people
had more choices: they could boil the food in a pot. Fuand Ding found
in Yangtze delta are typical ucensils of this kindwhich directly use the
heat from fire to cook food.
In the late period of Songze
civilization, a new coc）ker, Yanwas invented, once again changing
people's cooking style. Takethe Yan found in Jinshanfen Site in Qingpu
district, Shanghai forexample. It is identical co a Ding, except having a
ring on theinterior to place the grate. It has a hole on the waist to
ensurewater being continuously added into the oven. Basecl on theshape
of Ding, makers of Yan made minor changes and crafted itinto a cooker
particularly aclapted to steam food.
The invention of Yan changeci
people's way of using fire.It uses the steam from boiling water to cook
food, utilizing thetransfer of heat from the boiling water, it
representeci the people'sunderstanding of the new form of energy.
Beloved by gourmets,food cooked through steaming preserves the nutrition
and taste of foods. Steaming is a unique traditional way of cooking in
China and still an important way of healthy cooking nowadays.
