This article is from WeChat official account:World Knowledge Bureau (ID: sjzhishiju), author: Nie Po Yan, editing: blue flowers, from the title figure: vision China
A hot knowledge: China is the most favorite country in the world to eat melon!
According to statistics, in 2018, the Chinese digested more than 70 million tons of watermelon. In other words, the average person digests more than 100 kilograms of watermelon every year-it can be said to be a veritable melon-eater.
Today, the Knowledge Bureau will give you a good talk about eating melons.
1. How did the people who eat melon grow up
According to the legend, the watermelon was discovered by Shennong when he tasted Baicao. His old man tasted it and thought it was watery and thin, so he named it “Sweet Melon”.
Another argument is that because this kind of melon was introduced into China from the Western Regions, it is called “watermelon”. This sounds more reliable. After all, as early as four thousand years ago, the Egyptians planted watermelon, and then gradually moved northward, initially from the Mediterranean coast to Northern Europe, and then southward into the Middle East, India and other places. In the fourth and fifth centuries, It was introduced to China.
Although the Chinese people eat watermelon later in the year, it can’t hold back how much we eat now!
Currently, China is the world’s largest watermelon producer, with a total production of 70% of the world’s total. Judging from the data graph, Turkey and Iran, which rank second and third, are simply not worth mentioning.
The top ten countries in the world for watermelon production (2018)
Because of short shelf life and inconvenient transportation, the export volume of watermelons produced in China is less than 0.1%. In other words, 70% of the watermelons in the world have also been eaten by the Chinese people…
Comparison of watermelon production in all continents of the world (2018)
Speaking of which, China still occupies the advantage of vast land and abundant resources. Especially in the Central Plains areas such as Henan Province, the subtropical climate of the Meso-he River Basin in ancient Egypt can be perfectly reproduced. Watermelons take root here, and there are seven melons on a vine every minute-until today, Henan is also China’s largest watermelon producer, with an annual output of over 13 million tons, accounting for one-fifth of the country.
It’s no wonder that the Japanese Master Kukai visited the Baima Temple in Luoyang after tasting the watermelon in the city of Chang’an in “The Legend of the Demon Cat.” Maybe he was fancy Henan where the watermelon is rich.
You must know that in Japan today, watermelon is still a very expensive food, and it is still sold in supermarkets.
In order to better taste the watermelon, the Japanese even figured out the housekeeping skill: Sprinkle a small rub of salt on the watermelon to better highlight the sweetness of the watermelon.
Although the Japanese people also like to eat melons, considering the limited land resources, they still have to give priority to the population’s staple food.
It can be said that it is not that Japanese watermelons are expensive, but Chinese watermelons are too cheap.
In terms of land resources and human resources, few countries in the world can compare prices with China in terms of agricultural products. The only exception is the United States, which has a lot of land resources and is crazy about agricultural mechanization.
But why the United States, which exports a lot of agricultural products, does not grow watermelons so far?
This is a question left over from history. As we all know, the racial discrimination caused by the history of black slaves is still common. In the past, many southern farmers who discriminated against black people, in order to encourage the opposition of skin color, even evilItalian suppressed watermelon. Because watermelon is not nutritious and easy to grow; it is often juicy when eating melon, and the posture is not very elegant; the sweet and greasy taste and bright colors also lower its value.
Under the superposition of various factors, watermelon was regarded by the Americans at the time as an “unclean” and “not noble” fruit, and it was only eaten by a black countryman.
The love to eat watermelon has become a stereotype of black people who are always ugly.
In this way, watermelon has become a junk fruit. The watermelon market in the United States has never recovered.
Until now, it is still rather rude to talk about watermelon in front of black people.
In 2009, the mayor of a California city was revealed to have planted watermelon on a White House lawnPS photos were sent to friends via email, and eventually lost their official position.
Such cultural differences between China and the United States almost caused a diplomatic accident.
One year, the famous basketball star “Flash” Wade came to China for activities, and his wife also came to play with him. According to the Chinese custom, they went to the KTV in China. As soon as I entered the private room, my wife was dumbfounded, and there were a few pieces of watermelon in the fruit plate on the table, as if the Chinese were provoking. Fortunately, the activist immediately explained the whole story. A group of black brothers happily ate the melon on the spot and took a photo with the melon.
Wade’s wife herself, the older sister is very humorous
Second, 108 kinds of postures for eating melon
Since the average Chinese person has to eat 100 catties of watermelon a year. In order to let the watermelon die well, everyone used a lot of brains.
In addition to breaking their stomachs, five horses and eight pieces of corpses, like a man in the green forest, they smash melons and eat them. Of course, they must also use the meticulous cooking in the university cafeteria, the birthplace of dark cuisine. The crystallization of the Western Regions has created a heinous new dish: Stir-fried bananas with watermelon.