Garlic was first seen in summer in China. It was originally called egg garlic, that is, small garlic. During the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian made his second mission to the Western Regions and introduced a kind of garlic. Volume 6 of Zhang Hua's Natural History records: "When Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, he got garlic, guava, walnuts, chives, alfalfa and parsley", and Qi Yao Min Shu Planting Garlic by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty also records: "When Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, he got garlic and grapes. Because it comes from the western regions, it is also called "Hu garlic" (Cui Bao: Notes on Ancient and Modern Times).

The records of garlic in western historical documents can be traced back to the Babylonian Empire. 19 1 1 year, when archaeologists excavated the Pharaoh's tomb in Emma Hasa, they found a model similar to garlic in the tomb. The Old Testament records Israel's desire for garlic: "Think about when we were in Egypt, we ate fish for free, and we still remember cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions and garlic. Now our efforts have dried up, and there is nothing before our eyes except this manna. "

Garlic is divided into garlic and garlic in the history of our country. Shuo Wen Jie Zi: "Garlic is also a meat dish", but don't talk about big and small garlic. Qi Yao Minshu. Planting garlic XIX: "Garlic includes Hu garlic and Xiao garlic", but the difference between garlic and Xiao garlic has not been solved. Compendium of Materia Medica made a comprehensive correction: small garlic was originally unique to China, but later it was called small garlic because Han people had Hu garlic in the western regions, and domestic garlic was divided into two types: small root and few petals, spicy, garlic and small garlic. The rhizome is big, the petals are many, and those who are spicy and sweet are also taboo, and garlic is also. " "The seeds of garlic have been transplanted since ancient times", "The seeds of garlic were moved from Alakazam until the Han Dynasty". These paragraphs make us clear the following three aspects:

Firstly, the origin of garlic was clarified. That is, garlic (also known as garlic head) is the garlic originated in China. The key is "self-transplantation". As for the word "autumn", Ci Hai contains such names as "autumn, garlic in the mountains, garlic born in the mountains", as well as other names such as Ze garlic and Lycoris radiata. It is an ancient name for wild garlic in the deep mountains. As for garlic, that is, Hu garlic, "Zhang Qian made the Western Regions, only garlic and coriander" was introduced from the northwest border of China or even further. Secondly, the bulb and variety characteristics of garlic and garlic were defined. "Small garlic is stubborn and cultivated artificially, but its nature is hard to change." At present, our common purple garlic and white garlic still retain the difference between garlic and small garlic, which can be proved by the fact that purple garlic is very spicy and white garlic is slightly less spicy. Thirdly, garlic has a long history of cultivation in China, but the cultivation history of garlic is relatively short. Garlic imported from Zhang Qian is better than garlic from China because of its big petals and sweet taste, so it has developed rapidly. There is no doubt that the garlic we grow and eat at present comes from these two kinds.

Garlic originated in the western plateau of Asia and also spread in Central Asia. When Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, he brought back a large number of exotic species, and garlic was one of them. After garlic was introduced into China, it soon became a beautiful vegetable and a good ingredient in people's daily life. As a vegetable, it is as important as onion and leek. As a seasoning, it is as famous as salt and lobster sauce, and it is eaten in various ways. In the Western Jin Dynasty, people often ate garlic. When Emperor Jinhui fled, he took garlic from the people to accompany his meal. "Taiping Magnolia" records: "Chengdu Wang Ying returned to Luoyang from Huidi, and had dinner in a guest house on the way. Imperial secretary held a bucket of glutinous rice for Supreme, and garlic, salt and soy sauce all arrived, which was a great honor. The coarse rice in the city is packed in pottery bowls. The emperor spit out two pots, dried garlic and salted black beans. "

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the consumption of garlic was more common. "Biography of Zhang Rong in the Southern Qi Dynasty" contains: "Wang Dazhao receives guests, cooks them, asks for salt and garlic, shakes his forefinger and rests for half a day." Qi Yao Min Shu records a method of making "Eight Harmony", in which garlic is the most important one. The cloud said, "Garlic: clean the skin and cut off the strong roots, otherwise it will be bitter if you don't go. Those who have tasted water, garlic is sweet and can be used at any time; For those who have never crossed the water, use half-life fish-eye soup. Chao Ge garlic is extremely spicy, and it will break your heart. Use it wholeheartedly, otherwise it will be tasteless. " In the production, "Bai Mei, ginger and orange peel are first smashed into powder and stored." . When the millet is ripe, the rice is ripe, and garlic is gradually born. Garlic is difficult to cook, so it is more appropriate to cook slowly. Raw garlic is difficult to pound, so it must be cooked first. "It can be seen that garlic is one of the main flavors of Bahe horseshoe crab and is the first choice.

