美国国家公共电台 NPR--Thanksgiving dishes are more expensive this year — but there are alternatives

Thanksgiving dishes are more expensive this year — but there are alternatives

Transcript¹

Inflation is coming to Thanksgiving dinner this year. Fortunately, NPR's Business Desk has tips on how to save money on Turkey Day. Call it Substitution-giving.

: [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In this report, we mistakenly say a 16-ounce turkey costs almost $30. In fact, that's the price for a 16-pound turkey.]

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The American Farm Bureau Federation² says almost every ingredient on this year's Thanksgiving menu is now more expensive. So as NPR's Stacey Vanek Smith reports, you may want to consider some substitutions.

STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE³: In the last two years, Thanksgiving dinner has gotten almost 40% more expensive. The Farm Bureau priced out the bare-bones ingredients for dinner for 10. They will run you more than 80 bucks⁴. Here at NPR's business desk, we cover inflation a lot. We know food prices have hit people especially hard. And we thought, there has got to be a way to make this meal cheaper. And we will find it, kind of like Iron Chef but for inflation. Welcome to Iron Reporter - Substitutions-giving (ph).

(SOUNDBITE OF CRAIG MARKS' "THEME FROM IRON CHEF AMERICA")

VANEK SMITH: We took four reporters and gave them a mission. Take a classic Thanksgiving dish and find an inflation-friendly substitute.

ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE: Alina Selyukh. I cover low-wage work and the consumer economy. My dish, dinner rolls.

CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE: I'm Camila Domonoske. I cover cars and transportation. And I brought mashed⁵ potatoes and gravy⁶.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Hi. I'm Scott Horsley. I'm the chief economics correspondent here at NPR. And I decided⁷ to make pumpkin⁸ pie.

VANEK SMITH: I'm Stacey Vanek Smith, global economics correspondent. And I tackle turkey. With business desk's Uri Berliner and intern⁹ Mary Yang as our taste testers, we set off on our mission, get the Thanksgiving grocery bill back to where it was in 2020. First up, dinner rolls, iron reporter and baker¹⁰ Alina Selyukh found every ingredient that goes into her Thanksgiving rolls has gotten more expensive.

SELYUKH: Compared to last year, eggs are up 43%. Flour is up 25%. So I searched for the most scaled back recipe I could find for rolls. So I made three-ingredient bread, which is flour, yeast¹¹ and water.

VANEK SMITH: But nobody eats bread alone.

SELYUKH: Obviously, butter is star of the show. That's up almost 27%.

VANEK SMITH: Margarine prices up almost 50%. Jam, peanut butter - all way up. So Alina got creative with a mystery spread.

What is this, though?

SELYUKH: Does anyone have any guesses?

DOMONOSKE: Sesame.

VANEK SMITH: Refried beans.

DOMONOSKE: It's baby food.

VANEK SMITH: It's baby food?

HORSLEY: Wow.

SELYUKH: Tiny jars, $1.29.

VANEK SMITH: Bread and baby food. The price was right. The taste, though...

(SOUNDBITE OF BREAD TEARING)

HORSLEY: The bread is delicious. But, oh, that's nasty.

(LAUGHTER)

DOMONOSKE: This bread is really good. But it would be a lot better with butter.

VANEK SMITH: But also, a lot more expensive. With the baby food butter and three-ingredient bread, iron reporter Alina Selyukh cut 40% off the price of rolls and butter. Mission accomplished¹³. Next up, mashed potatoes. Potatoes have gone up in price by more than 20%, along with the price of the milk you whip into them. Iron reporter Camila Domonoske found her frugal¹⁴ substitute.

DOMONOSKE: I decided to swap¹⁵ in beans. These are mashed butter beans. And butter beans - for y'all who aren't from the South - that's just lima beans.

VANEK SMITH: Pound for pound, dried lima beans are roughly the same price as potatoes. But the beans feed a lot more people.

DOMONOSKE: One pound of potatoes makes two servings. One pound of beans makes 13 servings.

VANEK SMITH: Are you serious?

DOMONOSKE: So you come out on top, like, in a big way when you go for the beans.

HORSLEY: The mushroom gravy smells great. And the mashed beans look a lot better than I thought they were going to look.

SELYUKH: They look so similar to potatoes.

HORSLEY: Yeah, they're a little gray.

VANEK SMITH: To top her spudstitutes (ph), Camila chose mushroom gravy. Mushroom prices have risen more slowly than other produce.

I think the texture¹⁶ throws me off. I don't know. The mushrooms, however, delicious. I would eat this.

URI BERLINER, BYLINE: Mix it with the gravy. You can kind of talk yourself into it a little bit.

HORSLEY: Yeah.

BERLINER: You'd have to have a little...

HORSLEY: But you kind of have to talk yourself into it.

BERLINER: Talk about five beers in.

(LAUGHTER)

VANEK SMITH: You could call it five beer...

DOMONOSKE: Five-beer butter beans.

VANEK SMITH: Iron reporter Camila's mashed beans and mushroom gravy, 50% cheaper than mashed potatoes - not counting the beer. Next up, turkey. Almost $30 for a 16-ounce turkey this year, by far the most expensive item on the Thanksgiving table. As iron reporter, I set out to find a meat substitute that would feed 10 people and cost less than $18. Chicken, steak, spam, canned tuna - all too pricey. Pork prices, though, have risen a bit less than everything else. I tried pork shoulder, pork butt¹² even hot dogs. Nothing fit the very low bill until I found a meat that needs no toppings or sauces and where a little bit can feed a lot of people.

And it is bacon. Baconsgiving (ph).

I found a family sized pack of sliced bacon for $4. And a few of those was more than enough. And instead of stuffing, which is up 70% in price, I opted¹⁷ for tomatoes. Tomato prices have not really risen. And you can slice them up and put them between some three-ingredient bread and make a Thanksgiving BLT. Our editor, Uri Berliner, approved.

BERLINER: You know, I think, like, half of America would be ecstatic if there were BLTs instead of turkey.

HORSLEY: Oh, yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

VANEK SMITH: Bacon and tomato, half the cost of turkey and stuffing. Of course, no Thanksgiving is complete without pie. But pumpkin pie is pricey this year. The filling alone is almost 20% more expensive than it was last year. Luckily, iron reporter Scott Horsley had a plan.

HORSLEY: So I knew I wanted to do something with sweet potatoes.

VANEK SMITH: Sweet potatoes had a bumper¹⁸ crop this year. They're about a third the price of canned pumpkin. And there is an added bonus.

HORSLEY: I think sweet potatoes have more flavor than pumpkins¹⁹. Sweet potatoes actually bring something to the party, I think.

VANEK SMITH: Iron reporter Scott Horsley cut the pie cost in half. There you have it. Iron Reporter: Inflation Edition. The final meal, three-ingredient bread with baby food, mashed lima beans with mushroom gravy, bacon with tomatoes and sweet potato pie. The full meal would be around $45. Mission accomplished.

(SOUNDBITE OF CRAIG MARKS' "THEME FROM IRON CHEF AMERICA")

VANEK SMITH: This is like a pretty good little meal that we have, right?

SELYUKH: I think so.

HORSLEY: I'm not substituting it for my Thanksgiving.

(LAUGHTER)

VANEK SMITH: Happy Thanksgiving, however you substitute.

Stacey Vanek Smith, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

6 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

9 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

10 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

11 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

12 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

13 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

14 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

15 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

16 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

17 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

18 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

19 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）