[Sca-cooks] Re: Blown Sugar is Chinese Apparently

[Terry Decker]

>> > The Mongols are from the northern and northwest deserts of
> China/Mongolia.
>> > Sugar cane doesn't grow there.  Not much grows there except spotty 
>> > grass
>> and
>> > gravel.  Milk was probably the easiest thing to ferment.  And remember,
>> the
>> > Mongols didn't start moving into those cane growing regions until late
> in
>> > the 12th Century and by the time they got to India, the were Moslems.
>> >
>> > Bear
>
>> The Yinshan zhengyao certainly knows sugar, but no evidence they 
>> fermented
>> it. I think the Mongols preferred starting with milk or fruit drinks. 
>> Note
>> that they used freeze distillation too.
>>
>> Paul (Buell)
>
> Saint Phlip,


If I get that right, Yinshan zhengyao means "(Inner) Mongolian expedition". 
(A guess based on some translation similarities.)

Knowing of sugar or having small quantities of sugar is quite a bit 
different than having enough sugar to keep the brew pot full.  I would be 
interested in knowing something about the quantities of sugar that found 
their way into Mongolia.

I assume that the fruit drinks were originally produced from local berries, 
but were imported fruits used?  That would say something about the trade in 
the north.

Bear