Chapter 444: The stream of Zhongnan Mountain, precious vinegar
At the next moment, Guan Ke listened to the gurgling sound of the stream at the foot of the mountain and had some enlightenment. He thought that all these changes were probably caused by himself. He had arbitrarily peeked into so many secrets.
It changed the cyclic changes in the world between heaven and earth, and the yin and yang energy in Cao Shuang and others, but he was not completely sure whether this change was brought about by himself.
Then he murmured to himself: "In the past, I once said: Be independent without changing, move around without peril, all things bear yin and embrace yang, and use energy to think of harmony. It seems that things today cannot be separated from these four sentences.
I still spied too many secrets!"
Zhongnan Mountain is the main water source of the Wei River and Han River.
First, there are many ground runoff streams. There are 28 streams in Zhongnan Mountain. Together with numerous tributaries and criss-crossing streams, the total number of streams is more than 50;
The second is waterfalls and lakes. Large and small streams have eroded the hard Zhongnan Mountain block and cut it into countless peaks. When streams meet cliffs, they form numerous waterfalls. There are also many lakes between mountains and peaks;
Third, the geothermal resources are rich and there are many hot springs. The northern foot of Zhongnan Mountain is located on a large fault zone in the earth's crust. The upward movement of geothermal resources has been opened up, making the northern foot of Zhongnan Mountain rich in geothermal resources and forming many hot springs. Therefore, Guan Ke's energy in Louguan Taoism
It’s no surprise to hear the sound of running water…
After Jian Jia steamed the staple food, he cut two plates of beef that had been cooked before. The dishes on Bai Lingjun's side were ready, and they were waiting for Jian Jia and Sun Luban to prepare the dishes for lunch.
Sun Luban poured some snow-white salt from the clay pot into several small bowls. This is the salt Cao Shuang ordered to make using a new method. The quality is much better.
Sun Luban smiled and said to Xiao Ruan on the side: "Xiao Ruan, can you help me peel some garlic?"
Xiao Ruan said with a smile: "Okay, no problem." After saying that, he picked up the garlic and started peeling it. Sun Luban didn't let Bai Lingjun help, but she also joined in, and the three of them peeled it together.
I peeled it very quickly. I quickly peeled the garlic needed for lunch, and then started to chop the garlic on the chopping board. The ginger shreds were already cut in front.
The next step is to pour out a few plates of white plums from the sealed clay pot. Before there was vinegar, this was used as a sour seasoning. Of course, vinegar was also available.
According to legend, in ancient times, vinegar was invented by Heita, the son of the Wine Saint Du Kang.
Du Kang invented wine, and his son Heita did everything from carrying water to moving vats in the workshop, and gradually learned the technology of wine making.
Later, after Heita made wine, he felt that it would be a pity to throw away the lees, so he stored them and soaked them in a tank.
On the 21st, when I opened the vat, a scent that I had never smelled before hit my nostrils.
Tempted by the rich aroma, Heita took a bite. It tasted both sour and sweet, and tasted delicious, so he stored it as a "seasoning paste".
What is the name of this seasoning paste? Heita named this seasoning "vinegar" by adding the word "You" to the 21st day.
In the book "Zhou Rites" written by Zhou Gong, there is a record that "Xiren is in charge of Wuqi and Qijing". Xiren is an official of the Zhou royal family in charge of Wuqi and Qijing. The so-called "Wuqi" refers to the ancient Chinese brewing process.
There are five stages of fermentation, and people who make vinegar must be familiar with the wine-making technology to brew vinegar.
The scale of the official system of Xi people was second only to wine and pulp at that time, which shows that vinegar and vinegar-related products played an important role in the emperor's daily dietary life. Because Shanxi people are jealous, people in Shanxi also call Shanxi people "Lao Xi".
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were workshops specializing in making vinegar. By the Han Dynasty, vinegar began to be widely produced.
Up to now, the production and sales volume of vinegar have been very large, and it is still regarded as a valuable luxury product. Officials and celebrities hold banquets, and the presence or absence of vinegar as seasoning is regarded as a standard for the quality of the banquet. Ordinary people still have it.
White plums are often used as sour seasonings.
After all, the raw material of vinegar is food. Ordinary people can’t even eat enough, let alone eat vinegar.
There are many grains that can be used to make vinegar, such as glutinous rice, rice, wheat, bran, sorghum, millet, sweet potato, etc. It can be said that as long as it can be used to make wine, it can be used to make vinegar, and even the koji used to make vinegar can be used.
They are all koji made from barley and peas, and the preliminary work is similar to the steps of making wine.
Take sorghum as an example. Crush the sorghum, soak it in water for more than six hours, take it out, mix it with an appropriate amount of rice bran, and steam it in a pot.
Spread out the steamed sorghum and let it cool. While there is still a little bit of residual temperature, stir in the prepared distiller's yeast, then put it into a large oil-free and water-free vat and seal it for fermentation.
When the temperature is suitable, you will be able to smell the aroma of wine after about fifteen days of fermentation. At this time, you need to pour out the fermented raw materials in the tank for secondary fermentation.
The specific steps are to fully turn the raw materials in the tank every day. It is best to prepare an empty tank and pour it once a day. The principle is that alcohol contacts acetic acid bacteria in the air and is converted into acetic acid (so the sealing is not good when making wine, and the wine
It will turn sour) The whole process takes 21-30 days.
After the secondary fermentation is completed, you still need to incense and color the fermented grain. The specific method is to transfer the grain to a clean pot without oil and water. You can put some aniseed ingredients such as fennel and pepper on top, and add some
The charcoal fire slowly smokes.
Because there is a lot of grain in the pot, it is best to have a stove with two pots. One pot is empty, which is convenient for turning the pot and prevents the grain underneath from being scorched and smoked until the grain takes on a darker brown color.
That’s it.
The boiled semi-finished vinegar needs to be further aged to remove moisture. The traditional method is to use the weather, expose it to the sun in summer, and remove ice in winter, because vinegar will not freeze, and the frozen part is excess water. It must be left for more than three years.
The vinegar is aged vinegar.
The traditional raw materials for making vinegar are mainly glutinous rice and rice (japonica rice) in the south, sorghum and millet in the north, wheat in the Central Plains, and bran in Sichuan and Shaanxi.
The rest of the fish and meat ingredients were brought to the table one after another by the ladies, and the staple food and chopped beef with soy sauce were also put on the table.
Bai Lingjun carefully walked to the table with the fish head and tofu soup, and said to Xiao Ruan on the side: "Please help me bring the cut tofu over here."
Xiao Ruan nodded with a smile and brought over the lacquer box containing the still warm tofu cubes. The tofu inside had been dyed black and green by soy sauce and green onions.
But the original white color of the tofu can still be barely seen. Cao Lin did not have lunch with the adults. There was a special cook to prepare food that children like to eat.
Cao Shuang picked up a piece of sashimi with chopsticks and praised: "The sashimi cut out by Dahu is as thin as a cicada's wing, as loose as snowflakes, and so light that it can flutter in the wind. It's really beautiful."
." There was also a slight breeze blowing through the dining room, causing the sashimi to really flutter in the wind.
Cao Shuang put some shredded ginger on the thin sashimi, dipped it in some vinegar on the plate, put the sashimi into his mouth and savored the taste: "This fish is very fresh and tender, and the vinegar is also good.
, It’s a pity that this vinegar is very precious and consumes food, so more people cannot use it.”