Food Culture in Beijing

Food is part our life, it gives us energy to survive. It varies according to geography and climate. It represents nationality and culture. China is the most populous country in the world and Beijing, its capital city, has a large variety of inhabitants. It also has a sophisticated and unique food culture.
The food of Beijing makes people healthy and stronger. The Beijing people do not like unhygienic, harmful and unhealthy foods as recommended by scientists. For this reason, they avoid sweet and milk products, except yoghurt, which are regarded as  detrimental to health.
The Beijing people also avoid fried and spicy dishes. Except few fried items, most of the food they eat is boiled or steamed. They take as much oil as needed for health. World health and food organisations, like WHO and FAO, recommend 21 kg a year, and in 2014, China’s per capita vegetable oil consumption was 24.16kg/person. As Beijing people are health and nutrition conscious, they try to avoid soybean and palm oils, as those can lead to diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity. They normally use cooking oil made from sunflower seed, corn or rice bran, while the government largely supports production of ‘woody’ oils, like tea seed oil, walnut oil, peony seed oil etc. To make their food more delicious, they use various kinds of sauces.
Only nutritious food is not enough for a healthy life, the timing of meals also plays a role. Researchers say lunch is ideal about 3 to 4 hours after breakfast to maintain steady blood glucose and keep hunger manageable. Dinner is best eaten 3 to 4 hours after lunch, and 2 hours before going to bed. Beijing people try to follow the rule_ they take their breakfast before 8am, lunch at noon and eat dinner at 6pm. In Beijing, it is very hard to find a restaurant open after 9pm. Normally, they take a long time for a meal and finish after taking fruit.
Hot water is a favourite drink of Beijing people, although they also take other drinks, like soft drinks, ice tea, juice, etc. They prefer to add something in the hot water, like green tea leaves, dried flowers, fruit or seeds. In Beijing markets, different kinds of dried flowers like rose or jasmine, dry fruits like lemon or orange, as well as variety of seeds are available. That makes the drinking water delicious, fragrant, and also nutritious. For example, a small piece a lemon can do so much for our bodies as it contains bone-strengthening calcium, heart and nerve supporting potassium and magnesium, and traces of sodium required for conductivity. Lemons are also very rich in vitamin C, which rejuvenates the skin to give it a healthy glow, improving natural beauty.
Beijing people prefer chopsticks to eat, rather than use of hand, they even avoid spoon or fork. Chopsticks force you to slow down, eat deliberately, and take smaller mouthfuls that help you to chew appropriately, which has some extra health benefits. Chinese children can use chopsticks before they learn to walk or talk, and they do it to prevent unexpected attack by intestinal worms, which can happen when eating with unwashed hands.
These days, one notices that young people do not know how to cook, they are very much dependent on takeaway or instant foods. In Beijing, anywhere you can get food within 10/15 minutes, for cheap price. This trend may soon make the Chinese people a cook-free nation!

The writers are assistant engineer, LGED, and  scientific officer, BRRI, respectively.

Food Culture in Beijing

Food is part our life, it gives us energy to survive. It varies according to geography and climate. It represents nationality and culture. China is the most populous country in the world and Beijing, its capital city, has a large variety of inhabitants. It also has a sophisticated and unique food culture. The food of Beijing makes people healthy and stronger. The Beijing people do not like unhygienic, harmful and unhealthy foods as recommended by scientists. For this reason, they avoid sweet and milk products, except yoghurt, which are regarded as detrimental to health. The Beijing people also avoid fried and spicy dishes. Except few fried items, most of the food they eat is boiled or steamed. They take as much oil as needed for health. World health and food organisations, like WHO and FAO, recommend 21 kg a year, and in 2014, Chinas per capita vegetable oil consumption was 24.16kg/person. As Beijing people are health and nutrition conscious, they try to avoid soybean and palm oils, as those can lead to diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity. They normally use cooking oil made from sunflower seed, corn or rice bran, while the government largely supports production of woody oils, like tea seed oil, walnut oil, peony seed oil etc. To make their food more delicious, they use various kinds of sauces. Only nutritious food is not enough for a healthy life, the timing of meals also plays a role. Researchers say lunch is ideal about 3 to 4 hours after breakfast to maintain steady blood glucose and keep hunger manageable. Dinner is best eaten 3 to 4 hours after lunch, and 2 hours before going to bed. Beijing people try to follow the rule_ they take their breakfast before 8am, lunch at noon and eat dinner at 6pm. In Beijing, it is very hard to find a restaurant open after 9pm. Normally, they take a long time for a meal and finish after taking fruit. Hot water is a favourite drink of Beijing people, although they also take other drinks, like soft drinks, ice tea, juice, etc. They prefer to add something in the hot water, like green tea leaves, dried flowers, fruit or seeds. In Beijing markets, different kinds of dried flowers like rose or jasmine, dry fruits like lemon or orange, as well as variety of seeds are available. That makes the drinking water delicious, fragrant, and also nutritious. For example, a small piece a lemon can do so much for our bodies as it contains bone-strengthening calcium, heart and nerve supporting potassium and magnesium, and traces of sodium required for conductivity. Lemons are also very rich in vitamin C, which rejuvenates the skin to give it a healthy glow, improving natural beauty. Beijing people prefer chopsticks to eat, rather than use of hand, they even avoid spoon or fork. Chopsticks force you to slow down, eat deliberately, and take smaller mouthfuls that help you to chew appropriately, which has some extra health benefits. Chinese children can use chopsticks before they learn to walk or talk, and they do it to prevent unexpected attack by intestinal worms, which can happen when eating with unwashed hands. These days, one notices that young people do not know how to cook, they are very much dependent on takeaway or instant foods. In Beijing, anywhere you can get food within 10/15 minutes, for cheap price. This trend may soon make the Chinese people a cook-free nation! The writers are assistant engineer, LGED, and scientific officer, BRRI, respectively.