不知你是否好奇過，數千年前的古人都享受過哪些和現在大相徑庭的美食呢？借助對楔形文字最新的研究成果，科學傢們破譯並重現瞭四千年前位於現如今伊拉克地區的古巴比倫文明餐桌上的美食元素。本文介紹這些跨越瞭漫長歷史的食譜。
詞匯：food 食物
Imagine sitting down for dinner in ancient Babylon. What would be on the menu? Thanks to clay tablets discovered over a century ago, we’re starting to find out. These tablets, written around 4,000 years ago, were originally thought to be about medicine. But in the 1980s, scholars realised that these texts were actually recipes. “Out of hundreds of thousands of cuneiform documents, they are the only food recipes that exist” says Agnete Lassen, associate curator of the Yale Babylonian collection. This means they offer a rare glimpse into the culinary world of this ancient region of Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq.
It seems the cooks of that time were expected to know what they were doing – the instructions are straight to the point, and the amounts of the ingredients are not specified. Despite this, modern researchers have been recreating and taste-testing the ancient dishes. One recipe that has been successfully recreated is a stew called ‘tuh’u’. The dish starts with water and seared lamb. Then, in go salt, beer, some vegetables, and for a fiery taste, garlic and coriander. It’s a favourite among researchers: “It’s pungent and it’s very nicely spiced” says Agnete Lassen, “It has good flavours.” Another dish turned out so unbearably bitter that none of the other seasonings could be detected, so either the translation was incorrect, or people’s tastes were very different back then.
Interestingly, all the recipes discovered are for making stews and broths, observes Iraqi food historian, Nawal Nasrallah. Stew remained a tradition in medieval Iraq and continues to be a staple of modern Iraqi food. On the other hand, other ancient flavours have disappeared. For example, a Roman fish sauce called ‘garam’ was a potent, fermented sauce with an umami flavour. It was once popular but is now not a common feature of modern Italian cuisine.
How many of our own culinary traditions will survive years from now? Will future generations taste what we taste today, or will our favourite dishes become forgotten?
詞匯表
recipe 食譜
cuneiform 楔形文字的
culinary 烹飪的
straight to the point 直截瞭當的
ingredient 材料，食材
taste-test 試吃，嘗試…的味道
stew 燉菜
seared 高溫速煎的
fiery （食物味道）辣的
coriander 芫荽，香菜
pungent （味道）濃鬱的，強烈的
spiced 經過調味的
flavour 口味，味道
bitter 苦的
seasoning 調味料
broth 肉湯
staple 主食
potent （味道）強烈的
fermented 發酵的
umami 鮮味
cuisine 菜肴
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. Before scholars realised the documents were recipes, what did they think they were about?
2. True or False? The recipes are very detailed.
3. What are the ingredients inside the stew ‘tuh’u’?
4. What are two possible explanations for why the other recreated dish turned out so bitter?
5. Which dish continues to be a staple of modern Iraqi food?
2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。
1. _______ foods like yoghurt and kimchi are good for gut health.
Seared Fiery Pungent Fermented
2. She attended a _______ school to become a professional chef.
cuisine culinary flavour cuneiform
3. The _______ smell of garlic filled the kitchen as soon as it hit the pan.
pungent spiced umami seasoned
4. Rice is a _______ food in many Asian countries.
recipe ingredient staple taste-test
5. The coffee was too _______, so I added some sugar to balance the taste.
bitter straight to the point stewed broth
答案
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. Before scholars realised the documents were recipes, what did they think they were about?
Before scholars realised the documents were recipes, they were originally thought to be about medicine.
2. True or False? The recipes are very detailed.
False. The instructions are straight to the point and the amounts of the ingredients are not specified.
3. What are some ingredients included in the stew ‘tuh’u’?
Tuh’u’s ingredients include water, seared lamb, salt, beer, some vegetables, garlic and coriander.
4. What are two possible explanations for why the other recreated dish turned out unbearably bitter?
The recreated dish turned out unbearably bitter because either the translation was incorrect, or people’s tastes were very different back then.
5. Which dish continues to be a staple of modern Iraqi food?
Stew continues to be a staple of modern Iraqi food.
2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。
1. Fermented foods like yoghurt and kimchi are good for gut health.
2. She attended a culinary school to become a professional chef.
3. The pungent smell of garlic filled the kitchen as soon as it hit the pan.
4. Rice is a staple food in many Asian countries.
5. The coffee was too bitter, so I added some sugar to balance the taste.
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