Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai all like to stir-fry and put sugar. Do they like sweets?

Sugar was a very rare thing in ancient times, and it was exclusively used by nobles. However, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been rich since ancient times. Many people add sugar to their dishes to show off their wealth. In this way, they compare with each other and the food becomes sweeter and sweeter. Until now. Think this is the reason why Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai love sweets? Hee hee, no, but in fact, until the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine was not sweet.

The birthplace of Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine is Kaifeng in Song Dynasty. For example, steamed bread was found in Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty. For example, the word steamed buns is obvious. In the Song Dynasty, buns were stuffed, but bread was not stuffed.

Meng Xi's written records also record that northerners eat sweet and southerners eat salty. Later, the Song Dynasty moved south, gradually replacing the local diet.

There are several other examples. In Suzhou, people in Suzhou like to eat noodles and put sugar in cooking, while people in the suburbs like to eat but don't like sugar. This is because people who move south are mainly concentrated in urban areas. Urban area is the custom of northerners in Song Dynasty.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the old city of Suzhou was divided into southern and northern areas. The northern area is mainly inhabited by immigrants from the north, and the dialect spoken is close to the northern dialect. The southern district is mainly local, and the dialect spoken is Wu dialect. There are many rich people in the north area, and they like to eat more noodles. The garden is also in the north area.

In the gourmet monograph Yi Ya Yi Yi Yi, a * * * recorded 49 cooking methods of Suzhou cuisine, and explicitly mentioned 33 kinds of salt, accounting for 67.35%. Only 7 kinds of sugar were used, accounting for only 14.29%. It can be seen that the proportion of seasoning with salt at that time was far greater than that with sugar.

The main reason why Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai love sweets is that the development of sugar-making technology has changed sugar from a luxury to an ordinary food in the south of the Yangtze River, which is generally affordable for ordinary people and has flowed into their homes. From the middle of Qing Dynasty, Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine began to appear sweet. And sugar can be fresh. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, the diet is delicious.