舌尖上的中国第1季 第31期:转化的灵感(5)

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People urgently needed to find the best way to consume soybeans. 迫切的需要就是寻找到进食大豆的最佳方式。

The white powder on the scale is gypsum, the key to turning soy milk into tofu. 秤盘里的白色粉末是石膏，它是把豆浆点化成豆腐的关键。

Hu Xuebin can use gypsum as skillfully as his ancestors. 胡学兵对于石膏的纯熟运用和他的祖先如出一辙。

One more time? 再来一次？

No, it would be overdone². 不行，再来豆腐就老了。

When the denatured protein meets with gypsum, the boiling soy milk quickly coagulates. 在煮沸的豆浆中，变性的蛋白质和石膏相遇后迅速发生胶凝作用。

The change is so drastic that it can be seen in the blink of an eye. 这种变化如此巨大以至于在瞬间就可以觉察到。

In ancient days, gypsum often appeared in secret scriptures³ of Chinese warlocks. 遥远的年代里石膏常常出现在中国术士们的秘笈之中。

It's said that was how the relation between gypsum and tofu started. 而它和豆腐的渊源据说也恰恰与此相关。

Over 2,000 years ago, Liu An, the King of Huai-nan, was addicted⁴ to alchemy. 很多人相信，两千多年前正是热衷炼丹的淮南王刘安。

When nurturing⁵ immortal⁶ pills in soy milk, he happened to add some gypsum in it. 在八公山中用豆浆培育丹苗时，碰巧加入了石膏。

Many people believe that's how tofu was invented. 于是无意间促成了豆腐的诞生。

Regardless of whether the reality was as dramatic as the story, the Chinese must have been groping for a long time before finally making tofu a great food of China. 不管事实是不是真的，那么富有戏剧性中国人必定经历了漫长的摸索才让豆腐最终成为一种了不起的中国食物。

The invention of tofu, however, completely changed the fate of soybeans. 无论如何，豆腐的诞生彻底改变了大豆的命运。

With great flexibility⁷, tofu offered a huge space for the imagination of the Chinese, well-known for culinary skills. 豆腐无限包容的个性给擅长烹饪的中国人创造了极大的想像空间。

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