Su Shan is a delicacy made with milk and cream that looks like shaved ice.

Poet Wang Lingran from the Tang Dynasty described how people made and enjoyed Su Shan in his poem Ode to Su He Shan. According to the poem， sugar was added to Su Shan that was shaped into many forms.

“It is neither solid， nor watery and disappears once it touches teeth，” the poet wrote.

The Su Shan in his poem was thought by many scholars to be an early form of ice cream. However， only the royals and nobles were lucky enough to have large iceboxes to create the delicacy in summer.

Although there were no fridges in ancient times， iceboxes to store ice cubes in summer had become very common in rich families by the Tang Dynasty.

People could easily buy iced drinks on the street during the Song Dynasty. As a community service， some rich people even provided free ice water and medicine on the street for free.

Ice water sold during the Song Dynasty was often added to mung beans or licorice to help prevent heat stroke.

During the Wei， Jin and Southern and Northern dynasties， dairy food appeared more frequently on ancient Chinese peoples tables.

People made three kinds of cheese. One was called tian lao， or sweet cheese， which tasted like cheese yet looked like yogurt. Another is gan lao， or dried cheese， similar to solid cheese eaten today. The last one is cu lao， a kind of half-sour， half-sweet cheese， like yogurt.

The climate in the Yellow River area in the Tang Dynasty was warmer and moister， very different from today. Many cherry trees were planted there at that time. The fruit was common in early summer and people often added cheese and cane syrup to the cherries.

Lu You， a noted poet from the Song Dynasty， once wrote， “Eat cherry， peach and cheese at the same time”.

Thus in the Song Dynasty， when ancient Chinese people sent cherries as gifts， cheese was often presented together.

When rich noble people had cherries with cheese and cane syrup， they often used plates and bowls made of gold or colored glaze to make the fruit look more mouthwatering.

酥山是一種用牛奶、奶油制成的看起來像刨冰的美食。

唐代詩人王泠然在《蘇合山賦》中描述了人們?nèi)绾沃谱骱拖碛盟稚?。根?jù)詩中所介紹的，人們?cè)谒稚街屑尤胩?，并做出各種造型。

王泠然在文中寫道，“非固非;觸皓齒而便消”。

他筆下的酥山被很多學(xué)者認(rèn)為是冰淇淋的早期形態(tài)。不過，只有王公貴族才有幸擁有大型冰窖來制作這一夏日美食。

盡管古代沒有冰箱，但有錢人家夏天用冰窖來儲(chǔ)存冰塊在唐代已經(jīng)很普遍了。

在宋代，人們很容易就能在街上吃到冰鎮(zhèn)冷飲。一些有錢人家甚至在街頭路邊免費(fèi)提供散暑藥和冰水。

宋代市面上出售的冰水還經(jīng)常加入綠豆或甘草來幫助人們祛暑降溫。

魏晉南北朝時(shí)期，奶制品越來越多地出現(xiàn)在中國古人的餐桌上。

當(dāng)時(shí)有三種酪制品。一種叫甜酪，味道是奶酪的口感，但形態(tài)上更近似酸奶。另一種是干酪，比較接近我們今天吃的固態(tài)奶酪。還有一種叫酢酪，又酸又甜，類似于酸奶。

唐代時(shí)黃河流域的氣候更為溫暖潮濕，與當(dāng)今很不相同。許多櫻桃樹就是在那個(gè)時(shí)候被種下的。初夏櫻桃大量結(jié)果，人們經(jīng)常將奶酪、蔗糖和櫻桃混拌在一起享用。

宋代著名詩人陸游曾這樣寫到：“蠟櫻、桃子、酪同食?！?/p>

因而在宋代，古人在饋贈(zèng)櫻桃的時(shí)候，常常連同奶酪一并奉送。

當(dāng)富有的人享用糖酪澆櫻桃時(shí)，他們經(jīng)常用金盤、彩畫榼等器皿來盛放，讓這道美食在視覺上更加令人垂涎。

Word Study

noble /'n??bl/ n. 出身高貴的人;貴族成員

Although he was of noble birth he lived as a poor man.

syrup /'s?r?p/ n. 糖漿;糖水