A brie(f) history of cheese - Paul Kindstedt

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Regina Chu

Before empires and royalty,

在帝國和皇室出現之前，

before pottery and writing,

在陶器製造和寫作出現之前，

before metal tools and weapons –

在金屬工具和武器出現之前——

there was cheese.

起士就存在了。

As early as 8000 BCE,

早在西元前八千年，

the earliest Neolithic farmers living in the Fertile Crescent

最早期住在新月沃土的 新石器時代農夫

began a legacy of cheesemaking

開始了一直流傳下去的起士製作，

almost as old as civilization itself.

這段歷史幾乎和文明一樣古老。

The rise of agriculture led to domesticated sheep and goats,

農業的興起，

導致綿羊和山羊的圈養，

which ancient farmers harvested for milk.

古老的農夫會用牠們來製造羊奶。

But when left in warm conditions for several hours,

但當新鮮羊奶放在 溫暖的條件之下幾小時後，

that fresh milk began to sour.

就會開始變酸。

Its lactic acids caused proteins to coagulate, binding into soft clumps.

它的乳酸會造成蛋白質凝固

成為軟塊狀。

Upon discovering this strange transformation,

在發現這種奇特的轉變時，

the farmers drained the remaining liquid –

農夫除去了所有剩下的液體——

later named whey –

就是後來所謂的乳漿——

and found the yellowish globs could be eaten fresh as a soft, spreadable meal.

發現黃色的小團塊可以直接吃，

它是軟式的，可塗開食用。

These clumps, or curds, became the building blocks of cheese,

這些小塊狀，或凝乳塊， 成為起士的基礎材料，

which would eventually be aged, pressed, ripened, and whizzed

最終會被陳化、壓製、熟成、攪拌

into a diverse cornucopia of dairy delights.

做成各式各樣的乳製甜點。

The discovery of cheese gave Neolithic people an enormous survival advantage.

發現起士，讓新月沃土的人 在生存上有了很大的優勢。

Milk was rich with essential proteins, fats, and minerals.

乳汁富含蛋白質、脂肪，和礦物質。

But it also contained high quantities of lactose –

但它也有很大量的乳糖——

a sugar which is difficult to process for many ancient and modern stomachs.

不論是古人或現代人，

都有很多人的胃很難處理這種糖。

Cheese, however, could provide all of milk’s advantages with much less lactose.

然而，起士有所有乳汁的優點，

乳糖卻少很多。

And since it could be preserved and stockpiled,

因為它能被保存、堆積起來，

these essential nutrients could be eaten

在饑荒缺乏這些營養時，

throughout scarce famines and long winters.

或漫長的冬天時，都可以拿來吃。

Some 7th millennium BCE pottery fragments found in Turkey

西元前七百年 在土耳其找到的一些陶器

still contain telltale residues of the cheese and butter they held.

仍然含有些殘餘物能證明 它們曾經裝過起士和奶油。

By the end of the Bronze Age,

在青銅器時代末期，

cheese was a standard commodity in maritime trade

在東地中海的海上貿易中，

throughout the eastern Mediterranean.

起士是標準的商品。

In the densely populated city-states of Mesopotamia,

在美索不達米亞 人口稠密的城邦中，

cheese became a staple of culinary and religious life.

起士成了烹飪和宗教 生活中的主要產品。

Some of the earliest known writing

已知最早期和起士有關的記載

includes administrative records of cheese quotas,

包括了起士配額的行政記錄，

listing a variety of cheeses for different rituals and populations

它列出了美索不達米亞各地

供不同儀式和人口 使用的各種起士。

across Mesopotamia.

Records from nearby civilizations in Turkey also reference rennet.

來自附近土耳其的文明 也有提到凝乳酶。

This animal byproduct, produced in the stomachs of certain mammals,

這種動物副產品是在某些 哺乳類動物的胃中製造的，

can accelerate and control coagulation.

能夠加速和控制凝固。

Eventually this sophisticated cheesemaking tool spread around the globe,

最終，全球各地都有了 精密的起士製造工具，

giving way to a wide variety of new, harder cheeses.

