PBS高端访谈:肉豆蔻坚果的发展史

Judy Woodruff: As we know, staples¹ of Thanksgiving cooking include turkey and pumpkin² pie, and, given the holiday season, nutmeg. That spice and where it is grown is linked to New York City in a profound way you may not have known. Let's call it a well-seasoned history lesson. Special correspondent Mike Cerre explains.

John Beaver³: We sell nutmeg for $1 a piece. You can get three for $2.50. You don't need to mortgage the farm to acquire some nutmeg.

Mike Cerre: Here at the Oaktown Spice Shop in Oakland California, owner John Beaver and customers like Dave Wilson appreciate how valuable nutmeg once was.

Dave Wilson: Nutmeg was worth more than its weight in gold. It was extremely expensive because it only came from such a tiny place.

Mike Cerre: That tiny place was one of the Spice Islands in the Banda Sea in between Eastern Indonesia. Columbus was trying to find a shortcut⁴ to get there when he accidentally discovered the Americas.

John Beaver: Back in the 15th century, it was the race for spice. And all the European colonial powers were trying to find the origins of spice.

Mike Cerre: The infamous⁵ Dutch East India Company, one of the first IPOs, was formed so the Dutch could monopolize⁶ the nutmeg trade. And they did for more than two centuries, through a brutal⁷ and often genocidal domination of the local Bandanese, and a bloody⁸ colonial standoff with the British. The Dutch ultimately traded their rights to Manhattan Island, also known as New Amsterdam, to the British for their Island of Banda Run, the only place in the world where nutmeg was grown at the time. A play commemorating⁹ the bittersweet anniversary of that trade 350 years ago was performed both in New York and Indonesia this summer. Ron Jenkins, a professor at Wesleyan University, based it on his field research of the nutmeg trade. U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph Donovan, a New Yorker himself, participated in the local celebrations in Banda last month, despite the fact the local Bandanese had no say in the historic deal for control of their islands.

Des Alwia: After all, it was signed by the English and the Dutch in 1657. You know, now I want to cancel all these agreements, you know?

Mike Cerre: Des Alwi, the self-proclaimed king of Banda, was still dreamed big, of unwinding the deal, when I met him the late '80s, before he died. It took me three days and three flights to get to these legendary¹⁰ spice islands, whose time and place in history have long since been forgotten. The once-rare nutmeg trees, with their bounty¹¹ of fruit, covered nuts that can be ground into spice, were eventually smuggled¹² off the islands. Nutmeg is now grown in India, Africa and the Caribbean.

John Beaver: So, we have the nut, nutmeg. Going to crack it open. It's like a walnut¹³. When you grate it, it reveals this really nice pattern on the inside. So, it's sweet and pungent¹⁴, with a little bit of, like, musky quality to it. There's a lot of interest in nutmeg during the holidays. You find it in, like, mashed¹⁵ potatoes or you could find in maybe spinach¹⁶ dishes at the holidays. But, also, your pumpkin pie would have it, or a little garnish¹⁷ on top of your eggnog.

Mike Cerre: Spices were originally used for medicinal purposes as much as they were for cooking during the Middle Ages and Renaissance¹⁸ eras.

Dave Wilson: It was the snake oil all of the time. It was considered an aphrodisiac. It was considered a calmative. It was considered a purgative¹⁹. Everything that you could imagine that was a bodily function, nutmeg was used for that.

Mike Cerre: If it can cure holiday indigestion and overindulgence, nutmeg might again be worth its weight in gold. For the PBS NewsHour, Mike Cerre in Oakland, California.

1 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

2 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！

3 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

4 shortcut   

n.近路，捷径

参考例句：

• He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
• If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。

5 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

6 monopolize   

v.垄断，独占，专营

参考例句：

• She tried to monopolize his time.她想独占他的时间。
• They are controlling so much cocoa that they are virtually monopolizing the market.他们控制了大量的可可粉，因此他们几乎垄断了整个市场。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

9 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

10 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

11 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

12 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

13 walnut   

n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色

参考例句：

• Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
• The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸，材质分胡桃木和红木两种。

14 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

15 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。

16 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

17 garnish   

n.装饰，添饰，配菜

参考例句：

• The turkey was served with a garnish of parsley.做好的火鸡上面配上芫荽菜做点缀。
• The sandwiches came with a rather limp salad garnish.三明治配着蔫软的色拉饰菜。

18 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

19 purgative   

n.泻药；adj.通便的

参考例句：

• This oil acts as a purgative.这种油有催泻作用。
• He was given a purgative before the operation.他在手术前用了通便药。