馮盈之

中國年糕的起源傳說眾多，有打年獸說、大禹治水說、伍子胥說、文種說等，其中，大禹治水說、文種說的發(fā)生地就與寧波有關。

“大禹治水說”認為，年糕最初就是百姓為感恩大禹治水而獻的祭品：“相傳大禹治水后，給浙江百姓帶來實惠，大家就用他整治的水田上種出來的糧食做成糕祭祀。初叫米糕，因為祭祀的目的是希望一年更比一年好，所以改稱為年糕了?！?/p>

寧波制作年糕歷史悠久，至少在北宋已經(jīng)有用米粉做糕的記述。在清代已經(jīng)非常普及了。清代，寧波地方文獻《桃源鄉(xiāng)志》卷五《物產(chǎn)志》明確提到：“良湖稻，可做年糕?！蹦旮庖呀?jīng)作為年節(jié)筵席上的重要食品。

寧波年糕以“水磨”聞名

寧波年糕是眾多稻米加工制品中的奇葩，體現(xiàn)七千年米食文化的智慧，它具有的特點其一是色如玉、韌似膠，其二為營養(yǎng)豐富。

區(qū)別于蘇式、廣式等年糕，寧波年糕以“水磨”聞名。

《舌尖上的中國》里有這樣一段解說：寧波水磨年糕，用當年新產(chǎn)的晚粳米制作，經(jīng)過浸泡、磨粉、蒸粉、搡搗，稻米的分子得到重組，口感也得以改善;以前的寧波家庭，要在新年之前做好上百斤年糕，儲藏在冷水里，可以從臘月一直吃到來年。

寧波水磨年糕的制作，包含著當?shù)厝藢@種稻米黏性、軟硬等口感的認識;同時，作為主食稻米，晚粳米在整體食味和營養(yǎng)上價值也比較高。

到了民國時，寧波年糕暢銷于上海等地?，F(xiàn)當代，年糕更是漂洋過海出口多國。

寧波年糕的文化內(nèi)涵

年糕作為寧波重要的傳統(tǒng)食品，除了日常生活，還有許多文化內(nèi)涵，這些文化內(nèi)涵在寧波百姓的日常生活中得到了最好的演繹。

首先，寧波年糕的發(fā)展，與其農(nóng)業(yè)種植結(jié)構(gòu)有關。

考古發(fā)掘已經(jīng)證明，寧波有著數(shù)千年的水稻栽培歷史，是中國最早種植水稻的地區(qū)之一。寧波境內(nèi)的河姆渡遺址，迄今為止仍屬中國乃至亞洲最早的稻作遺址之一。

優(yōu)質(zhì)大米的出產(chǎn)，為寧波年糕提供了物質(zhì)基礎。年糕之所以好，首先要稻米好，選擇谷粒飽滿、米質(zhì)好的晚粳，做出來的年糕特別柔滑透明。

其二，吃了年糕才算過年。

年節(jié)，是農(nóng)耕文明的產(chǎn)物。年糕含有慶祝五谷豐登之意，于是成了歲月更替的物象，成了民俗的符號。正所謂：年糕寓意好運深，白色如銀黃色金。年歲盼高時時利，虔誠默祝望財臨。

做年糕是寧波人慶賀新年的一種傳統(tǒng)方式。

進入十二月后各家做年糕和餽（kuì），早在十一月下旬即已開始。鄉(xiāng)間挨戶排好日子，除請年糕師傅外，多互相幫忙。吃年夜飯必食?！钝闯鞘€月竹枝詞》：“十二月忙年夜到，挨家挨戶做年糕，送年送灶事才了，又把門神貼一遭?！?/p>

年糕又是重要祭祀品。當先民以稻米為主要食糧以后，必然要與祖先神靈共享這種美好的食品，謝年時必供，在祭祀中獻上精心制作的年糕，以博取祖先神靈的歡心，祈禳來年保佑五谷豐登、人畜安康。

這一愿望也折射到年糕的外形方面，制作成為各種吉祥物。比如“如意年糕”象征“吉祥如意”“大吉大利”等寓意。還有元寶、鯉魚和豬、羊、牛之類的小動物，表達新年安康之意。

多樣的烹飪方式

寧波年糕的發(fā)展，與地方飲食風俗也有著密切的關系。

寧波有漫長的海岸線，海產(chǎn)資源異常豐富、菜蔬多樣，為做寧波菜提供了豐富的四時烹制原料。寧波菜的烹飪方法通常以蒸、燒、烤、燉、腌等見長，注重原汁原味，同時甬菜多海味，并擅長烹制海鮮，體現(xiàn)鮮咸合一。

所以，寧波年糕的配料豐富，烹飪方式多樣，可或炒或湯或烤等等。

清代，慈溪坎墩人胡杰人有正月竹枝詞云：

家家紅柬共相邀，兼味無多飲濁醪。

差喜殺雞為黍補，登筵還有炒年糕。

其中，“菜蕻年糕”是日常的美味。謝翹的《四門竹枝詞（百首選一）》有：“戲演燈頭賀上元，家家留客總盈門。莫嫌下酒無滋味，菜蕻年糕炒幾盆”的說法。民諺則說：“菜蕻炒年糕，越吃越饞癆。”極言菜蕻炒年糕的美味。

