Why is the Chinese diet, south sweet, north salty, east spicy, west sour?

Chinese people's tastes are mixed, the world's top, but there is a certain pattern to follow. Some people say that the southern sweet and salty, spicy and sour in the east and west, to a certain extent, reflects the regional differences in China's food culture, at the same time, also reflects the people's tastes in the geographic environment there is a certain link.

This can also be seen from the structure of the staple food, China's hot and humid climate in the south of the abundance of rice, therefore, to rice as a staple food; the north of the climate is relatively dry and cold, suitable for the growth of wheat and other crops, therefore, the flour as a staple food.

Shanxi people can eat vinegar, can be said to be "Western acid" of the first. Before they eat, often the first bottle of vinegar over, each person to drink three spoon vinegar for "gluttony". Before the reform and opening up, every Spring Festival, elsewhere are supplied with a little good wine, Taiyuan's oil and salt stores are posted a note: "supply of old chen vinegar, a catty per household." When someone came to give a girl a marriage proposal, the mother first asked, "How many pickle jars does his family have." The fact that there are many pickle jars shows that the family has a thick foundation. In addition, Fujian people, Guangxi people love to eat sour bamboo shoots, the more sour the more can show the level of the producer. The Dai people also love to eat sour, sour bamboo shoots stewed chicken is a traditional dish.

Why do "Westerners" in places like Shanxi love acid? Open the map of China, it can be seen that these areas, especially the Loess Plateau, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and its surrounding areas contain a lot of calcium in the soil and water. As a result, the calcium content in their food is correspondingly high. Thus, through diet, it is easy to cause calcium precipitation in the body and form stones. The laboring people in this area, after a long period of practical experience, found that eating more acidic food was conducive to reducing stones and other diseases. Over time, they also gradually developed the habit of loving acid.

Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan and the Northeast Korean and other residents like spicy, our country is rumored to have "Guizhou people are not afraid of spicy, Hunan people are not afraid of spicy, Sichuan people are afraid of not spicy," said. Guizhou people eat a lot of chili peppers in their lives, Chao Tian Pepper, wild mountain peppers are not to mention. In northern Sichuan, I heard that there is a kind of chili pepper itself can not eat, with a line hanging on the stove, soup is done, chili pepper in the soup shabu shabu, it is too hot, so called "shabu shabu hot", Sichuan's "hot spicy hot" is nationally renowned, so it can be said that there is no spicy Sichuan famous food, Sichuan famous food is not spicy, Sichuan famous food is not spicy, Sichuan famous food is not spicy, Sichuan famous food is not spicy, Sichuan famous food is not spicy, Sichuan famous food is not spicy, Sichuan people are afraid of not spicy. It can be said that there is no such thing as a famous Sichuan dish that is not spicy. Nowadays, people in addition to the Sichuan woman called "Sichuan sister", but also called it "spicy sister", probably also based on this reason.

Spicy food customs are mostly related to the climate and humid geography. The eastern part of China is located on the coast, the Korean people in the northeast of the local climate is also wet and rainy, wet and cold in winter and spring, while Sichuan is not in the east, but really located in the basin, it is more humid and foggy, and rarely see the sun all year round, and thus there is a "Shu Barking said" said. This climate leads to the human body surface humidity and air saturation humidity, it is difficult to discharge sweat, people feel bored and uneasy, over time, but also easy to make people suffer from rheumatism and cold, spleen and stomach weakness and other diseases. Eat chili sweating, of course, sweat can be easily discharged, often eat spicy can drive away cold and dampness, nourish the spleen and stomach, extremely favorable to health (for the locals). In addition, the northeastern region to eat spicy and cold climate, eat spicy can drive cold, Lu Xun study abroad for the cold also have the habit of eating spicy.

The north of China is the Inner Mongolia Plateau, the past fresh vegetables for the northerners is rare, Mr. Lu Xun said, "Jiaodong cabbages shipped to Beijing, they are tied with a red rope with the root of the vegetables, hanging upside down in the head of the fruit store, the beautiful name of the 'rubber vegetables'", is to refer to this. The north of China is located in the warm temperate zone, cold and dry winters, mild and rainy summers, the temperature difference is large, in the past, even if a small amount of vegetables are difficult to survive the winter, but also do not want to momentarily "squandered" off, northerners will be pickled up and slowly "enjoy", so that most of the people in the north, but also in the north of China. In this way, most people in the north also developed the habit of eating salt.

People say that Suzhou food is sweet, in fact, compared with Wuxi, Suzhou food is but light. Wuxi fried eel paste put a lot of sugar, buns in the meat filling also put a lot of sugar, to the north, simply can not eat. Guangdong, Zhejiang, Yunnan and other places residents also mostly love to eat sweets. The south of the rainy, hot and light conditions are good, abundant sugar cane, compared to the north, vegetables are a few crops a year. Southern people are "surrounded" by sugar, naturally developed the habit of eating sweet. Northern people do not love to eat sweet, just in the past sugar is hard to come by, had to "salty" instead of "sweet" to spice up the taste. Although the north is now not a lack of "sugar", but once the taste is formed, not overnight can change. I believe that with the development of society and the continuation of time, the trend of this salty-sweet relative will be weakened.

Of course, the "southern sweet and salty, spicy and sour" is just a general and relative statement, China's vast territory, eating habits vary greatly, and even in the local area there are many differences, which is related to the economic development of each place, national customs and personal habits have an important relationship.