【简译】胡椒（Pepper)

2022-08-14 13:08 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

Since antiquity, pepper has always been the most important spice in the world. It played a central role in the medicines of ancient India and China, became a critical component of Roman food, and remained central in the cuisine of medieval Europe. Dreams of its acquisition drove Vasco da Gama (c. 1469-1524) around the Cape of Africa to the Indian Ocean and Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World.

从古至今，胡椒一直是世界上最重要的调味品。它在古印度和中国的药物中发挥了核心作用，也是罗马食物中的重要组成部分，并在中世纪欧洲的美食中保持核心地位。获取胡椒的梦想驱使瓦斯科·达伽马（约1469-1524年）绕过非洲好望角到达印度洋，驱使克里斯多福·哥伦布（1451-1506年）横穿大西洋到达新大陆。

古代印度和中国的胡椒

Pepper cultivation began thousands of years ago in India, where it was native, and it was soon introduced to the major islands of Indonesia by traders. Two species of pepper were domesticated: long pepper (Piper longum) in the northeast of India and black pepper (Piper nigrum) in the southwest. Long pepper was the most popular pepper in Rome because of its greater pungency, while black pepper dominated in medieval Europe because it was more readily available to traders. Long pepper is now mostly forgotten.

胡椒的种植始于数千年前的印度，那里是胡椒的原产地，一些商人将其引入到印度尼西亚的主要岛屿。有两个品种的野胡椒被人们驯化：印度东北部的长胡椒（Piper longum）和西南部的黑胡椒（Piper nigrum）。长胡椒在罗马是最受欢迎的胡椒，因为它的刺激性更大，而黑胡椒在中世纪的欧洲占主导地位，因为商人们更容易得到它。长胡椒现在已经不流行了。

There are numerous records of pepper's medical use in India that date back at least 3000 years. Pepper was a key component in the ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine. It also found its way to China in antiquity. There is written evidence that it was being traded overland from India to Sichuan Province by the 2nd century BCE. Pepper is also mentioned in histories of the Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) published in the 5th century CE and in a Tang Dynasty account four centuries later. Pepper was probably brought to China from India initially for medicinal purposes, but it did not take long for it to become an important spice in food.

在印度，关于胡椒的医疗用途有许多记录，至少可以追溯到3000年前。胡椒是古代阿育吠陀医学体系中的一个关键组成部分。在古代，它也被带到了中国。有书面证据表明，在公元前2世纪，它就已经从印度陆路贸易到巴蜀地区（今四川省）了。在公元5世纪的汉朝（公元前202年至公元220年）文献中，以及4个世纪后的唐朝文献记载中，也提到了胡椒。胡椒最初从印度带到中国可能是为了药用，但没过多久，它就成为食品中的一种重要的香料。

Pepper was also important in Egypt by the time of the New Kingdom (c. 1570 - c. 1069 BCE), as it was found stuffed in the nostrils of the mummy of Ramesses II who died in 1213 BCE. Little else is known about how the Egyptians used pepper or the full details of how it got there, but it is known that there was active trade between India and Arabia by that time, and the Egyptians were sending ships down the Nile to what they called the Land of Punt to obtain exotic goods like frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon.

胡椒在埃及新王国时期（约公元前1570-约公元前1069年）也很重要，考古学家在公元前1213年去世的拉美西斯二世的木乃伊的鼻孔中发现了胡椒。关于埃及人如何使用胡椒或它如何到达那里的全部细节，人们知之甚少；但我们可以知道，当时印度和阿拉伯之间的贸易很活跃，埃及人派船沿尼罗河而下，到他们称之为蓬特的地方去获得乳香、没药和肉桂等异国货物。

罗马帝国的胡椒

Pepper - both long and black - was known in Greece by the 4th century BCE, probably as a luxury item that only the very rich could afford. They were likely used in medicines and to flavor wine. Pepper's popularity in Europe rose dramatically in 30 BCE after Rome’s conquest of Egypt, and its use spread rapidly to Roman Gaul (mostly modern-day France and Germany) and Roman Britain. Pepper became an essential ingredient in food in the Roman world. The wealthy used it liberally in almost everything eaten. In the cookbook attributed to the famous Roman gourmet Apicius, pepper is included in over 70% of the recipes (349 out of 469).

