原文標(biāo)題：
World in a dish
Fry and stop him
One man’s quest to understand and glorify the chip
盤中世界
炸了又停
一個(gè)人的追求就是為了理解和打造完美薯?xiàng)l

The quest for the perfect chip
Triple-cooked chips may be Heston Blumenthal’s most influential dish
探索完美薯?xiàng)l
三煮薯?xiàng)l可能是赫斯頓布魯門撒爾最具影響力的菜

[Paragraph 1]
IT IS EASY to see why so many classic recipes are difficult to cook.

為什么普通人很難按照食譜做出經(jīng)典菜肴？原因其實(shí)顯而易見(jiàn)。

A gleaming duck paté en cro?te, a deeply savoury mole poblano, a vast timballo, a perfectly clear consommé: they all involve long tallies of ingredients, tricksy processes and towers of specialist equipment.
法國(guó)的鴨肉餡餅，墨西哥的甜辣美食，意大利的大烤盤，清燉肉湯等：它們都具備食材豐富、廚藝精巧、設(shè)備專業(yè)等特點(diǎn)。

[Paragraph 2]
The chip, by contrast, needs none of these. It is a simple thing—a long, narrow piece of potato, fried in oil.
相比之下，薯?xiàng)l不需要上面這些條件。因?yàn)檫@是一件很簡(jiǎn)單的事——油炸細(xì)長(zhǎng)的土豆就好。

To be clear, these are the sort of thick, dependable chips that go with fish, not skinny frites or French fries, nor the kind shoved into American children’s lunch bags.
有一點(diǎn)需要清楚，本文的薯?xiàng)l不是細(xì)薯?xiàng)l或炸薯?xiàng)l，也不是美國(guó)兒童午餐袋里的那種薯片，而是英國(guó)國(guó)菜“炸魚薯?xiàng)l”里的厚薯?xiàng)l。

Chips are one of the “cheaply pleasant” foods with which the “underfed, harassed, bored and miserable” may console themselves, wrote George Orwell in “The Road to Wigan Pier”.
喬治·奧威爾在《通往威根碼頭的路》中寫道，薯片是一種“物美價(jià)廉”的食物，“窮苦”之人可以用薯?xiàng)l來(lái)安慰自己。

Fish and chips were thought to be so necessary to British well-being during the second world war that they were one of the few foodstuffs exempted from rationing.
炸魚薯?xiàng)l與英國(guó)人的幸福息息相關(guān)。在二戰(zhàn)期間，炸魚薯?xiàng)l也成為英國(guó)少數(shù)沒(méi)有受限于食物配給的料理。

[Paragraph 3]
Everyone knows the quiet but profound joy of a good chip.
人人都知道美味薯?xiàng)l能帶來(lái)平靜且深刻的快樂(lè)。

Soused in vinegar, splattered in mayonnaise or ketchup, their straightforward plainness is a comforting delight—even, or especially, in a post-festive season when you are meant to be abstemious.
泡點(diǎn)醋，撒點(diǎn)蛋黃醬或番茄醬，吃著簡(jiǎn)簡(jiǎn)單單的薯?xiàng)l就是一種快樂(lè)--即使或者特別是在節(jié)后需要節(jié)約的季節(jié)也如此。

So it is striking that the creator of the über-chip is known for his inventiveness and complex experimentation.
因此，當(dāng)über薯?xiàng)l的創(chuàng)造者以其極具創(chuàng)造性且復(fù)雜的實(shí)驗(yàn)橫空出世時(shí)，震驚四座。

[Paragraph 4]
Heston Blumenthal, a British chef, is famed for bewildering dishes such as the meat fruit—a chicken liver parfait disguised as a mandarin.
英國(guó)廚師赫斯頓·布魯門撒爾以奇葩的菜肴而享譽(yù)全球，比如肉水果——一種橘子形狀的雞肝醬。

In his hands liquid nitrogen went from something to be used to freeze off warts to a tool for making the smoothest of ice-cream (bacon-and-egg flavoured, naturally).
液氮的用途是冷凍去疣，但在他的手中，液氨變成了制作光滑冰淇淋工具（自然有培根和雞蛋的味道）。

