百科知識(shí)視頻之煎蛋小學(xué)堂84 好吃的“爛東西”

Some of our very favorite foods are closer to this than this.That's because coffee,bread,cheese,beer,even chocolate are all home to millions of microbes.In fact,these foods only acquire the tastes,smells,and textures we love because of tiny bacteria and fungi.

某些好吃的看起來(lái)更像這個(gè) 而不是這個(gè)，這是因?yàn)榭Х?面包 奶酪 啤酒甚至巧克力乃數(shù)百萬(wàn)微生物的家。其實(shí) 這些食物擁有我們喜愛(ài)的味道 氣息和質(zhì)地 多虧了微生物和細(xì)菌。

The vast majority of microbes-about 99%-are actually quite harmless to humans.But the other 1% are nasty enough that our ancestors,and the ancestors of various other mammals and birds-evolved a natural repulsion to stuff that might harbor nasty germs.In general， we think rotten stuff looks and smells disgusting.which,considering what's at stake,isn't overly cautious.

絕大多數(shù)微生物 大約99% 都對(duì)人類(lèi)無(wú)害。但這剩下的1%對(duì)我們的祖先而言夠頭疼了，許多哺乳動(dòng)物和鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)的祖先-進(jìn)化出對(duì)可能含病菌東西的厭惡?？偠灾?腐爛物看上去聞起來(lái)都很惡心，這在緊要關(guān)頭并非多慮。

Fortunately,if friendly microbes get to our food first,they can keep the bad guys at bay.Meat left out on the counter provides the perfect conditions for pathogens to flourish:it's warm,moist,and protein-rich,just like our bodies.But with some micromanagement-adding lots of salt,for instance we can help harmless,salt-tolerant microbes outcompete their dangerous but salt-sensitive relatives.

幸運(yùn)的是 如果有益菌先占領(lǐng)食物 有害菌就會(huì)被阻擋在外。桌上的肉為病菌滋生創(chuàng)造了良好的環(huán)境：它溫濕度適宜 富含蛋白質(zhì) 和我們的身體一樣。用幾種微生物管理方法 比如多加鹽，我們可以幫助無(wú)害 耐鹽微生物戰(zhàn)勝有害但鹽敏的微生物。

A few unrefrigerated months later,we get salami,rather than Salmonelli!Our ancestors stumbled on this kind of controlled spoilage thousands of years ago-either by lucky accidents or out of serious desperation-and we humans have been intentionally spoiling food ever since.Not only to keep our food safe to eat,but also because the microbes we culture can transform it,almost magically,into awesome deliciousness.

在外面晾幾個(gè)月后 我們得到了臘腸 而不是沙門(mén)菌腸!我們的祖先幾千年前無(wú)意發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種防止腐爛的方法，或許是幸運(yùn)巧合 也或是被逼無(wú)奈-從此 人類(lèi)就開(kāi)始有意地“放爛”食物。不僅為保證食物安全 還因?yàn)槲覀冊(cè)耘嗟募?xì)菌，能神奇地變成美味佳肴。

Yeast,for example,gorge on the sugary starch in bread dough,then burp out carbon dioxide that helps give loaves their lift.In a more exotic transformation,bacteria and fungi take turns munching on piles of cacao,mellowing out bitter polyphenols and helping create the complex and delicious taste of chocolate.

比如 酵母貪婪地吞著生面團(tuán)上的淀粉，吐出二氧化碳 讓面團(tuán)蓬松。在一種更帶感的轉(zhuǎn)換中 細(xì)菌與真菌輪流吃掉一大堆可可，吐出苦澀的多酚 為巧克力帶來(lái)繁復(fù)而美味的品味。

And deep in cheese caves,mold spores populate small holes and cracks in soon to be blue cheese,digesting big protein and fat molecules into a host of smaller aromatic and flavor compounds,that give the final product its smoothness and rich,funky flavor.But to some,stinky cheese is about as appetizing as licking someone's toes.

而在奶酪洞里，霉菌孢子駐留在將成為藍(lán)紋奶酪的小孔及裂紋中，消化蛋白質(zhì)和脂肪大分子 產(chǎn)出小而香濃的化合物，賦予最終成品柔軟的口感與惡臭道。但在某些人看來(lái) 惡臭的奶酪與舔他人腳趾般令人陶醉。

Which isn't that for off,since the bacteria that make some cheese super-stinky are the same ones that cause foot odor.Yum? Even so,these flavors tend to grow on us:not just literally but also figuratively.The more we're exposed to particular microbial funks which can even start in the womb,the more we tend to like them.

這才不是八竿子打不著 因?yàn)樽屇汤页魵庋斓募?xì)菌 就是造成腳臭的細(xì)菌。好吃嘛?即使這樣 這些味道“長(zhǎng)”在我們身上 字面和比喻上皆如此。我們接觸某種微生物臭氣越多 或許從胎兒時(shí)期開(kāi)始 我們就越喜歡它們。

As a result,people around the world have some very different ideas about how to microbe ify foods.But every culinary culture involves fermentation in one way or another.If we didn't let food spoil just a little bit,we'd have no sauerkraut,soy sauce,pickles,or prosciutto.Not to mention kefir,kimchi,kombucha,koumiss,katsuobushi,and plenty of other delicacies that don't start with K.

結(jié)果 世界各地的人們各有不同的觀(guān)點(diǎn) 關(guān)于如何給食物“加菌”。不過(guò) 每種烹飪文化總會(huì)以某種方式利用“發(fā)酵”。如果我們不讓食物“爛”一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，就不會(huì)有酸菜 醬油 小咸菜或是熏腸。更別提可菲爾(牛奶發(fā)酵成的飲料)康普茶(釀造的東東)乳酒 木魚(yú)(干燥，固化后的鰹魚(yú))，以及其他不是K開(kāi)頭的佳肴了。

What's more,spoiled food may well have changed far more than our tastes.Historical evidence suggests that,when our ancestors gave up their wandering ways and settled down to grow grain,it was likely for love of either bread or beer.Whatever the case,one thing is clear:without the help of friendly fermenting microbes,we humans would be terribly uncultured.

另外 放爛食物帶來(lái)的變化遠(yuǎn)不止味道。歷史證據(jù)表明 我們的祖先放棄游牧 定居之后種谷物 很可能是出于對(duì)面包和啤酒的熱愛(ài)。無(wú)論如何 有一點(diǎn)很清楚 沒(méi)有了這些可愛(ài)發(fā)酵菌的幫助，人類(lèi)興許還停留在吃翔時(shí)代。