後來才出現各種更硬的新型起士。

And though some conservative food cultures rejected the dairy delicacy,

雖然有些保守的食物文化 反對食用乳製佳餚，

many more embraced cheese, and quickly added their own local flavors.

更多文化選擇擁抱起士，

很快就將起士納入 成為當地的口味之一。

Nomadic Mongolians used yaks’ milk to create hard, sundried wedges of Byaslag.

遊牧的蒙古人用犛牛的牛奶來製作

曬乾的楔形硬式 Byaslag。

Egyptians enjoyed goats’ milk cottage cheese, straining the whey with reed mats.

埃及人很愛山羊奶做的茅屋起士，

用蘆葦墊來過濾乳漿。

In South Asia, milk was coagulated with a variety of food acids,

在南亞，當地人會把牛奶 和各種食物酸一起凝固，

such as lemon juice, vinegar, or yogurt

比如檸檬汁、醋，或優格，

and then hung to dry into loafs of paneer.

接著掛起來放乾， 成為一條一條的 paneer。

This soft mild cheese could be added to curries and sauces,

這種軟式輕起士可以 加到咖哩和醬料中，

or simply fried as a quick vegetarian dish.

或是單純拿來炸，成為素食快餐。

The Greeks produced bricks of salty brined feta cheese,

希臘人會製作鹽水 處理過的白色軟乳酪塊，

alongside a harder variety similar to today’s pecorino romano.

還有比較硬的版本， 很像現今的佩科里諾羅馬諾起士。

This grating cheese was produced in Sicily

這種需要削的硬起士， 產地是西西里島，

and used in dishes all across the Mediterranean.

地中海各地的餐點都會用到它。

Under Roman rule, “dry cheese” or “caseus aridus,”

在羅馬人統治時， 「乾起士」或「caseus aridus」

became an essential ration

是重要的口糧，

for the nearly 500,000 soldiers guarding the vast borders of the Roman Empire.

五十萬士兵守衛羅馬帝國

廣闊邊界時就是靠它。

And when the Western Roman Empire collapsed,

當西羅馬帝國垮台時，

cheesemaking continued to evolve

起士製作仍然在歐洲郊區的

in the manors that dotted the medieval European countryside.

中世紀莊園中繼續進化，

In the hundreds of Benedictine monasteries scattered across Europe,

在歐洲各地的數百間 聖本篤修會修道院，

medieval monks experimented endlessly with different types of milk,

中世紀修道士不斷實驗各種奶，

cheesemaking practices,

以不同做法和存放方式來製造起士，

and aging processes that led to many of today’s popular cheeses.

現今許多知名的起士就是這麼來的。

Parmesan, Roquefort, Munster and several Swiss types

帕馬森、羅克福、明斯特， 和許多種瑞士起士

were all refined and perfected by these cheesemaking clergymen.

都是因為這些製造起士的 神職人員才能變得如此完美。

In the Alps, Swiss cheesemaking was particularly successful –

在阿爾卑斯山脈， 瑞士起士製造特別成功——

producing a myriad of cow’s milk cheeses.

產生出大量的牛奶起士。

By the end of the 14th century,

到了十四世紀末，

Alpine cheese from the Gruyere region of Switzerland had become so profitable

瑞士格魯耶爾地區的 阿爾卑斯山起士利潤非常高，

that a neighboring state invaded the Gruyere highlands

導致鄰近國家入侵格魯耶爾高地，

to take control of the growing cheese trade.

接管不斷成長的起士貿易。

Cheese remained popular through the Renaissance,

在文藝復興時期，起士仍然很搶手，

and the Industrial Revolution took production out of the monastery

工業革命時，起士不再由修道院生產，

and into machinery.

改由機器製作。

Today, the world produces roughly 22 billion kilograms of cheese a year,

現今，全世界一年的起士 產量大約為 220 億公斤，

shipped and consumed around the globe.

運送到全世界銷售。

But 10,000 years after its invention,

但在起士被發明的一萬年後，

local farms are still following in the footsteps of their Neolithic ancestors,

地方性的農場仍然遵循著 新月沃土先人的腳步，

hand crafting one of humanity’s oldest and favorite foods.

人工手做出人類最古老 且被喜愛的食物之一。