而“薺菜炒年糕”則是鮮美的野味了。寧波地方有俗語說：“薺菜炒年糕，灶君菩薩也饞癆”。薺菜的鮮美加上年糕的滑糯，口味很好，所以民諺有此一說。

“糖炒年糕”是年糕的又一種實用方法，尤其在慈城一帶，當中再加桂花，就是桂花炒年糕，白的年糕、黃的桂花，紅的糖，色香味均引人入勝。俗話說“糖炒炒，油爆爆，吃得嘴角生大泡”。另有“梭子蟹炒年糕”等名品。

名品有“天菜心烤年糕”。是賓館、飯店及廣大市民餐桌上的常見佳肴。最誘人的是老灶頭大鑊烤的。也可用大頭菜?！按箢^菜烤年糕”意寓“彩頭高照年年好”。

有“咸菜肉絲年糕湯”“青菜年糕湯”“雞汁水年糕湯”等等，其中“雞汁水年糕湯”是年夜飯必備點心。

有“酒釀年糕”“酒釀番薯年糕湯”寓意“甜蜜發(fā)財年年高”。最簡單的白煮年糕，蘸上紅糖，也是甜糯適口。

煨年糕，是把新做的年糕從年糕缸里撈出來、擦干，煨在野外正燒得紅旺的焦泥堆里，過會兒扒出來，年糕已焦黃圓胖，上口“嘎吱嘎吱”，外皮酥脆，內(nèi)肉柔韌，香美無比。

另有美食家的一些創(chuàng)意：寧波年糕因本身無味，又能吸附佐烹食材之鮮，一些吃得“各色”的人，將之切片塞入鱸魚腹中，然后上灶蒸熟。及至上桌，最受歡迎的就是飽吸了魚鮮的年糕，魚肉反在其次。

漢聲編輯室的《慈城·寧波年糕》一書中則記錄了46道年糕菜，分別以煨、烤、爆、?、煮、燴、蒸、炒、煎、蜜汁、拔絲等方法烹調(diào)出色香味俱佳的菜肴。

除了菜肴，寧波百姓還開發(fā)了各色年糕干，當作零食，脆脆香香。

， sometimes translated as year cake or Chinese New Years cake， is a food prepared from glutinous rice and consumed in Chinese cuisine. While it can be eaten all year round， traditionally it is most popular during Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat ?during the traditional celebration time， because ?is a homonym for “higher year.” The Chinese word 粘 （nián）， meaning “sticky”， is identical in sound to 年， meaning “year”， and the word 糕 （gāo）， meaning “cake” is identical in sound to 高， meaning “high or tall”. As such， eating ?has the symbolism of raising oneself taller in each coming year.

The genesis of this ceremonious food for the Spring Festival varies in different folk stories and legends. ?in eastern Zhejiang has something to do with two different folk stories about the genesis. People of Ningbo love ?very much indeed. The ?making in Ningbo goes back to a written description of the Northern Song Dynasty （960-1127） as testified by the annals of a rural town in Ningbo which records that rice produced there is good for ?making.

The Ningbo ?is special. It is made from finely ground rice flour. It is different from ?made in Suzhou or Guangzhou. It resembles jade in color and pliable and strong. And it is highly nutritious. In the past， a family made 50 kilo ?for the Spring Festival. ?is usually stored in cold water. The storage can last a family for several months. In the first half of the 20th century， the Ningbo ?became popular in Shanghai.

in Ningbo is made of round-grained nonglutinous rice， which is planted in late July or early August and harvested in October. Nowadays， the Ningbo ?is even exported to overseas markets.

in Ningbo is no longer just a food. It is a key ingredient of the regional culture. The history of ?in Ningbo is closely tied with the rice farming in the region. Archaeological finds indicate that rice farming goes back to seven thousand years ago in Ningbo. It is one of the areas in China where rice farming originated and flourished in a distant past. The rice grains unearthed at the ruins of the Hemudu Culture in Ningbo combine to serve as the best specimen of rice farming in both ancient China and in Asia. The rice species planted in Ningbo offers a special taste and texture.

used to be a must for the celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year in Ningbo. In December， households began to make . Some started in late November. Some engaged professional ?makers. ?makers had an order book and they moved from family to family and from village to village. Some families made it themselves. Neighbors helped each other.

was so important principally because it was part of the offerings to deities and ancestors at household sacrificial ceremonies. For this purpose， ?came in various forms and shapes. Some were made like ingots; some resembled a carp， a pig， sheep or cattle.

As ?is so important in everyday life in Ningbo， the regional cuisine records several tens of ?recipes， showing a wide range of flavors and preparations. It can be prepared with a wide range of ingredients and cooked in various ways such as fried， toasted， steamed， or prepared in a soup. In some recipes， ?is prepared with sea food， as Ningbo has a long coastline and sea fishing is a major industry for local people.

A cook book published in Shanghai in 2009 records 46 ?recipes and 11 ways to prepare . In addition， dried ?slices can be prepared like popcorns.