Roman cuisine was infused with exotic flavors, including ginger from China and pepper from India … Indian pepper was particularly popular, and extremely expensive. It was used in fish and meat sauces, in medicines and in stimulating tonics which were believed to cure impotence. Romans also mixed pepper and other aromatics into their wine: ingredients such as frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom were added, and the wine was heated over a slow fire. (Singer, 16)

胡椒（包括长胡椒和黑胡椒）在公元前4世纪的希腊就已经为人所知，在当时可能是一种奢侈品，只有非常富有的人才能买得起。它们可能被用于药物和葡萄酒的调味。公元前30年，罗马征服埃及后，胡椒在欧洲的受欢迎程度急剧上升，其使用迅速蔓延到罗马高卢（主要是现代法国和德国）和罗马不列颠。胡椒在罗马世界成为食品中的一种基本成分。富人几乎在所有食物中都大量使用它。在归属于著名的罗马美食家阿庇西乌斯的食谱中，70%以上的食谱（469份中的349份）都包含了胡椒：

罗马的菜肴充满了异国情调，包括来自中国的姜和来自印度的胡椒......印度的胡椒特别受欢迎，而且价格极其昂贵。它被用在鱼和肉的酱汁中，也被用在药品和被认为能治疗阳痿的刺激性补药中。罗马人还将胡椒和其他芳香剂混入酒中：加入乳香、没药、肉桂、生姜和豆蔻等成分，并将酒在慢火上加热。(Singer, 16)

The Romans began making regular trips across the Arabian Sea to southern India’s Malabar Coast by the 1st millennium CE. Quite specific details of these trips were passed down in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea written between 45 and 55 CE by an unknown Greek-speaking sailor. The bulk of the pepper was picked up at the city of Muziris along the western coast of India, in huge ships with capacities of over 400 tons.

到了公元一千年，罗马人开始定期穿越阿拉伯海前往印度南部的马拉巴尔海岸。关于这些旅行的相当具体的细节，由一位不知名的讲希腊语的水手在公元45至55年之间写成的《厄里特里亚海佩里普斯》中传了下来。大部分胡椒是在印度西海岸的Muziris城（今印度喀拉拉邦帕塔南）获取的，用容量超过400吨的巨大船只运输。

The Greek geographer Strabo (16.4) reported that the Roman Empire sent 120 ships on an annual one-year trip to India and back, riding the monsoon winds. On their return, the ships traveled up the Red Sea to Berenice, where the cargo was unloaded and carried across the desert to the Nile, then floated by barge to Alexandria in Roman Egypt and shipped to Europe where it was unloaded and stored in great horrea piperateria (pepper warehouses) in a dedicated spice quarter of Rome. This massive movement of pepper to Rome continued until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE. The story goes that Alaric the Visigoth asked Rome for a ransom of more than a ton of pepper when he besieged the city in 410 CE.

希腊地理学家斯特拉波（16.4）在一份报告中阐述，罗马帝国每年派120艘船乘季风前往印度并返回，为期一年。返回时，船只沿红海航行到贝勒尼斯，在那里卸下货物，运输队穿过沙漠将货物运到尼罗河，然后用驳船运到罗马埃及的亚历山大港，再运到欧洲，在那里卸下货物并储存在罗马专门的香料区的大horrea piperateria（胡椒仓库）。这种大规模的胡椒运往罗马的情况一直持续到西罗马帝国在公元5世纪灭亡。传说西哥特人阿拉里克在公元410年围攻罗马时，向罗马索要了一吨多的胡椒粉作为赎金。

The cost of the Roman pepper trade must have been staggering. The Roman encyclopedist Pliny complained in the 1st century CE that "there is no year in which India does not drain the Roman Empire of fifty million sesterces [over 100 million in today’s US dollars]". He described the allure and value of pepper as: "Why do we like it so much? Some foods attract by sweetness, some by their appearance, but neither the pod nor the berry of pepper has anything to be said for it. We only want it for its bite – and we will go to India to get it. Who was the first to try it with food? Who was so anxious to develop an appetite that hunger would not do the trick? Pepper and ginger both grow wild in their native countries, and yet we value them in terms of gold and silver" (Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 12.14).

罗马胡椒贸易的利润肯定是惊人的。罗马百科全书式的学者普林尼在公元1世纪抱怨说，"印度用一年不到的时间让罗马帝国耗费5000万塞斯特尔[按今天的美元计算超过1亿美元]"。他将胡椒的诱惑力和价值描述为 "为什么我们如此喜欢它？有些食物靠甜味吸引人，有些靠外观吸引人，但胡椒的豆荚和浆果都没有什么可说的。我们只想吃它的咬劲（刺激性）——我们会去印度买它。谁是第一个将胡椒加入食物的人？是谁如此急切地想提升食欲，以至于饥饿都不能起到作用？胡椒和生姜在它们的故乡都是野生的，而我们却用金银来衡量它们"（老普林尼，《自然史》，12.14）。

中世纪的胡椒

Pepper's popularity in both cuisine and medicine reached its historical peak during the Middle Ages in Europe. Pepper and other spices were not only thought to be healthy but were also widely used to enrich the natural qualities of food. Food in medieval households was highly processed and richly spiced. Uncooked food was rarely eaten, even vegetables and fruit. The spices were used to season all types of food including meat, fish, soups, sweet dishes, and wine. It was also common in medieval banquets to pass around a ‘spice platter’ from which guests could choose extra seasonings like pepper for their already richly accented meals.