In the Tang Dynasty, people ate garlic on a large scale, and good garlic was everywhere. "Guang Wuxing" says: "In the fourth year of Tang Xianheng, Luozhou made Tang Ji five products in winter. Before going in and out, a monk came to see ... and said,' Be a monk, eat less and drink less, and remember each other in public. Can you arrange a game? The manager is very happy. After disposing of the fish, the monk said,' See if there is garlic?' The family said,' If you have no garlic, you must buy it.' The monk said,' You can't walk without garlic. Suffer. The monk asked for fish, but he refused to eat fish because he didn't have garlic to flavor it. This shows the status of garlic in people's minds at that time. "

In the Song Dynasty, people ate garlic and cooked in more ways. Pujiang Wu's "Zhongzhi Cuisine" introduces four ways to eat garlic: garlic melon, dried garlic seedling, garlic seedling prescription and garlic wax gourd. "Garlic Melon" says: "A catty of autumn cucumber, blanched with lime and alum soup, and controlled to dry. Salt half A Liang, marinate for one night. Half an ounce of salt and three ounces of garlic are mashed, mixed with melons, poured into salt water, boiled in good wine and vinegar, soaked and placed in a cool place. Winter melon eggplant method. " "Dried garlic shoots" says: "Cut garlic shoots into inches, one catty, one or two ounces of salt. Marinate the smelly water, dry it a little, mix some sauce and sugar, steam it, dry it in the sun and put it away. " "Make garlic seedlings" says: "Use less salt for seedlings, submerge them overnight and let them dry. The soup is boiled dry. Mix the licorice soup evenly, steam it, dry it in the sun and put it in an urn. " People in the Song Dynasty ate garlic, either raw or used for cooking. The Song people have mastered the various uses of garlic in food.

During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, people cooked garlic in a more mature way than the Song people, and they were ingenious in bringing forth the old and bringing forth the new. For example, Amin writer Gao Lian recorded the practice of "garlic plum": "Two Jin of green plum and one Jin of garlic, or peeled, fried in salt for three or two times, fried in water to make soup, and stopped cold soaking. After 50 days, the brine will change color and be poured out for frying. Stop cold soaking and put it in a bottle. Eat after July. " Plums have no sour taste and garlic has no bad smell. "

People in Qing dynasty ate garlic, which was similar to that in modern times. Its cooking methods can be divided into two factions: North and South. The cooking method of garlic recorded in Ding Yizeng's Shandong Farmland Brief has a typical northern flavor. Such as "Crystal Garlic": "Seven or eight days after pulling out the moss, peel off the garlic skin, mix it evenly with salt at seven yuan per catty, and stir it often." Marinate for four days, put in a magnetic cylinder, and fill in the actual order. Bamboo clothes are sealed, and several holes are inserted to control smelly water. Pick it up on April 5 and seal it with mud. It can be used for several days. Open and close when using, don't bring wind. "The anonymous Tiaoding Collection records the cooking methods of garlic in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. For example, "Pickled Garlic" said: "When garlic is fresh, dry it to remove its roots, soak it in clear water for two or three days, and it will be fine if it tastes spicy to seven or eight points. If not, it should be soaked in clear water, washed and then soaked, and pickled with salt and vinegar. If you use salt, a catty of garlic, two ounces of salt and three ounces of vinegar, you can marinate it for two or three days and add water until it is completely sealed, which can last for a long time. It should be half salty and half sweet. When it is picked up in water, it should be marinated with dilute salt for a day or two, then boiled with sweet and sour, and then poured cold. If it is too weak to add salt, sugar is not sweet. "Exquisite technique and exquisite processing. But generally speaking, the garlic quality of southerners is not as good as that of northerners, which is probably why the planting area and output of garlic in the north far exceed that in the south.