《经济学人》双语：极品薯片是什么样的？

原文标题：
World in a dish
To everything there is a season
Saving foods, however quotidian, for particular times and places is a joy
盘中世界
万物皆有时节
为特定的时间和地点留存食物，无论多么平凡，都是一种乐趣

A potato can have no finer fate than ending up as an Irish crisp
马铃薯最好的命运就是成为爱尔兰薯片

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WHAT IS NIRVANA for a potato? To be sliced and slivered and bathed in boiling oil before emerging as a French fry?

马铃薯的最终归宿是什么？是切成薄片放在热油锅里炸，最终成为炸薯条？

To have its weight matched in butter and cream and be transformed into glorious mounds of mash?

是与黄油和奶油配比重量，最终成为上好的土豆泥？

No. The answer is found in a plastic bag.

都不是，最终归宿是进入塑料包装。

For a potato, there is no nobler fate than to end up in a packet of Tayto cheese-and-onion crisps.
对马铃薯来说，最好的命运就是成为泰特斯芝士洋葱味薯片。

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Taytos are the consummate crisps (potato chips to Americans). The company was established in Ireland in 1954 by Joe “Spud” Murphy.

泰特斯是极品脆薯片（对美国人来说是土豆片）。该公司由乔.墨菲于1954年在爱尔兰成立。

He was not the inventor of crisps, but he has been credited with transforming them.

他不是脆薯片的发明者，但因改变薯片口味而广受赞誉。

Until then there was no way to flavour the individual crisps themselves; instead each bag came with a small blue packet of salt to be sprinkled and shaken over the contents.
在那之前，人们没办法自己给薯片调味；取而代之的是，每包都有一小包蓝色盐袋，可以撒在里面摇匀。

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The invention after the second world war of the gas chromatograph dispensed with that DIY process.

第二次世界大战后发明的气相色谱仪省去了自己动手的过程。

It allowed food scientists to understand the chemical compounds behind flavours such as cheese.

它使食品科学家能够了解奶酪等味道背后的化学成分。

That in turn led to the development of artificial flavours, an advance on which Murphy seized to great effect.
这反过来又促进了人工香料的发展，墨菲抓住了这一发展红利，并取得了巨大成就。

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He started with cheese and onion. The pairing is a classic: think of the strings of Gruyère emerging from a bowl of French onion soup, or a dish of Käsespätzle, German dumplings that are mixed with cheese and topped with caramelised onions. And the flavour combines well with spuds.

他从奶酪和洋葱开始。这种搭配很经典：想想从一碗法式洋葱汤中冒出的格鲁耶尔奶酪串，或者一盘Käsespätzle（德国饺子）与奶酪混合，上面撒上焦糖洋葱。 味道与土豆味完美结合。

Potatoes, wrote Seamus Heaney, one of Ireland’s greatest poets, promise the “taste of ground and root”. The less poetic might describe them as a bit bland.

爱尔兰最伟大的诗人之一谢默斯.希尼写道，土豆有 "泥土的清香"。缺乏诗意的人可能会把它们描述得平淡无奇。

Sprinkled with the salty, savoury umami of Murphy’s seasoning, however, they became a cut-price sensation.
然而，当撒上咸鲜的墨菲调料时，它们就变成了超值惊喜。

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Taytos remain the quintessential Irish crisp, but now they are available elsewhere (as, of course, are many other brands of flavoured crisps).

泰特斯仍然是经典的爱尔兰脆薯片，但现在在其他地方也可以买到（当然，还有许多其他品牌的风味薯片）。

That is a mixed blessing.Once upon a time even industrially produced foods had a limited range.

这真是喜忧参半。曾几何时，即使是工业化生产的食品，传播范围也有限。

To travel was to discover not only the cooking in other places, but the snacks.

旅行不仅是发现其他地方美食的机会，也是发现好零食的机会。

Going to France was a chance to chug a bulbous bottle of Orangina, a fizzy drink.

例如去法国是一个机会，可以喝一瓶鼓鼓的Orangina发泡饮料。

For Europeans, a trip to America—or a visit from Americans—was an opportunity to stock up on Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

对欧洲人来说，去美国旅行——或美国人的来访——是一个储备里斯花生酱杯的机会。

Thanks to a globalised food system and the appetites of homesick migrants, such items are now available far beyond their lands of origin.
由于全球化的食品体系及移民对家乡食物的思恋之情，现在可以在原籍国以外的地方买到这些美食。

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That shift entails the loss of a modest joy. At first glance a bag of Taytos is the antithesis of a seasonal or local food, characteristics that today are prized.