胡椒在烹饪和医药方面的普及，在欧洲中世纪达到了历史的顶峰。胡椒和其他香料不仅被认为是健康的，而且还被广泛用于丰富食物的自然味道。中世纪家庭的食物被高度加工，并有丰富的香料。人们很少吃未煮熟的食物，甚至蔬菜和水果也是如此。香料被用来调所有类型食物的味，包括肉、鱼、汤、甜菜和酒。在中世纪的宴会上，传阅 "香料拼盘"也很常见，客人可以从中选择额外的调味品，如胡椒，用于他们已经很丰富的膳食。

The noted expert on medieval gastronomy Paul Freedman tells us that "spices were omnipresent in medieval gastronomy" and "something on the order of 75% of medieval recipes involve spices" (50). In the updated edition of Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks, the authors provide 131 medieval recipes of which 92 include pepper and other spices.

著名的中世纪美食专家保罗·弗里德曼告诉我们，"香料在中世纪美食中无处不在"，"大约75%的中世纪食谱涉及香料"（50）。在《Pleyn Delit：现代厨师的中世纪烹饪》的更新版中，作者提供了131份中世纪食谱，其中有92份含有胡椒和其他香料。

Historical records are filled with references to the copious use of spices among the wealthy in medieval Europe. When William I of Scotland (r. 1165-1214) visited Richard I of England (r. 1189-1199) in 1194, he received among other gifts a daily allotment of 4 pounds (1800 g) of cinnamon and 2 pounds (900 g) of pepper (surely more than he could consume in a day). Lamprey, a popular food in an English medieval castle, was slathered in a peppery sauce. It has been told that King Henry I of England (r. 1100-1135) died after consuming a huge meal of pepper-smothered lamprey (although food poisoning was probably the culprit). A sauce served at the Feast of St Edward in 1264 was prepared using 15 pounds (c. 7 kg) of cinnamon, 12½ pounds of cumin (5.5 kg), and 20 pounds (9 kg) of pepper. There is a record from a single banquet for 40 in medieval England where the food was spiced with 1 pound (450 g) of columbine, ½ pound (225 g) of sugar, 1 ounce (7 g) of saffron, ¼ pound (110 g) of cloves, ⅛ pound (55 g) of nutmeg, and ⅛ pound (55 g) of pepper.

历史记录中充满了关于中世纪欧洲富人中大量使用香料的记载。1194年，苏格兰的威廉一世（1165-1214年）访问英格兰的理查德一世（1189-1199年）时，除其他礼物外，他还收到了每天4磅（1800克）肉桂和2磅（900克）胡椒的分配量（肯定超过了他一天的消费量）。灯笼鱼是英国中世纪城堡中的一种流行食品，被涂上了一种胡椒酱。据说英国国王亨利一世（1100-1135年）在吃了一大顿沾满胡椒粉的灯鱼后死亡（尽管食物中毒可能是罪魁祸首）。1264年圣爱德华节上的一种酱汁是用15磅（约7公斤）肉桂、12½磅小茴香（5.5公斤）和20磅（9公斤）胡椒准备的。在中世纪英格兰的一次40人的宴会上有一个记载，食物含有的香料：1磅（450克）秋葵、½磅（225克）糖、1盎司（7克）藏红花、¼磅（110克）丁香、⅛磅（55克）肉豆蔻和⅛磅（55克）花椒。

Scholars have long debated why spices became so popular in medieval cuisine. It is commonly asserted that they were used to preserve meat or mask the flavor of decomposing produce, but their effects would be far less than the common practices of salting, smoking, or pickling. Some have asserted that the copious use of spice in food preparation was fueled by Galen’s (129-216 CE) medical theories promoting their effects on health. However, there is no reason to believe that medieval diners stuck to healthy diets any more than people today. Most likely, the exotic origins of spices and their costliness made them a status symbol which fueled their widespread use.

