美国国家公共电台 NPR 'A Taste Of Paris': How The City Of Light Became The City Of Food

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right, so my definition of victory is a good meal. And, you know, we often hear from our colleague Eleanor Beardsley covering news. Let's just wander with her through Paris today. She says autumn is the season for food lovers there.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Shouting in French).

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE¹: This time of year, the stands at Paris' hundreds of weekly food markets are laden² with plump, dark grapes and wild mushrooms.

DAVID DOWNIE: The fall is the best time to eat in France. Everyone knows that. Everything comes in. It's the harvest season.

BEARDSLEY: That's longtime Paris resident and culinary historian David Downie. His latest book, "A Taste Of Paris: A History Of The Parisian Love Affair With Food," is a gastronomic³ jaunt⁴ through the city that tells how Paris distinguished⁵ itself as a world capital of eating. Downie says Julius Caesar, who conquered what was then called Gaul in 52 B.C., had a lot to do with it.

DOWNIE: You could argue that without the ancient Roman presence in Paris 2,000 years ago, you would never have had the culinary culture that developed in this country. The Gallic peoples, who were here when the Romans arrived, were not gourmets⁶. That's the polite way of saying that they were, you know, complete barbarians⁷. They ate a lot of raw things, and they had very basic food. The Romans had extremely sophisticated cuisine⁸.

ALEX RYERSON: (Speaking French).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: Parisian Alex Ryerson is choosing girolle and cepes mushrooms from a pile of fungi⁹. How do you tell the best ones? Look for the mushrooms whose edges have been nibbled¹⁰ by discerning French slugs. Ryerson says Parisians love their street markets, which are stocked with foods of the season.

RYERSON: For sure, it's important to eat fresh, anywhere, even in the states, and it's starting. More and more people are going to the markets. I mean, here it's just part of the culture, which is great.

BEARDSLEY: Another fall food the French relish¹¹ - just as the Romans did - are oysters¹², and in September, the mollusks are back in season after four months of reproducing. Especially as the weather gets colder, you can find oysters on icy stands at markets and corner cafes across the city. Jerome Chetif is prying¹³ open oysters to fill a giant seafood¹⁴ platter.

JEROME CHETIF: (Through interpreter) See, when I open them, they're alive. We French like to eat them raw. That's the best way.

BEARDSLEY: Downie says Louis XIV adored oysters and revived the Roman tradition of ingesting them raw. He says the Sun King advanced the notion of a uniquely French cuisine in the 1600s as he consolidated¹⁵ feudal¹⁶ France.

DOWNIE: His big schtick was to distinguish France as a kingdom from Burgundy, from southern France, from the dukedoms, and that's why French cuisine became part of a soft power diplomacy¹⁷ of trying to take over all of France and then later to broadcast things French abroad.

BEARDSLEY: We make our way along Rue¹⁸ St. Antoine, once an ancient Roman road, then a medieval thoroughfare where Downie says King Henry II was skewered¹⁹ through the eyeball in a jousting²⁰ match. Today, the street is full of good eating. We stop to admire the vast offerings of a delicatessen when...

MARC FERMIN: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: The owner, Marc Fermin, invites us in for a taste. He says everything is homemade. I'm fascinated by a big square of pate²¹ with a gelatin top called fromage de tete - literally²², head cheese. Fermin explains how it's made.

FERMIN: (Through interpreter) Head cheese is the pig's head, the snout, cheeks and tongue boiled all night in carrots, onion, thyme and laurel. We let it cool, cut it in cubes, make a reduction with white wine, shallots and my secret seasoning²³, then bake it in the oven.

BEARDSLEY: Well, we're eating head cheese. Oh, my God, it's delicious.

Downie says eating well in Paris often means going out of your comfort zone and getting off the main tourist drag. We step into a corner bistro where everything's made from scratch, which is not always the case in Paris anymore. Ordering from the daily chalkboard menu is another good tip. We choose the cow's tongue with gribiche sauce.

It's delicious and tender.

DOWNIE: It's sauce that's got pickles²⁵ in it and capers²⁶ and mayonnaise.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: You would never know what it is, would you?

DOWNIE: No, you would never know. It's absolutely delicious.

BEARDSLEY: For the main course, we tuck into another traditional favorite - entrecote frites - a rib²⁴ eye steak with home-cut french fries. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.

(SOUNDBITE OF ALCEST'S "VOIX SEREINES")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 gastronomic   

adj.美食（烹饪）法的，烹任学的

参考例句：

• The gastronomic restaurant is a feature of the hotel. 美食餐厅是这家饭店的一个特色。 来自互联网
• The restaurant offers a special gastronomic menu. 这家餐馆备有一份特别的美食菜单。 来自互联网

4 jaunt   

v.短程旅游；n.游览

参考例句：

• They are off for a day's jaunt to the beach.他们出去到海边玩一天。
• They jaunt about quite a lot,especially during the summer.他们常常到处闲逛，夏天更是如此。

5 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

6 gourmets   

讲究吃喝的人，美食家( gourmet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The food here satisfies gourmands rather than gourmets. 这里的食物可以管饱却不讲究品质。
• Here is another example: "Western gourmets are sold on Peking Duck." 这里再举一个例子：“西方美食家已对北京烤鸭极有兴趣。”

7 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

8 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。

9 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

10 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

12 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

13 prying   

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！
• She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

15 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

16 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

17 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

18 rue   

n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔

参考例句：

• You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
• You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

19 skewered   

v.（用串肉扦或类似物）串起，刺穿( skewer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He skewered his victim through the neck. 他用扦子刺穿了受害人的脖子。 来自辞典例句
• He skewered his foot on a nail. 他的脚踩在钉子上了。 来自互联网

20 jousting   

（骑士）骑马用长矛比武( joust的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The players happily jousting inside the castle walls didn't see the moat outside widening. 玩家在城墙上幸福地战斗的时候，没有注意到护城河已经开始扩张了。

21 pate   

n.头顶；光顶

参考例句：

• The few strands of white hair at the back of his gourd-like pate also quivered.他那长在半个葫芦样的头上的白发，也随着笑声一齐抖动着。
• He removed his hat to reveal a glowing bald pate.他脱下帽子，露出了发亮的光头。

22 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

23 seasoning   

n.调味；调味料；增添趣味之物

参考例句：

• Salt is the most common seasoning.盐是最常用的调味品。
• This sauce uses mushroom as its seasoning.这酱油用蘑菇作调料。

24 rib   

n.肋骨，肋状物

参考例句：

• He broke a rib when he fell off his horse.他从马上摔下来折断了一根肋骨。
• He has broken a rib and the doctor has strapped it up.他断了一根肋骨，医生已包扎好了。

25 pickles   

n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱

参考例句：

• Most people eat pickles at breakfast. 大多数人早餐吃腌菜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want their pickles and wines, and that.' 我要他们的泡菜、美酒和所有其他东西。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

26 capers   

n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I like to fly about and cut capers. 我喜欢跳跳蹦蹦闹着玩儿。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句