How did ancient civilizations make ice cream? - Vivian Jiang

譯者: Mina Liu 審譯者: 麗玲 辛

On a hot spring afternoon in 1963,

1963 年，一個炎熱的春日午後，

two men, sent by the American CIA,

由美國中央情報局派遣的兩名男子，

snuck into the cafeteria of the Havana Libre Hotel.

偷偷溜進了哈瓦那 自由飯店的自助餐廳。

Their directive was to retrieve a poison pill from the freezer

他們的指示是從冷凍庫取出一顆毒藥，

and slip it into the chocolate milkshake of Fidel Castro,

然後悄悄放進古巴領袖 斐代爾·卡斯楚的巧克力奶昔中，

the Cuban leader who was known to devour up to 18 scoops of ice cream after lunch.

據說，他在午餐飯後 會吃多達 18 勺的冰淇淋。

While exact details of the story are contested, it's rumored that the pill,

雖然這個故事的確切細節有待商榷，

但據傳那顆藥丸凍結在 冷凍庫的線圈上，破掉了，

however, froze to the freezer coils and broke,

foiling the CIA’s plan and granting Castro many more days to satiate his sweet tooth.

因而破壞了中央情報局的計劃， 讓卡斯楚繼續享受甜食好幾天。

Ice cream has held a unique role in our world’s history, culture, and cravings—

冰淇淋在我們世界的歷史、 文化和渴望中佔有獨特的地位 ——

but where did it come from?

但冰淇淋的起源是什麼？

The first accounts of cold desserts and iced drinks date back

對於冰品和冰飲的最早記載 可以追溯到公元一世紀。

as early as the first century.

In civilizations including ancient Rome, Mughal India, and Tang dynasty China,

涵蓋古羅馬、印度的蒙兀兒帝國、 和中國的唐朝等文明中，

these icy treats were mainly enjoyed by the royal elites.

這些冰品主要是由皇家貴族享用的。

And finding the means to freeze these delicacies wasn’t always easy.

而要找到方法來冷凍這些佳餚 並不是那麼容易。

Wealthy Mediterranean nobility sent laborers to trek up high mountains

富裕的地中海貴族 會派工人翻山越嶺，

to harvest glacial ice and snow.

去收集冰川的冰和積雪。

Meanwhile, ancient Persians built shallow insulated pools of water

同時，古代的波斯人建造了 淺淺的隔熱水池，

and utilized a technique known as sky cooling.

並使用一種稱為「天空冷卻」的技術。

At night, the shallow pools would naturally radiate heat

到了夜晚，淺水池會自然地 將熱能輻射到乾燥的沙漠天空，

into the dry desert skies,

causing them to dip below the ambient temperature and freeze.

使溫度降到比周圍環境溫度低並結冰。

Yet the cream-based treat we know today made a much later debut.

然而，我們現今所知道以鮮奶油為基底 的冰淇淋產品出現得晚得多。

It was originally inspired by sherbet, or sharbat in Arabic,

它最初的靈感來自於雪酪， 也就是阿拉伯語中的夏帕特，

an icy drink believed to have originated in Persia,

這種冰飲據信起源於波斯，

and subsequently gained popularity in the Middle Ages.

且在中世紀後期流行了起來。

European travelers brought sharbat recipes home,

歐洲的遊客將雪酪的食譜帶回家鄉，

and began creating their own chocolate, pinecone,

並開始創造他們自己的巧克力、松果、

and even eggplant flavored takes on the refreshment.

甚至是茄子口味的飲料。

In 1692, Antonio Latini, a Neapolitan chef,

1692 年，那不勒斯的廚師 安東尼·奧拉蒂尼 (Antonio Latini)

recorded a recipe for a unique milk-based version,

紀錄了一種獨特的 以牛奶為基底版本的食譜，

which some historians dub the first ice cream.

