美味水果释迦：恐龙外表珍珠心

 　　They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and the same should go for fruits. Take the cherimoya. This prehistoric-looking tropical fruit has thick, scaly¹ green skin and looks more like a Jurassic Park prop² than a yummy dessert choice. And yet it’s a symphony of sweetness. It’s no wonder why the Incas reserved it as a treat for royalty³ and Mark Twain called it “the most delicious fruit known to men.”

　　人们常说你不能光看一本书的封面来评判它是不是好书，水果也是一样。番荔枝（俗称释迦）就是一个典型的例子。这个拥有史前长相的热带水果，有着厚厚的、丑陋的绿皮，看上去更像《侏罗纪公园》里面的道具，而不是美味的甜品。然而事实上，它却是香甜的代名词。难怪印加人把它视作皇家珍馐，马克·吐温称它是“人类吃过的最可口的水果”。

　　Native to the inter-Andean valleys of Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia, cherimoyas grow in big, bushy trees and are very popular in Latin American cuisine⁴. They’re easily found in street markets around the region — and under myriad⁵ names. In Brazil, people call them graviolas; in Mexico, poox; in Belize, tukibs; in Haiti, cachimans laChine; and in Venezuela, chirimorrinons — quite a tongue twister. They come in hundreds of different varieties, with names like Deliciosa, McPherson and Chavez, and while they do well in tropical climates, they are also grown in places like the south of Spain and California.

　　释迦生长在厄瓜多尔、哥伦比亚和玻利维亚的安第斯山谷间高大茂密的树上，是拉美非常流行的美食。在这块区域的街边市场上很容易找到这种水果，而且有着多种多样的名字。在巴西，人们叫它格拉维拉斯；在墨西哥，人们叫它普科斯；在伯利兹，人们叫图克普斯；在海地，叫卡西马斯拉西尼；在委内瑞拉，叫希瑞莫瑞勒斯（是不是有点像绕口令）。释迦有多个品种，比如帝力希尔萨、麦克弗尔森和夏维兹，它在热带地区生长良好，同时也可以生长在西班牙南部和加利福利亚。

　　美味水果释迦：恐龙外表珍珠心

　　What does it taste like? Well, it’s difficult to describe but resembles a mouthwatering cross of other exotic fruits, including banana, pineapple, papaya and mango. This odd combination makes it taste more like a dessert: custard, fruit pudding or even bubblegum. “It’s one of those very particular tastes that either you love or hate,” says Carmen Pons, a fruit vendor⁶ at a Barcelonian market.

　　它吃起来像什么呢？很难描述，不过感觉像集合了各种异域水果的味道，轻轻地从你嘴里滑过，包括香蕉、菠萝、木瓜和芒果。这种奇怪的多重味道让你感觉更像是在吃甜点：牛奶沙司、水果布丁、异或甚至是泡泡糖。“这是一个很特别的味道，让你又爱又恨，”一位巴塞罗那市场的水果经销商卡门·庞斯说。

　　The soft, beige interior might not seem very appetizing. The cherimoya has the texture⁷ of a rotting pear and is filled with big, black (slightly toxic) seeds, but use a spoon to scoop⁸ out its squishy insides, and you won’t be disappointed. What’s more, packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, protein and dietary fiber⁹, this fruit turns out to be quite a superfood.

　　那软软的、淡黄色的果肉看起来像是并不太开胃。释迦的果肉非常松软，里面还有很多大的、黑色的（轻微有毒）种子。但是如果用勺子挖一块里面软乎乎的果肉尝一口，定不会另你失望。而且，果肉富含抗氧化成分、维他命C、蛋白质和膳食纤维，这款水果简直就是个超级食物。

　　So why isn’t cherimoya already on the menu at every restaurant and smoothie shop? Chalk that up to the fruit’s formidable reptilian¹⁰ exterior¹¹ appearance, fiddly interior and high cost. “Restaurants tend to prioritize less-exotic ingredients because the profit margins¹² are so low,” says Spanish chef Bertant Basany. Banana and pineapple, which taste somewhat the same, are “way cheaper and easier to find, and might give you a similar result,” he says.

　　那么为什么现在很少有餐厅和甜品店把释迦列在菜单上呢？原因在于其可怕的像两栖动物一样的外表、精致的内在和昂贵的价格。“各家餐厅都想少采用一些异域食材，因为利润实在太低了，”西班牙厨师波尔腾特·巴塞里说。他补充道：“香蕉和菠萝尝起来味道差不多，但是价格却要便宜很多，而且更容易买到，如果用这些水果也能做出相似的味道。”

　　Still, for the adventurouss fruit eater who refuses to let mere¹³ aesthetics¹⁴ guide his or her diet, the cherimoya might be a wonderful new ingredient for smoothies, flans and sorbets. They could even serve as a great social crutch¹⁵: If you’re having particularly boring people over for dinner, one way to keep them entertained is to serve them some cherimoya and then ask them to guess what type of fruit they’re eating.

　　不过，对于一些喜欢冒险并且不太在意审美的水果吃货而言，释迦是一个制作牛奶沙司、果酱饼和冰沙的很棒的食材。释迦甚至可以用来作为社交润滑剂：如果你正和特别无聊的人一起共进晚餐，一种使他们高兴的方法就是让他们尝尝释迦的味道，并让他们猜出是哪种水果。

1 scaly   

adj.鱼鳞状的；干燥粗糙的

参考例句：

• Reptiles possess a scaly,dry skin.爬行类具有覆盖着鳞片的干燥皮肤。
• The iron pipe is scaly with rust.铁管子因为生锈一片片剥落了。

2 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

3 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

4 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。

5 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

6 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

7 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。

8 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

9 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

10 reptilian   

adj.（像）爬行动物的；（像）爬虫的；卑躬屈节的；卑鄙的n.两栖动物；卑劣的人

参考例句：

• The chick is ugly and almost reptilian in its appearance. 这只小鸡长得很丑，看起来几乎像个爬行动物。 来自辞典例句
• Being from Orion do Zetas contain DNA from the Reptilian race? 齐塔人是从猎户座而来，DNA来自爬虫族吗？ 来自互联网

11 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

12 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

13 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

14 aesthetics   

n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学，审美学

参考例句：

• Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然，有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
• The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。

15 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。