking food on hot stones or using animal skins as cooking pots. These no pottery cooking method, in the world many late into the ethnic groups have examples, can be sure is the early human cooking used by the more common way, the original delicious meal is through these primitive methods of cooking. The earliest pottery kettle, it is inspired by this primitive cooking method and made, copper tripod and iron pot casting is also in the same line. Pottery kettle before the "leather kettle", there is "bamboo kettle", the southern region of bamboo, cut off the bamboo in abundance, such as water and rice, simmering in the charcoal fire, can also be made into a beautiful dishes, this is the ancient literati said the bamboo kettle, the modern is still in use, a unique flavor. There may be many more examples of primitive cooking methods like this. In other words, more standardized cooking began before the invention of specialized cookware.

Tracing the beginning of the culinary era back to before the invention of pottery doesn't take away from the far-reaching impact that the invention of pottery has had on human culinary life. The invention of pottery may have been an important byproduct of the Green Revolution in agriculture. The structure of the human diet changed radically after the cultivation of grains became the main means of food acquisition. Grains became the main food, but how to eat them became a major problem. Cereals were generally not eaten raw, and were probably initially cooked by roasting the kernels on hot slabs or cooking them in bamboo tubes, a method that may have been used for many centuries. Such early cooking method, but also in the ancient discourse, such as the "Li Ji - Rites of Passage" note said: "in the ancient times there is no kettle and cauldron, the release of rice stroking meat, added to the burnt stone on top of the ear of the food." The Ancient Historical Examination also says: "Shennong when the people eat grain, release rice plus burnt stone on top of the food." This is certainly not the ideal way to eat, mankind is still seeking new ways to cook grains, the invention of pottery is the result of this urgent search.

There is no reliable academic conclusion about the origin of pottery. Pottery is made from clay, molded and baked at high temperatures. It is still a mystery why human beings had a sudden idea to change clay into utensils. It is another scientific revolution accomplished by mankind since the invention of artificial fire to use fire as an energy source. Pottery was largely invented for grain cooking, a creation of primitive farming tribes. Farming tribes have a more stable source of living, no longer frequent migration, began to have a sedentary life, pottery is at this time to the human world. The initial pottery is mostly cooking vessels, but also food vessels. The pottery of cooking utensils mixed with sand or husk, mussel shells, etc., with fire-resistant, not easy to crack and fast heat transfer and other advantages. The pottery of food ware after washing, because not in direct contact with the fire, so generally do not add grains of sand, the surface is relatively smooth. With pottery, the path of fire and food was gradually perfected, and the era of pottery cooking arrived.

China's primitive pottery has a long history, and pottery from 10,000 years ago has been unearthed in both the north and the south. It was such pottery that accompanied people's dietary life in prehistoric times, and pottery cooking allowed for the adequate development of fire-food technology.

China's long tradition of fire-food is the root of the development of Chinese cooking, of which we are proud. Zhejin chef cooking for the "fire to get treasure", the use of the fire skills is the key to get the real treasure, the fire skills are practiced, is the accumulation of millions of years of experience, rely on the long tradition of fire food.