Where does China's top wheat come from? What is the basis?

As one of the three staple foods in China, wheat is widely distributed. Except for a few southern provinces, it can be planted in most parts of the country. Although wheat produces more kinds of delicious food than rice, many people are not as familiar with wheat as rice. Rice can be divided into northeast rice, Jianghuai rice and South China rice. Geographically, it can be divided into glutinous rice, long-grain incense, pearl rice and other varieties. In contrast, wheat seems to be less tortuous, and there are only planting patterns. So where is the best wheat?

The evaluation of wheat quality mainly depends on the hardness of wheat. In principle, hard wheat is generally better than soft wheat. Hard wheat has high protein content, gluten and good palatability, and is suitable for making all kinds of pasta, especially steamed bread, jiaozi and noodles. It is very suitable for the taste of people in the northern staple food wheat area. On the other hand, soft wheat contains more starch and less protein. Generally, this kind of flour can only be used to make soft cakes, such as peach cakes, cakes and jujube cakes. Generally, it does not meet the taste of people in the main food area of pasta.

Knowing about hard wheat and soft wheat, and considering the growth habit of wheat, we can basically exclude spring wheat first, because spring wheat does not overwinter, and is mainly planted in northeast spring, with short growth cycle and relatively low protein formation, so it generally belongs to soft wheat. Then southern wheat can be ruled out.

Because the growth habit of wheat has an obvious feature-it likes sunshine and is sensitive to light. The longer and more sufficient light time is, the more favorable it is for wheat heading and filling. However, it is rainy in the south, and the light intensity is not as good as that in the north, which is not conducive to the formation of wheat protein.

After excluding the northeast and the south, the wheat planted in the traditional wheat areas in northern China was analyzed. Theoretically, the wheat planted along the Yellow River is good. After all, the origin of wheat is dryland agriculture. For example, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong and Hebei have always produced high-quality wheat. Wheat in these areas has always been the main force of wheat production in China. More than 70% of the high-quality flour circulating in the market comes from these areas, but the wheat producing areas with the best quality are not the same.

Looking at the fruits and crops on the earth, there is another feature that is not universal: the greater the temperature difference between day and night in suitable planting areas, the more favorable it is for the formation of sugar and protein, such as Yantai apples and Xinjiang cantaloupe. The principle is like striking while the iron is hot, quality is hammered out. Through comprehensive comparison, the Hetao Plain, located in the zigzag bend of the Yellow River, is generally considered as the best wheat planting area in China.

Because there is not only enough light time and convenient irrigation, but also the temperature difference between day and night exceeds 10 degrees, which conforms to all the best characteristics of high-quality wheat planting. Moreover, scarcity is the most precious. Hetao Plain is not as big as North China Plain, and the wheat yield is far less than North China Plain, which also improves the reputation of Hetao flour to some extent.