Traditional Chinese cuisine is based on the thousand-year-old system of the Five Transformations, which shows the relationship between human actions and their effects. The diet is governed by the cycles of the seasons. Chinese medicine states that in order to stay healthy, it is necessary to maintain a balance between the temperature of the environment and the heat of the human body. The Five Seasons Diet and its principles are closely linked to the functioning of human organs.
What is Five Methods Cuisine?
Five Methods Cuisine also known as Five Element Kitchenoriginates from the traditional Chinese medicineand this has its roots in Taoist philosophy. According to it, man is part of nature and subject to its laws. In nature, spring, summer, late summer, autumn and winter follow in succession. The elements Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and specific tastes correspond to these seasons.
In the cuisine of the Five Transformations, each taste has its own symbol and its own specific energy values. For example sweet, symbolised by the Earth, is attributed to the Spleen. The salty Water is for the kidneys, the bitter Fire for the heart, the sour Tree for the liver and the pungent Metal for the lungs. Each flavour strengthens the different organs, but when given in excess can weaken them. In order to balance the body, the Five Transformations cuisine is balanced in terms of taste.
What is the essence of cooking according to the Five Methods Kitchen?
The Five Transformations cuisine recommends living in harmony with the rhythms of nature. Since each of the Five Transformations is characterised by a different element, season, flavour or organ, they should all be included in the diet. According to this cuisine, products are divided according to the energy they carry with them into: hot, warm, neutral, cold and cooling.
In turn, each of the Five Transformations is present in the cooking process in the form of five flavours: sour, bitter, sweet, hot and salty.
The Five Transformations Kitchen is based on adding products with particular flavours to the food in the order indicated by the Wheel of Five Transformations. Each ingredient must be added in a specific order, starting with Tree, then adding Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. We can start with a different flavour, but the order cannot be changed. The last ingredient added to the dish will condition the action of a specific organ. If we finish cooking with an acidic flavour, we support the liver, and with a bitter flavour we support the heart.
What principles does the Five Methods Kitchen preach?
According to the Chinese, the structure of the human body resembles the digestive tract of herbivores, hence our diet should consist of at least 90 per cent plant products. An important principle of the Five Transformations Cuisine is the consumption of seasonal vegetables and fruits that ripen in a given climatic zone and at a given time of year.
In this cuisine, the Chinese use mainly plant-based products. According to it, humans need four food groups: vegetables, fruits, legumes and cereal grains. Forbidden products, on the other hand, include animal fats, sweet milk and refined white sugar. According to the nutritional principles of the Five Transformations diet. Legumes should be the source of protein, while natural or low-processed products are best for the human body. Products containing excessive amounts of salt and sugar are also not beneficial.
According to the principles of the Chinese diet, the more flavours a dish contains, the healthier it is for our organs. The flavours should be combined in such a way that none dominates over the others.
The key principles of the five transformations cuisine proclaim:
- Eat 3 hot meals a day.
- Eat meat at most 1-2 times a week.
- Eat smaller and smaller meals throughout the day.
- Give up cold cuts and farmed fish.
- Limit protein.
- A minimum of 90 per cent of food should be of plant origin.
