美文欣赏：美国人最爱的贝蒂美食“草莓酥饼”

 　　美文欣赏：美国人最爱的贝蒂美食“草莓酥饼”

　　Strawberry shortcake is one of the most beloved desserts in American cuisine¹. It is made from sweetened biscuits (a soft, crumbly type of bread), paired with strawberries and whipped cream (cream that has been mixed until it is light and fluffy). Strawberry shortcake is a very unique dessert. Traditionally it uses a biscuit as a base, it can neither be considered cake, nor bread. Perhaps it is the best of both worlds, sharing the quality of both. Shortcake provides the perfect base for this desert because it is hard enough that the juice from the strawberries does not make the desert soggy .

　　While the strawberry shortcake is rather short indeed (most are only about 7 centimeters in diameter and 4 centimeters tall), the term “shortcake” doesn’t refer to its small stature². It actually points to the use of “shortening” in the dough³. When the term was coined, shortening was used to address any type of fat that was solid at room temperature. Adding fat to the dough inhibits⁴ gluten strands⁵ to form, causing them to be “short”, so the final product is easily crumbled⁶. However, I will point out that modern use of the term “shortening” refers to hydrogenated vegetable oil. Most of the time recipes for strawberry shortcake will use butter or lard .

　　It is believed that shortcake was a European invention, dating back to the 1500’s. Strawberries on the other hand, can be traced back to ancient Roman times, about 200 B.C.E. However, most historians agree that topping off shortcake with strawberries was a uniquely American invention. Strawberry shortcake first became popular in the Unites States around 1850. Strawberries were one of the most popular berries of the time, and considered to be a seasonal⁷ treat exclusive to the summer months. Strawberry fever was often mentioned, as it seemed people just couldn’t get enough of these sweet red berries. Many people would make strawberry shortcake to celebrate the coming of summer and to enjoy the new crop of strawberries. Strawberries were often still available during the beginning of July, so strawberry shortcake also became a favorite dessert for Independence Day (July 4th) . With advertisements and magazine articles featuring strawberry shortcakes, the dessert only became more popular.

　　With the introduction of the transcontinental railroad, strawberries could be shipped all over the country, surrounded by ice to keep the berries fresh. And with new advances in refrigeration, whipped cream was found in most American homes. This aided the rise in popularity of strawberry shortcake, as it could now be enjoyed in all seasons.

　　Nowadays, there are many different variations in strawberry shortcake. Instead of using a sweetened biscuit as a base, many people prefer using a soft cake, or bread, or even cookies. I suppose that is part of the beauty with strawberry shortcakes. While the dessert has always been composed of a pastry⁸ base and strawberries on top, there has always been a lot of room for improvisation⁹ . One of the most popular versions of the dessert available today is where strawberries marinated with sugar are heaped on a round of sponge cake, a firm, yet aerated¹⁰ cake with a structure similar to a sponge (also known as a pound cake), and topped with whipped cream.

　　Strawberry shortcakes have also been commercialized. Different companies such as Little Debbie and Hostess have made snack cake versions of this popular dessert, which consist of strawberry jam and whipped cream sandwiched between layers of sponge cake. While these are a far cry from the original strawberry shortcake, they are very simple and very popular.

　　Strawberry shortcakes are especially popular down in the South. Most of the time, we will make traditional strawberry shortcake: a hearty¹¹ biscuit topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream (though I still like adding sugar to the strawberries).

　　译文：

　　草莓酥饼是最受美国人喜爱的甜品之一。它的原材料是甜烤饼（一种松脆的面包），点缀上草莓和搅打过的奶油（经过搅拌而变得又轻又软的奶油）。草莓酥饼是一种非常特别的甜品。通常使用烤饼作为底饼，它既不是蛋糕，也不是面包。但它又具有这两者的特征，我们也可以说它是最好的蛋糕，也是最好的面包。酥饼为这种甜品提供了最好的底饼，因为它足够硬实，不至于让草莓汁把它浸透。

　　草莓脆饼的尺寸相当小（大部分直径只有7厘米，高4厘米），不过“短糕”这个名字并非指它的尺寸小，而是指在生面团中加入起酥油。不过最初创造起酥油这个名字时，是用来指任何在室温下为固体的油脂；在生面团中加入油脂是为了防止形成面筋条，让它能够起酥，使最终成品更加酥脆。不过需要指出的是，现在的人说“起酥油”是指氢化的植物油。很多时候，制作草莓酥饼会使用黄油或猪油。

　　人们普遍认为，酥饼是欧洲人的发明，可追溯到十六世纪。另一方面，草莓可追溯到古罗马时期，大约公元前200年。然而，大部分历史学家认为，在酥饼上面加上草莓是美国人的独创。大约在1850年左右草莓酥饼开始在美国流行起来。草莓是当时最受欢迎的莓类水果之一，被认为是夏季专产的季节性蔬果。我们经常提及“草莓热”，好像人们怎么样吃都吃不够这些红色的小甜莓。很多人会制作草莓酥饼来庆祝夏天的到来，以及享用新鲜的草莓。草莓大约在每年七月初上市，因此，草莓酥饼也成为庆祝美国独立纪念日（7月4日）最受欢迎的甜品。随着越来越多的广告和杂志文章宣传草莓酥饼，这种甜品也变得越来越受欢迎。

　　随着美国横贯大陆铁路的开通，草莓被运往全国各地，周围加上冰块进行保鲜。且随着冷藏技术的进步，搅打奶油开始进入美国大部分家庭中。这使得草莓酥饼更加流行起来，因为现在一年四季都可以享用到这种美食。

　　现在草莓酥饼已经有了多种不同的花样。很多人更喜欢用软蛋糕或面包，甚至曲奇饼去做草莓酥饼的底饼，而不是用甜烤饼。我想这也许是草莓酥饼的魅力之一。因为草莓酥饼使用酥油底饼，上面加上草莓，因此还有很多空间可供即兴创作。现在最受欢迎的“版本”之一就是用浸过糖浆的草莓堆在圆松饼上，松饼是一种较硬而多孔的蛋糕，组织结构很像海绵（也叫“磅饼”），顶部淋上搅打过的奶油。

　　草莓酥饼已经成为一种商品。小德比和豪斯特斯等公司将草莓酥饼制作成零食，在海绵蛋糕层中夹入草莓酱和搅打奶油。尽管这些小点心与正宗的草莓酥饼不尽相同，但由于食用方便倒也很受人们的欢迎。

　　草莓酥饼在美国南部特别受欢迎。我们经常会自己制作传统的草莓酥饼：一个心形的烤饼作底饼，顶部浇上新鲜草莓和搅打过的奶油（虽然我还是喜欢加点糖在草莓上）。

 

1 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。

2 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

3 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

4 inhibits   

阻止，抑制( inhibit的第三人称单数 )； 使拘束，使尴尬

参考例句：

• A small manufacturing sector inhibits growth in the economy. 制造业规模太小有碍经济增长。
• His bad English inhibits him from speaking freely. 他英语学得不好，这使他不能表达自如。

5 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

7 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

8 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。

9 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。

10 aerated   

v.使暴露于空气中，使充满气体( aerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Blood is aerated in the lungs. 血液在肺中与氧结合。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The rooting medium should be moist, well aerated, and sterile. 生根的基质应当是湿润，透气良好和消过毒的。 来自辞典例句

11 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。