He serves a seaside scene of edible sand with kelp and seafood, eaten to an accompanying soundtrack of ocean waves and the cawing of seagulls.
他提供一個(gè)海邊的場(chǎng)景，場(chǎng)景里的沙子、海帶、海鮮都是有可食用的，就餐過(guò)程中還伴隨著海浪的聲音和海鷗的叫聲。

He is one of the original “molecular gastronomists”, with their foams and gels that taste of the unexpected.
他是原創(chuàng)“分子料理大師”之一，他們美食中所有的泡沫和凝膠味道都出乎意料。

[Paragraph 5]
And yet his greatest gift to the world may be the triple-cooked chip.
然而，他給世界最大的禮物可能是三煮薯?xiàng)l。

Mr Blumenthal became obsessed with chips around 1992, before he had begun feeding restaurant diners snail porridge, before he even had a restaurant.
布魯門撒爾先生在1992年左右迷上了薯片，那時(shí)他還沒(méi)有烹制蝸牛粥，也沒(méi)有開餐廳。

The traditional double fry can too often end with chips that are either undercooked or soggy, a result of steam escaping from the middle and softening the crust.
傳統(tǒng)二次油炸的結(jié)果就是未熟或太熟，因?yàn)檎羝麖闹虚g逸出，外皮變軟了。

He wanted a “glass-like” crispy crust with a fluffy centre. An elaborate multi-stage process—involving boiling, freezing and frying—was his characteristically detailed solution.
他想要的炸薯?xiàng)l是“玻璃般”的脆皮加上蓬松的中心。他特有的詳細(xì)烹飪方法復(fù)雜且步驟多--包含水煮、冷凍和油炸等過(guò)程。

[Paragraph 6]
Since becoming one of its doyens, Mr Blumenthal has expressed his frustration with the term molecular gastronomy.
布魯門撒爾成為“分子料理”領(lǐng)域的元老之后，他就對(duì)這一術(shù)語(yǔ)表示失望。

This, he has pointed out, is “simply the science of cooking”. Like science, preparing food is a form of puzzle-solving.
他指出，“分子料理只是一門烹飪的科學(xué)”。和科學(xué)一樣，準(zhǔn)備食物也是一種解題的方式。

Why did your cake rise to a dome in the centre? Why won’t my onions caramelise?
為什么你的蛋糕中間有個(gè)圓頂？為什么我的洋蔥不能有焦糖？

High-end chefs like Mr Blumenthal must grasp the intricacies of transforming ingredients into ever more delicious things to eat.
高端廚師（如布魯門撒爾）必須掌握一個(gè)本領(lǐng)，就是能夠?qū)⑵胀ㄊ巢霓D(zhuǎn)化為絕美的食物。

[Paragraph 7]
But as he has demonstrated, cooking is also an art. And like artworks, dishes must be judged according to their ambitions.
但正如他所展示的，烹飪也是一門藝術(shù)。和藝術(shù)品一樣，人們可以根據(jù)作品的中心思想來(lái)評(píng)判菜肴。

A pop song can be as great in its way as a symphony—and a chip as miraculous as a viridescent spherified pea.
流行歌曲可以像交響樂(lè)一樣偉大--薯?xiàng)l也可以像豌豆一樣千變?nèi)f化。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語(yǔ)詞匯量566左右）
原文出自：2023年1月14日《The Economist》Culture版塊。

精讀筆記來(lái)源于：自由英語(yǔ)之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對(duì): Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】（來(lái)自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
做出好薯?xiàng)l的最大秘訣是：二次油炸（double-frying）。倫敦的Dinner by Heston Blumenthal餐廳的招牌薯?xiàng)l—Triple cooked chips（三煮薯?xiàng)l）。它是先將薯?xiàng)l水煮后經(jīng)過(guò)二次油炸制得，也就是每烹飪一次后放冰箱冷藏。這樣可以使蒸發(fā)掉更多薯?xiàng)l中的水分且令質(zhì)地變硬，有利于得到更酥脆的口感。油炸其實(shí)是一個(gè)脫水的過(guò)程，通過(guò)將食物表層的水份炸干而得到酥脆的外殼。所以表層炸得越干，形成的外殼越酥脆。

