There are many kinds of Chinese cabbage, which are widely planted in different places and have different names, but their main characteristics are similar, that is, tender, crisp, white as milk, easy to plant and resistant to storage, so they are planted in the north and south of China and spread to many parts of the world.
Cabbage is just a nickname. In ancient times, its name was fermented grains. According to Liu Shu Jiu in the Southern Song Dynasty, it says: "Braised, rested, bowed and cut, winter dishes. Its stems and leaves are white, so it is called cabbage. "
Cabbage belongs to Cruciferae, which was collected and eaten by ancient humans and then planted. In the Neolithic cultural site in Central Plains about 7,000 years ago, Chinese cabbage seeds hidden in jars were unearthed, indicating that China planted Chinese cabbage very early.
With the development of the times, human beings began to grow crops, and Chinese cabbage came into being. Chinese cabbage has a long history of cultivation in the north.
Every winter, it is freezing in the north, and almost no vegetables can survive. However, Chinese cabbage, which can be stored for a long time, has become the main vegetable. Moreover, a Chinese cabbage in the north weighs more than ten kilograms. It is white and tender after cutting, and no matter what you do, it is known as the king of dishes.
In the Book of Qi Yao Min written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty, there is a chapter devoted to summarizing the vegetable production technology, in which the technology of planting fermented grains is mentioned: "Fermented grains are like turnips, which are hairless and big."
The delicious shepherd's purse has become a national gift. When the envoys of Nanliang came to Luoyang, Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty gave them a boat of shepherd's purse and took it to Nanliang for the royal family to taste. After tasting shepherd's purse, Prince Xiao Tong specially wrote a word or two of thanks to Xie Yi's Henan cuisine and Xie Yi's Daqi, praising shepherd's purse "the harmonious taste of Joo Won? makes you feel ashamed".
By the Tang Dynasty, shepherd's purse had spread to the people. How can the dietary genes of the ancients be worse than today's? As soon as the ingredients came, the dishes came up. For example, Meng Chang wrote in "Dietotherapy Materia Medica": "Shepherd's purse quenches thirst, and mutton is beautiful. Cooking it in winter can be eaten as soup, which can help digestion and cure cough. "
There are also direct medicines, such as the Fangzi Cave in Longmen Grottoes, where there are prescriptions for shepherd's purse.
With the passage of time, there are more and more ways to eat Chinese cabbage, such as burning Chinese cabbage with chestnuts, Kaiyang Chinese cabbage and so on. Of course, the most popular are home-cooked dishes, such as stewed vermicelli, stewed pork slices, fried Chinese cabbage, spicy Chinese cabbage, Chinese cabbage meat buns and sauerkraut.
Cabbage is available all year round, and it tastes more delicious after defrosting. However, the output of vegetables in winter is too small to meet the demand. In the past, people used to store Chinese cabbage in autumn for winter. Now, with the development of science and technology, all kinds of out-of-season vegetables are listed in winter, and storing Chinese cabbage has become history.