2023年经济学人 老干妈风靡美国

 

    Culture

    文艺版块

    World in a dish

    盘中世界

    Some like it hot

    有人爱吃辣的

    The rise of chilli crisp is a case study in how foods become fads¹.

    辣椒酱的流行是食物如何成为时尚的案例研究。

    For some, cooking during lockdowns was a chance to try out the kind of time-consuming, intricate food preparation that the rush of ordinary life makes impossible.

    对一些人来说，封控时期让人有机会尝试一些耗时且复杂的菜谱，平时的匆忙生活让人无暇做这种菜。

    Endless loaves of sourdough were produced, along with bubbling kombucha.

    于是人们做了无数的酸面包，再配上冒着气泡的康普茶。

    For others, it was an experience of drudgery².

    对其他人来说，做饭是苦差事。

    Making three meals a day, especially if your diners included small children, was tedium³ defined—an endless loop of eggs and beans and eggs and toast and beans and toast and eggs.

    准备一日三餐，尤其是当你还要给小孩子做饭的时候，就绝对是枯燥无味的——做饭就是鸡蛋、豆子、鸡蛋、吐司、豆子、吐司、鸡蛋的无限循环。

    Enter condiments⁵.

    然后酱料登场了。

    They satisfied both tribes.

    酱料能让这两类人都心满意足。

    For the enthusiasts⁶, it was a chance to make the dips and drizzles⁷ usually provided by the local deli.

    对于厨艺爱好者来说，他们有机会制作当地熟食店会提供的各种蘸酱。

    For the weary, a jar of something spicy⁸ or sour was an easy way to enliven the umpteenth⁹ cheese toastie.

    对于疲于做饭的人来说，一罐辛辣或酸爽的东西可以很简单地点亮无数烤芝士三明治的味道。

    Chilli crisp—a glowing red oil, heady with chilli and heavy with crisp fragments of garlic and shallots as well as fermented¹⁰ black beans and sesame—became the sauce of the moment.

    辣椒酱——闪着红色油光，含有火辣的干辣椒、浓郁的干脆葱蒜碎末、发酵的黑豆和芝麻——成为了当下最流行的酱料。

    The place it has secured in many fridge doors since then hints at how foods become fashionable.

    从那时起，它已经在许多冰箱门上占据了一席之地，这暗示着食物是如何变得时尚的。

    People in China may have been bemused by the revelatory joy with which those in countries such as America seized on chilli crisp.

    美国等国家的人忽然惊喜地发现了辣椒酱并对之趋之若鹜，这可能会让中国人感到疑惑不解。

    They have been eating varieties of the stuff for centuries.

    几个世纪以来，中国人一直在吃各种各样的辣椒酱。

    Lao Gan Ma, made in the south-western province of Guizhou, is the most famous brand.

    老干妈是其中最著名的品牌，产于中国西南部省份贵州。

    Its founder¹¹, Tao Huabi, started selling noodles coated with the sauce in 1989, setting up a factory a few years later.

    老干妈的创始人陶华碧在1989年开始售卖裹着这种辣酱的面条，几年后她开办了一家工厂。

    Her face peers out sternly from every label on the 1.3m bottles the company says it now produces a day.

    老干妈公司称，他们目前每天的产量是130万瓶，每个瓶子的标签上都有眼神严肃的陶华碧。

    (Heinz’s plant in the Netherlands makes about 10m bottles of ketchup¹² a week.)(亨氏在荷兰的工厂每周生产约1000万瓶番茄酱。)It took a pandemic to bring the delicacy¹³ to the rest of the world’s attention.

    直到疫情发生，这种美味才引起了世界其他国家的注意。

    Chilli crisp had many of the necessary characteristics to be a hit.

    辣椒酱有许多成为热门食物的必备特征。

    It is spicy, but not overly so.

    它很辣，但辣度又不过分。

    It is delicious slathered on noodles, as originally intended, but it can also be added to fried eggs and other dishes familiar to Americans.

    把它浇在面条上很好吃，这是它最开始的吃法，但它也可以加到煎蛋和美国人熟悉的其他菜肴上。

    It satisfies humans’ love of crispy foods, rooted in an evolutionary¹⁴ preference since crunchiness is often an indicator¹⁵ of freshness.