长期以来，学者们一直在争论，为什么香料在中世纪的菜肴中变得如此受欢迎。通常的说法是，它们被用来保存肉类或掩盖腐烂产品的味道，但其效果远远低于盐渍、熏制或腌制等常见做法。有些人断言，在食物制作中大量使用香料是由于盖伦（公元129-216年）的医学理论让人们认识到香料对健康的影响。然而，中世纪的食客比今天的人更坚持健康饮食这种说法是不可靠的。最有可能的是，香料的异国情调与其昂贵的价格使它们成为一种地位的象征，从而让它们很受欢迎。

Pepper also was a vital part of the Chinese diet in the Middle Ages. When Marco Polo (1254-1324) travelled there in 1271, he found pepper to be a major component of Chinese cooking, and trade in pepper had become a major economic force. He was told by a customs official that just the city of Hangzhou consumed 43 cartloads a day, each weighing 223 pounds (101 kilograms). Staggering quantities of pepper were being transported by Chinese junks from Java and Sumatra, as many as 5000 to 6000 baskets in each. By the Sung Dynasty (1271-1367), it was standard for South Asian diplomats to bring tributes of pepper to the Chinese rulers.

在中世纪，胡椒也是中国人饮食的重要组成部分。当马可波罗（1254-1324）与1271年在中国旅行时，他发现胡椒是中国烹饪的主要成分，而且胡椒贸易已成为主要的经济力量之一。一位海关官员告诉他，仅杭州城一天就消耗了43车胡椒，每车重达223磅（101公斤）。中国船队从爪哇和苏门答腊运来的胡椒数量惊人，每艘船多达5000至6000筐。到了宋朝（1271-1367年），南亚各国特使给中国统治者带来胡椒的贡品已成为标准。

失去青睐的胡椒

The pepper and spice market remained strong in Europe until the mid-17th century when it fell precipitously due to many causes. As Freedman describes:

A whole new group of beverages, stimulants and flavors had arrived including tea, coffee, chocolate and tobacco that offered new taste sensations but also produced psychological effects that proved to be mildly, or in the case of tobacco, quite seriously addictive … Spices had become cheaper with colonialism and the opening of new trade routes, so their consumption no longer conveyed an adequate sense of privilege and exclusivity. (221)

胡椒和香料市场在欧洲一直保持强劲，直到17世纪中叶，由于许多原因，胡椒的市场急剧下降。正如弗里德曼所描述的那样：

包括茶、咖啡、巧克力和烟草在内的一大批新的饮料、兴奋剂和新口味的到来，它们提供了新的味觉感受，同时伴随着心理效应，或者就烟草而言，是相当严重的上瘾性......随着殖民主义和新贸易路线的开辟，香料变得更便宜了，所以关于它们的消费所代表特权及独特性已经逐渐消失了。(221)

The origins of the spices were also now well known, and they did not seem so mysterious and exotic anymore. Perhaps most importantly, there "was a seismic shift in tastes. The wealthy people of Europe no longer liked fiery and perfumed food" (Freedman, 224).

香料的来源如今也是众所周知，它们看起来不再那么神秘和奇特。也许最重要的是，"人们的口味发生了地震般的变化，欧洲的富人不再喜欢火热和芳香的食物"（弗里德曼，224）。

The reduction in spice use in Europe led to a dramatic change in what was exported from India and Southeast Asia to Europe. The spices were replaced first by cotton in the late 1600s, and then by tea and coffee in the 1700s. A large portion of Dutch and English trade also shifted to the Atlantic Ocean and its sugar, tobacco, and slaves.

欧洲香料使用的减少，导致了从印度和东南亚进口到欧洲的货品种类发生了巨大的变化。香料在16世纪末首先被棉花取代，然后在17世纪被茶叶和咖啡取代。荷兰和英国贸易的很大一部分也转向了大西洋及其糖、烟草与奴隶。

参考书目：

Butler, Sharon & Hieatt, Constance B. & Hosington, Brenda. Pleyn Delit. University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, 1996.

Dalby, Andrew. Dangerous Tastes. University of California Press, 2002.

Elder, Pliny the. The Natural History of Pliny, Vol. 3. Forgotten Books, 2018.

Jenkins, M. . "Medicine and spices, with special reference to medieval monastic accounts." Journal of Garden History , 4, pp. 47-49.

Miller, James Innes. The Spice Trade of the Roman Empire, 29 B.C. to A.D. 641,. Clarendon Press, 1969.

Paul Freedman. Out of the East. Yale University Press, 2009.

Shaffer, Marjorie. Pepper. St. Martin's Griffin, 2014.

Singer, C. "The incense kingdoms of Yemen: an outline history of the South Arabian incense trade." Food for the Gods, edited by Peacock, D. P. S. & Peacock, A. C. S. & Williams, David. Oxbow Books, 2006, 4 - 27.

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Turner, Jack. Spice. Vintage, 2005.