作者生平：

? ? ? ? ? 安德魯·達(dá)爾比（Andrew Dalby）是一位古典學(xué)者、歷史學(xué)家、語(yǔ)言學(xué)家和翻譯家，以他關(guān)于食物史（尤其是希臘和羅馬帝國(guó)）的書(shū)籍而聞名。 《Siren Feasts》 是安德魯·達(dá)爾比的第一本美食書(shū)籍，獲得了 Runciman（朗西曼）獎(jiǎng)，他的第二本書(shū)《dangerous Tastes》在2001年獲得了美食作家協(xié)會(huì)年度美食書(shū)籍。他還是《The Classical Cookbook》和《Empire of Pleasures》以及巴克斯和維納斯的傳記的作者。

《Tastes of Byzantium ：The Cuisine of a Legendary Empire》于 2003 年首次出版

ISBN: 978 1 84885 165 8

本書(shū)完整的 CIP 記錄可從大英圖書(shū)館、美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)圖書(shū)館獲得

由 Thomson Press India Ltd 在印度印刷和裝訂

Conclusion

結(jié)論

The cuisine of the Byzantine Empire was a synthesis of what had gone before. There is the love of spices and exotic flavors so typical of Roman food. Beside this there is the emphasis on seafood and on local produce that emerges from the long tradition of classical Greek gastronomy. For Constantinople this means the produce of the Aegean, the southern Balkans, northwestern Anatolia and the Black Sea. But Byzantium was also unique, and even an unsympathetic observer can help us to grasp this uniqueness.

? ? ? ? Becoming more elaborate as every day passes, our luxury now impels us to plaster our food with the aromatics of India. Nowadays the spice merchant seems to be working not for the physician but for the cook!

? ? ? ? ? 拜占庭帝國(guó)美食是過(guò)去的綜合體。對(duì)香料和異國(guó)風(fēng)味的熱愛(ài)是羅馬食物的典型特征。 除此之外，它還強(qiáng)調(diào)海鮮和源自古典希臘美食悠久傳統(tǒng)的當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)產(chǎn)品。 對(duì)于君士坦丁堡來(lái)說(shuō)，這意味著這是愛(ài)琴海、巴爾干半島南部、安納托利亞西北部和黑海的產(chǎn)物。但拜占庭也是獨(dú)一無(wú)二的，即使是冷酷無(wú)情的觀察者也能幫助我們把握這種獨(dú)特性。

? ? ? ? ? 隨著時(shí)間的流逝，我們變得越來(lái)越精致，我們的奢侈觀念促使我們用印度的芳香劑來(lái)涂抹我們的食物。如今，香料商人似乎不在只是為醫(yī)生工作，而是為廚師工作！

Unsympathetic Asterius certainly is: luxury offends him. His complaint seems strongly reminiscent of those made by the elder Pliny, author of the classical Latin Natural History, concerning the demand for spices in the first century AD. But in fact Asterius really has noticed something new. It had probably been true, in the Roman past, that except for a very few spendthrifts, and except for pepper, most of the spices that were imported from India at such enormous cost went into the medicine cabinet (or into divine worship and funeral rites). Gradually, however, the influence of the physicians was spreading. Both cooks and eaters took them more and more seriously. In one sense Asterius is wrong: the physician is still there in the background, setting the health agenda. In another sense he is right, because the health aims are achieved, to a far greater extent than ever before, by adjusting the flavors and aromas - and thus by creating an astonishing and varied cuisine.

