東方發酵飲食品的起源

The Origin of Fermented Foods and Drinks in the Orient

黃興宗(H. T. Huang)

《中國飲食文化學術研討會論文集》 第2屆 (1993/07) Pp. 189-232

https://doi.org/10.6641/PICCFC.1-8.1993.02.12

摘要

本文特別注意酒的起源，因為酒是世界最早的發酵產品，釀酒之法可說是發酵工業的祖先。關於西方酒的起源有人做了不少研究，我們可以引用他們的經驗而來檢查酒在東方的起源。西方的原始人早期就知道釀造葡萄酒和啤酒，葡萄做酒的投術很簡單，有了葡萄酒就能提出酵母供給其他釀法之用。啤酒的起源則比較複雜，啤酒的原料是大麥和小麥，麥的穀粒性硬，不易煮熟，需要磨成麵粉，才能加工製造合用的食品，西方原始人應用麵粉的方法如下：（方程式略）若烤爐的火力不足，做成的麵包可能保存不少麥酶和酵母的活力，這種半熟的麵包（稱為啤酒麵包）就是古代做啤酒的資料：（方程式略）這是古代釀造啤酒的方法，從此可知啤酒是麵包工藝的副產品。中國古代的酒是利用一種混合菌種（稱謂麴）加工於食糧以造成，所以談酒的起源就等於談麴的起源，愚意麴的發明和中國古代的烹飪技術也有密切的關係，中國古代的飲食系統有兩個特點：1.黍和稻是主要的食糧，它的穀粒(即米)性軟可以宜接煮熟食用。2.蒸是一主要烹飪方法，普通煮米是放它於蒸器中炊熟成飯。飯不但是優美的食品，而且是良好的微生物培養基，飯粒膠性強面積大，所以飯粒放在空氣中不久就會被各種菌毛蓋滿，這樣的餿飯就是原始的麴。麴是古代中國發酵技術的基本發明，有了麴後人就能製造各種東方典型的發酵飲食品：米酒、米醋、紅麴、豉、醬和醬油。

並列摘要

In this paper special emphasis will be placed on the origin of alcohoic drinks (or wines), since they are the earliest fermented products known to man. Indeed, the art of wine-making may be said to be the progenitor of the fermentation industry. Many scholars have investigated the origin of alcoholic drinks in the West. We will use their experience to help us explain the origin of fermented drinks in the Orient. In the West man learned very early how to prepare wine and beer. The technology of the fermentation of grapes into wine is straightforward. Once wine was known, yeast became immediately available for use on other fermentable substrates. The origin of beer is more complex. Beer was made from wheat or barley. Both grains have hard kernel s that are difficult to cook through. They therefore had to be ground into flour before they could be turned into edible products. Early man in the West processed flour in the following way: (The equation is abbreviated.) If the heat during baking was inadequate, the resulting bread would contain a substantial level of amylase and yeast activity. Such an incompletely baked bread, known as beer bread, was used to make: (The equation is abbreviated.) This was the way beer was routinely brewed in the ancient West. Thus, we see that beer originated as a byproduct of the art of baking bread. In ancient China, alcoholic drinks (or wines) were prepared by treating grains with a mixed culture of microorganisms known as ch'ü (a fermentation starter). And so when we talk of the origin of wines, we are really dealing with the origin of ch'ü. lt is my view that the invention of ch'ü ferment ation is also intimately related to the art of cookery in prehistoric China. There are two factors that characterise the ancient Chinese dietary system: 1. MiIlet and rice were the principal grains. Both have rather soft kernels and could be cooked through and ingested directly. 2. Steaming was a principal method of cookery. The usual way to cook miIlet or rice was to steam the grains in a steamer to produce cooked rice, fan. Now fan (cooked granules of rice or millet) is not only an attractive food for humans but also an efficient medium for the growth of microorganisms. The individual granules are sticky and display a large surface area. Thus, when the granules are left in the air they wiII be covered in a few days with a luxuriant growth of microorganisms. This is the protoptype of ch'ü fermentation. Ch'ü is the basic invention of fermentation technology in ancient China. It was the use of ch'ü that made possible the development of typical fermented foods and drinks of the Orient such as rice wine, rice vinegar, the red ferment, fermented soybeans, soy paste and soy sauce.