    它满足了人类对酥脆食物的热爱，这根源于一种进化偏好，因为酥脆通常代表新鲜。

    Usually tastemakers visit restaurants and interview chefs to immerse themselves in what people are cooking and eating, says Kevan Vetter of McCormick’s Flavour Forecast, which predicts and influences which tastes become popular.

    味可美公司的《风味预测》会预测并影响哪种口味会变得流行，在这里供职的凯文·维特表示，通常情况下，开创口味潮流的人会去餐馆探店、采访厨师，让自己沉浸在人们烹饪和享用的美食中。

    In lockdown that was no longer possible.

    在封控期间，这再也不可能了。

    Instead they had to watch what cooks, both home and professional, were making via social media.

    于是他们不得不通过社交媒体来观察厨师们都在做些什么，其中包括在家里做饭的人和专业厨师。

    The answer, along with banana bread, was chilli crisp.

    答案就是香蕉面包和辣椒酱。

    Today’s question is not whether people will keep eating it.

    现在的问题不是人们是否会继续吃辣椒酱。

    The liberation of post-pandemic dining has not dulled the delight of the condiment⁴.

    后疫情时期的餐饮解放并没有冲淡这种酱料给人带来的乐趣。

    The East Asian population in America and Britain is growing.

    美国和英国的东亚人口正在增长。

    Many new brands have joined Lao Gan Ma.

    许多新品牌加入了老干妈的行列。

    Like salsa, which once seemed exotic, chilli crisp is set to become a pantry staple¹⁶.

    就像曾经一度看起来颇有异国风味的萨尔萨酱一样，辣椒酱也势必成为食品储藏柜里的主要食材。

    The question is whether amateurs will keep making it.

    问题是，业余爱好者是否会继续做辣椒酱。

    Nobody bothers making ketchup: as a condiment is assimilated, people develop a taste for the mass-produced version.

    没有人会费心制作番茄酱：随着某种酱料被人接受，人们会开始喜欢大规模生产的版本。

    And in the case of chilli crisp, Ms Tao might argue that the commercial option is as authentic¹⁷ as it gets.

    在辣椒酱的案例中，陶女士可能会表示，商业化生产的辣椒酱就是最地道的。

1 fads   

n.一时的流行，一时的风尚( fad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It was one of the many fads that sweep through mathematics regularly. 它是常见的贯穿在数学中的许多流行一时的风尚之一。 来自辞典例句
• Lady Busshe is nothing without her flights, fads, and fancies. 除浮躁、时髦和幻想外，巴歇夫人一无所有。 来自辞典例句

2 drudgery   

n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作

参考例句：

• People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。
• He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。

3 tedium   

n.单调；烦闷

参考例句：

• We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。
• In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。

4 condiment   

n.调味品

参考例句：

• It has long been a precious condiment.它一直都是一种珍贵的调味料。
• Fish sauce is a traditional fermented condiment in coastal areas.鱼露是沿海地区的传统发酵调味品。

5 condiments   

n.调味品

参考例句：

• Refill and clean all salt and peppers, sugar bowls, and other condiments. 清洁并续满所有的胡椒瓶、盐瓶、糖缸及其他调料。
• Go easy on condiments, they tend to be salty. 别放太多调味品，这样往往会太咸。

6 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

7 drizzles   

蒙蒙细雨，毛毛雨( drizzle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• "Grain lain" day-bringing gentle drizzles-was not far off. “谷雨”节一天近一天了。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
• It drizzles sometimes, moistening the thirsty fields lightly and selflessly. 它大多是毛毛细雨，轻柔而又无私地滋润着干涸的大地。

8 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

9 umpteenth   

adj.第无数次（个）的

参考例句：

• W; `Qmp`tinW/ pron, det: For the umpteenth time, I tell you I don't know! 我告诉你多少次了，我不知道！ 来自辞典例句
• Vera: That's the umpteenth suggestion I've made which you've turned down. 薇拉：这不知是我提出的第几个建议了，你全部不接受。 来自互联网

10 fermented   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• When wine is fermented, it gives off gas. 酒发酵时发出气泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His speeches fermented trouble among the workers. 他的演讲在工人中引起骚动。 来自辞典例句

11 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

12 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

13 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

14 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

15 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

16 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

17 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。