墨西哥有一種“甜辣美食”叫做Mole poblano，由巧克力、肉桂、大蒜、辣椒、肉混合制成，口感獨(dú)一無(wú)二。

Timballo 是一道意大利經(jīng)典菜肴大烤盤。意大利老奶奶經(jīng)常會(huì)在假期做給一大家子吃，它由面皮、牛肉醬或小丸子、馬蘇里拉奶酪、番茄沙司一層一層疊起來(lái)，入烤箱烤制而成。

炸魚薯?xiàng)l（Fish and chips）是一道源自英國(guó)的熱食，魚裹上面糊油炸，搭配炸薯?xiàng)l，吃的時(shí)候配上不同口味的調(diào)味醬，屬于街邊小吃。炸魚薯?xiàng)l是一道很常見(jiàn)的外帶食物，也是早期融合料理的例子。猶太男孩約瑟夫·馬林（Joseph Malin）在1860年的倫敦東區(qū)街頭，發(fā)明了炸魚配薯?xiàng)l。首相丘吉爾稱炸魚薯?xiàng)l是“好伙伴”，二戰(zhàn)也沒(méi)斷供的英國(guó)國(guó)民美食，在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，炸魚薯?xiàng)l也成為英國(guó)少數(shù)沒(méi)有受限于食物配給的料理，因?yàn)檎嘈胚@道料理能在士氣低落的戰(zhàn)事氛圍中給予人精神上的支持。約翰·藍(lán)儂會(huì)在炸魚薯?xiàng)l上加大量番茄醬。喬治歐威爾則稱炸魚薯?xiàng)l是勞動(dòng)階級(jí)“重要的家常菜”。

《通往威根碼頭之路》是喬治·奧威爾于1936年初前往英格蘭北部調(diào)查產(chǎn)業(yè)工人生存狀況后寫成的一部非虛構(gòu)著作，期間西班牙內(nèi)戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)，奧威爾交稿后即奔赴前線，協(xié)助左翼政府軍抵抗以佛朗哥為首的法西斯勢(shì)力，直到因左翼陣營(yíng)分裂被迫逃回英國(guó)。本書遂成為他社會(huì)主義信仰巔峰時(shí)期的一份見(jiàn)證。全書分兩部分，第一部分是對(duì)其時(shí)英國(guó)蘭開夏郡、約克郡煤礦工人工作、生活狀況的調(diào)查體驗(yàn)記錄，第二部分則引出社會(huì)主義理念及其運(yùn)動(dòng)，闡述社會(huì)主義在改善工人階級(jí)生存狀況方面的可能作用，并檢討其時(shí)英國(guó)社會(huì)主義運(yùn)動(dòng)的成敗得失。

Sound of the Sea 海洋之聲。上菜前，服務(wù)生先為顧客拿來(lái)大海螺，里面有一個(gè)iPod，插上耳機(jī)，就可以聽(tīng)到海濤拍擊沙灘的聲音，當(dāng)我們看著海螺，聽(tīng)著大海的聲音的時(shí)候，上菜了。服務(wù)員輕聲說(shuō)：“玻璃上所有的東西，都可以吃。先吃吧，隨后我會(huì)為你們解釋?！鄙~片，可以吃；沙子，可以吃；海藻，可以吃；海浪泡沫，還是可以吃。

【重點(diǎn)句子】（3 個(gè)）
To be clear, these are the sort of thick, dependable chips that go with fish, not skinny frites or French fries, nor the kind shoved into American children’s lunch bags.
有一點(diǎn)需要清楚，本文的薯?xiàng)l不是細(xì)薯?xiàng)l或炸薯?xiàng)l，也不是美國(guó)兒童午餐袋里的那種薯片，而是英國(guó)國(guó)菜“炸魚薯?xiàng)l”里的厚薯?xiàng)l。

He is one of the original “molecular gastronomists”, with their foams and gels that taste of the unexpected.
他是原創(chuàng)“分子料理大師”之一，他們美食中所有的泡沫和凝膠味道都出乎意料。

High-end chefs like Mr Blumenthal must grasp the intricacies of transforming ingredients into ever more delicious things to eat.
高端廚師（如布魯門撒爾）必須掌握一個(gè)本領(lǐng)，就是能夠?qū)⑵胀ㄊ巢霓D(zhuǎn)化為絕美的食物。