? ? ? ? ? ?冷酷無(wú)情的 Asterius 肯定道：奢侈得罪了他。他的抱怨似乎強(qiáng)烈地讓人想起古典拉丁自然史的作者老普林尼關(guān)于公元一世紀(jì)對(duì)香料的需求的那些事情。 但實(shí)際上，Asterius 確實(shí)注意到了一些新的東西。在羅馬的過(guò)去，我是說(shuō)很可能是真的，除了極少數(shù)揮霍無(wú)度的人，除了胡椒，大部分從印度以如此巨大的成本進(jìn)口的香料都進(jìn)入了藥柜（或進(jìn)入了神圣的崇拜儀式和葬禮））。 然而，醫(yī)生的影響力逐漸擴(kuò)大。 廚師和食客都越來(lái)越重視它們。 從某種意義上說(shuō)，Asterius 是錯(cuò)誤的：醫(yī)生仍然在幕后，為人們制定健康清單。在另一種意義上，Asterius是對(duì)的，因?yàn)榻】的繕?biāo)的實(shí)現(xiàn)比以往任何時(shí)候都重要，通過(guò)調(diào)整食物的口味和香氣 - 從而創(chuàng)造出令人驚嘆的多樣美食。

In truth, two influences had combined to produce the great range of powerful flavors that we can sense at the heart of this strange cuisine. One was the church calendar, with its numerous fast days on which both meat and fish were ruled out: the rich (including rich abbots and ecclesiastics) gave their cooks full rein to produce fast-day dishes as piquant and varied as could be conceived. We have seen what the Prodromic Poems have to tell us of this. The second influence was that of the physicians. By contrast with the earlier Greek dietary manuals, the Byzantine ones were written for non-specialists. Codification was complete: the effect of each ingredient could be stated, not only on the 'four humors’ but on each section of the digestive system, beginning with the organs of taste. Thus spices and seasonings became ubiquitous, used both during the cooking process and at table to adjust the qualities and the attractions of each dish.

? ? ? ? ? 事實(shí)上，兩種影響相結(jié)合，產(chǎn)生了我們可以在這種奇怪美食的核心感受到各種強(qiáng)烈風(fēng)味。 一個(gè)是教堂日歷，上面有許多禁食日，在那天肉和魚(yú)都被排除在外：富人（包括富有的方丈和教士）全力以赴地制作出盡可能多的辛辣和多樣化的禁食菜肴。我們已經(jīng)看到 Prodromic Poems 必須告訴我們?yōu)槭裁?。第二個(gè)影響是醫(yī)生的影響。與早期的希臘飲食手冊(cè)相比，拜占庭的飲食手冊(cè)是為非專業(yè)人士編寫(xiě)的。編寫(xiě)是完整的：可以說(shuō)明每種成分的作用，不僅對(duì)“四種體液”，而且對(duì)消化系統(tǒng)的每個(gè)部分，從味覺(jué)器官開(kāi)始來(lái)細(xì)說(shuō)。因此，香料和調(diào)味料無(wú)處不在，在烹飪過(guò)程中和餐桌上都可以用來(lái)調(diào)整每道菜的品質(zhì)和吸引力。

In reconstructing Byzantine cuisine we have luckily been able to look at non-Byzantine sources too. Medieval travelers to Constantinople did not always like the strange flavors they encountered. Caros, the venerable fish sauce, was an acquired taste. Most foreigners disapproved of retsina. But even strangers were seduced by the confectionery, the candied fruits and the sweet wines. Nearly all were enthralled by the pageantry of dinner at the Great palace. In its food and wine, as in its fabled wealth and its magic arts, the Byzantine Empire was a mystery and a legend in its own time. Something of the mystery remains.

? ? ? ? ? 在重塑拜占庭美食時(shí)，幸運(yùn)的是，我們也能夠看到非拜占庭的來(lái)源。前往君士坦丁堡的中世紀(jì)旅行者并不總是喜歡他們遇到的奇怪風(fēng)味。 Caros，古老的魚(yú)露，是一種后天習(xí)得的味道。大多數(shù)外國(guó)人不贊成retsina。但即使是陌生人也被糖果、蜜餞和甜酒所誘惑。幾乎所有人都被大皇宮盛大的晚餐所吸引。拜占庭帝國(guó)的美酒佳肴，就像傳說(shuō)中的財(cái)富和魔法一樣，在當(dāng)時(shí)都是一個(gè)謎。一些神秘的東西仍然存在。

未完待續(xù)！