美味"英式蛋挞"的由来

    皮酥松脆、口感甜糯的英式蛋挞是众多食客的最爱甜点，这种美味的蛋挞还有着几百年的历史渊源，不少英国皇室成员也是它的忠实拥趸者。配上一杯浓郁的伯爵茶，回味英式甜点带来的味蕾享受吧！
    The custard tart¹ is regarded as one of Britain’s traditional dishes. It remained a favourite over the centuries and is just as popular today. Even the name has an ancient pedigree—it is derived² from both the old French word for crust (crouste), and the Anglo-Norman ‘crustarde’, which meant a tart or pie with a crust.
    蛋挞是公认的英国传统美食之一，几百年来一直深得人们的喜爱，直到今天仍然广受欢迎。甚至连“蛋挞”这一名字也有着古老的渊源——“蛋挞”来源于“酥皮”（crust）的法语词“crouste”和盎格鲁诺尔曼语词“crustarde”，“crustarde”意思是带酥皮的蔬菜、水果或肉馅饼。
    Custard tarts³ were popular during Medieval times and records show that King Henry IV enjoyed them at his coronation banquet in 1399.
    早在中世纪时，蛋挞就已经风靡一时。有记载称，1399年，英国国王亨利四世在加冕礼宴会上就享用了蛋挞这种美食。
    Henry IV is not the only English monarch⁴ with a liking⁵ for them. Called ‘doucets’ in the Middle Ages, they were equally popular at the court of Henry VIII. Henry VIII’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, who had a famously sweet tooth, also had a great liking for custard in pastry⁶. At her court, custard tarts grew to enormous sizes and had jesters prancing⁷ around in the wobbly mix. The mess must have been quite considerable!
    亨利四世可不是唯一钟情于蛋挞的英国君王。在亨利八世时期的宫廷里，蛋挞同样广受青睐。亨利八世的女儿，嗜好甜食的女王伊丽莎白一世也对蛋挞情有独钟。她的宫廷中囤积了大量的蛋挞，再加上逗趣的弄臣在宫中摇摆表演，那场面真是乱得无以复加！
    Another Royal, Queen Elizabeth the II was also served custard tart as the dessert for her recent 80th birthday celebration.
    在另外一位皇室成员——女王伊丽莎白二世80岁的寿宴上，蛋挞也被作为甜点款待宾客。
    Today, custard tarts are usually made from short crust pastry, eggs, sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla⁸, sprinkled with nutmeg and baked. However, in King Henry’s day they could have included ingredients such as pork mince⁹ or beef marrow¹⁰, but they were always filled with a sweet custard.
    如今，蛋挞通常以松脆的酥皮、鸡蛋、糖、牛奶或奶油、香草为原料，撒上肉豆蔻烤制而成。然而，在亨利时期，蛋挞还可能含有猪肉末或牛骨髓等食材，但总要覆盖上甜甜的蛋奶糊。
    To make them a special treat they can be topped with fresh strawberries or raspberries. In the past they were much richer, and more fattening¹¹. Almond milk and honey was often added—much too sweet for today’s tastes.
    以蛋挞款待尊贵的客人时，还可以在顶部放上新鲜的草莓或覆盆子。以前，蛋挞里常常会加入杏仁奶和蜂蜜，很油腻且容易让人发胖。显然，这样的口味对于今天的人们来说过于甜腻了。
    The custard tart is a lovely treat to come home to and goes wonderfully with a cup of Earl Grey tea. You just can’t get more English than that.
    在家招待客人，蛋挞是很好的选择。再配上一杯格雷伯爵茶，那滋味更是妙不可言，没有比这更英式的美味了。

1 tart   

adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇

参考例句：

• She was learning how to make a fruit tart in class.她正在课上学习如何制作水果馅饼。
• She replied in her usual tart and offhand way.她开口回答了，用她平常那种尖酸刻薄的声调随口说道。

2 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tarts   

n.果馅饼( tart的名词复数 )；轻佻的女人；妓女；小妞

参考例句：

• I decided to make some tarts for tea. 我决定做些吃茶点时吃的果馅饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They ate raspberry tarts and ice cream. 大家吃着木莓馅饼和冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

4 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

5 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

6 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。

7 prancing   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lead singer was prancing around with the microphone. 首席歌手手执麦克风，神气地走来走去。
• The King lifted Gretel on to his prancing horse and they rode to his palace. 国王把格雷特尔扶上腾跃着的马，他们骑马向天宫走去。 来自辞典例句

8 vanilla   

n.香子兰，香草

参考例句：

• He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
• I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。

9 mince   

n.切碎物；v.切碎，矫揉做作地说

参考例句：

• Would you like me to mince the meat for you?你要我替你把肉切碎吗？
• Don't mince matters,but speak plainly.不要含糊其词，有话就直说吧。

10 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

11 fattening   

adj.（食物）要使人发胖的v.喂肥( fatten的现在分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值

参考例句：

• The doctor has advised him to keep off fattening food. 医生已建议他不要吃致肥食物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We substitute margarine for cream because cream is fattening. 我们用人造黄油代替奶油，因为奶油会使人发胖。 来自《简明英汉词典》