这种转变意味着失去了小小的喜悦。乍一看，泰特斯薯片与季节性或本地食物的特点截然不同，而这些特点如今备受推崇。

Encased in their silvery plastic, they survive in all seasons and locales.

薯片装在银色塑料袋中，人们可以在任何季节和任何地点买到。

And yet, for your columnist at least, these potato snacks are entangled with their Irish roots.
然而，至少对本专栏作家来说，这些土豆零食与爱尔兰发源地的薯片紧密相连，但有所不同。

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For her, Taytos are a once-a-year treat, to be eaten on a beach in south-west Ireland shivering after an icy swim or sweating at the top of a mountain.

对她来说，泰特斯是一年吃一次的零食，她会在冬泳后或登山后坐在爱尔兰西南部的海滩上享用。

That is not out of necessity. They can be bought in London, her home city, or ordered on the internet, albeit at a mark-up.

并非一定要这样。她可以在她的家乡伦敦买到泰特斯，也可以在互联网上买到，虽然贵一点。

The ingenious seasoning should taste no different in a London park than in Murphy’s homeland. But somehow it does.
不论是在伦敦公园吃，还是在墨菲的家乡吃，这种独特调料在味道上应该没有什么差别。但不知何故就是感觉有差别。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量583左右）
原文出自：2023年6月17日《The Economist》Culture版块

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）
泰特斯（Taytos）是爱尔兰最知名的薯片品牌之一，可以追溯到1954年，当时创始人乔·墨菲在都柏林开设了一家小型的薯片工厂。他开发了一种独特的薯片配方，使用新鲜的土豆和精选的调味料，借此获得了泰特斯薯片的独特风味。从那以后，泰特斯的口碑不断增加，成为了爱尔兰人最钟爱的品牌之一。泰特斯的薯片以其酥脆的质地和丰富的口味而受人喜爱。它们有多种经典口味可供选择，例如盐味、醋味和奶酪味。此外，泰特斯还推出了一系列创新口味，如烧烤、辣椒和洋葱等，以满足各类消费者的口味偏好。除了传统的薯片，泰特斯还生产其他零食产品，如薯片卷、玉米片和坚果。

气相色谱仪（Gas Chromatograph，简称GC）是一种常用的分析仪器，广泛应用于化学、石油、食品、环境等领域。气相色谱仪利用样品在高温下蒸发成气态，然后通过气相色谱柱进行分离。气相色谱柱通常是一种非极性或极性填料，样品在柱内由于与填料间的相互作用而发生分离。随后，样品经过检测器进行检测，常用的检测器包括火焰离子化检测器（FID）、氮磷检测器（NPD）、质谱检测器（MS）等。

气相色谱仪具有灵敏度高、分离效果好、操作简便等优点。它可以用于分析样品中的有机物、无机物、气体等，可以定性和定量分析各种化合物的成分和含量。在石油行业中，气相色谱仪常用于分析原油、石油产品中的各种组分；在食品行业中，气相色谱仪常用于分析食品中的添加剂和残留物等。

低价惊喜或超值体验cut-price sensation是指低价产品或服务带来的强烈感觉或体验。通常用来描述价格相对较低但质量或价值相对较高的产品或服务，给消费者带来了很大的惊喜和满足感。

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups（花生酱杯）是美国著名的巧克力品牌Reese's推出的一款经典巧克力产品。它由一层浓郁的花生酱夹心包裹在两层香浓巧克力中而成，以其独特的口感和美味而受到广大消费者的喜爱。不仅受到美国本土消费者的喜爱，也在全球范围内拥有广大的粉丝群体。它们成为了美国文化中的一部分，在许多电影、电视剧和广告中都有出现。

【重点句子】（3个）
For a potato, there is no nobler fate than to end up in a packet of Tayto cheese-and-onion crisps.
对马铃薯来说，最好的命运就是成为泰特斯芝士洋葱味薯片。

Sprinkled with the salty, savoury umami of Murphy’s seasoning, however, they became a cut-price sensation.


然而，当撒上咸鲜的墨菲调料时，它们就变成了超值惊喜。

Thanks to a globalised food system and the appetites of homesick migrants, such items are now available far beyond their lands of origin.
由于全球化的食品体系及移民对家乡食物的思恋之情，现在可以在原籍国以外的地方买到这些美食。