一些歷史學家稱它為第一個冰淇淋。

In the 18th century, ice cream expanded its reach

在 18 世紀時， 冰淇淋的接觸範圍擴大，

as these recipes set sail alongside European settlers to North America.

因為這些食譜隨著歐洲移民 一起航向北美。

Yet it was still mainly enjoyed by the upper classes

然而，它仍然主要由上流階層享用，

as the process to make it was quite laborious,

因為製作的過程非常耗時費力，

and its main ingredients— sugar, salt, and cream— were expensive.

而且它的主要成分— 糖，鹽和奶油—都很昂貴。

George Washington is said to have spent the equivalent of $6,600

據說喬治·華盛頓 一個夏天，光是冰淇淋

in today’s dollars on ice cream in one summer alone.

就花了相當於 今天 6600 美元的錢。

It was on American soil that the frozen dessert entered its golden age,

正是在美國土地上， 冷凍甜點進入了它的黃金時代，

as inventors and entrepreneurs began to engineer ways to bring it to the masses.

因為發明家和企業家開始 想方設法，將冰淇淋帶給大眾。

In Philadelphia in 1843, Nancy Johnson patented

1843 年的費城，

南希·強森 (Nancy Johnson) 得到革命性製冰淇淋機的專利，

a revolutionary ice cream-making machine featuring a crank and beater,

特點是具有曲柄把手和攪拌器，

which made the process easier for any home cook.

讓每個當家主廚 都能輕鬆駕馭製冰過程。

And storing ice cream was no longer an obstacle, as by the mid-1830s,

而且，儲藏冰淇淋已不再是一項阻礙， 因為 1830 年代中期，

New England businessman “Ice King” Frederic Tudor

新英格蘭商人「冰王」 弗雷德里克·圖多 (Frederic Tudor)

had greatly improved the ice trade,

大幅改善了冰品的貿易，

shipping thousands of tons of ice to households across the globe.

將數千噸冰送到全球各地的家中。

Soon, ice cream was on every street corner.

很快地，每個街角都有冰淇淋。

In the late 1880s, political turmoil brought Italian immigrants to cities

1880 年代後期，政治動盪 導致義大利移民前往

like London, Glasgow, and New York,

倫敦、格拉斯哥和紐約等城市，

where many took up jobs as street vendors selling licks of ice cream

許多人在這些地方 從事街頭小販的工作，

for roughly a penny each.

販售的每支冰淇淋大約一分錢。

Meanwhile, American druggists discovered the appeal of combining soda,

同時，美國的藥劑師發現了將汽水

a drink thought to have therapeutic properties at the time,

（當時被認為是具有治療價值的飲料）

with ice cream,

與冰淇淋結合的魅力，

and a new social spot was born: the soda fountain.

一個新的社交場所 應運而生：冷飲櫃檯。

When the sale of alcohol was banned in 1920,

在 1920 年禁止販售酒類的時候，

many American saloons reinvented themselves as soda fountains,

許多美國的酒吧重新 定位自己為冷飲小賣部。

and breweries like Anheuser-Busch and Yuengling

像安海斯-布希 (Anheuser-Busch) 和雲嶺啤酒 (Yuengling)

pivoted to producing ice cream.

這樣的啤酒廠也轉型生產冰淇淋。

At the same time, refrigeration technology was improving rapidly.

同時，製冰技術迅速地進步。

By the end of World War II,

到了二戰結束時，

the average American home had a freezer that could house a quart of ice cream.

一般美國家庭都擁有冷凍庫， 可以容納近一公升的冰淇淋，

Even trucks could be equipped with freezers full of frozen treats.

甚至卡車也可以配備 裝滿冷凍食品的冰庫。

Today, ice cream continues to take on new forms.

現今，冰淇淋繼續演變出新的形式。

And while some of its mysteries may never be solved,

雖然冰淇淋的一些奧秘 可能永遠無法解開，

one thing is certain: our love for ice cream will never thaw.

但肯定的是： 我們對冰淇淋的愛永遠不會融化。