翻译练习06

French cuisine

法国菜

Despite a common pan-gallic chauvinism, French cooking is not a monolith: it ranges from the olives and seafood of Provence to the butter and roasts of Tours, from the simple food of the bistro to then fanciful confections of the Tour d’Argent. However, it all shares a seriousness about food. Throughout the country, French cooking involves a large number of techniques, some extremely complicated, that serve as basics. Any cook will tell you that French food will not tolerate shortcuts in regard to these fundamentals. Because mastery of sauces or pastry doughs is the center of the culinary arts, recipes themselves remain classic and constant. In a way similar to Japanese cuisine, it is expected that even the simplest preparation be undertaken in the most careful manner, which means disregarding the amount of time involved. This is one reason why French cooking has always seemed so daunting on the other side of the Atlantic. Americans love nothing more than combining innovation with time-saving; it is the particular genius of the United States, and it couldn’t be more at odds with the French aesthetic. 尽管沙文主义在法国遍地开花，但法式烹饪却并非铁板一块：它涉及的范围从橄榄油和普罗旺斯的海鲜到黄油和图尔的烤肉，从小餐馆的粗茶淡饭到银塔的精致甜点。法式烹饪非常讲究技巧，一些非常复杂的做法都会当做是烹饪基础。任何一个厨师都会告诉你，学做法国菜没有捷径，必须学好这些烹饪基础。因为掌握做酱汁或面团的技巧是这门烹饪艺术的核心，那食谱本身才能保持经典不变。有一点和日本料理很像的是，尽管是在做最简单的准备，也会以一种最严谨的态度去进行，无论这要花费多少时间。这应该是法式烹饪吓到大西洋对岸美国的一个原因。美国人最喜欢把创新和省时结合在一起，这是美国的一大特色，但是却完全违背了法国菜美学。

Not only do basic cooking techniques require great skill, but they also demand a deep understanding of the ingredients themselves. Just as the vintner knows that the finest Bordeaux comes from the grapes grown on that side of the hill and not this, so too the chef knows not only from which region come the finest petits pois (small, young green peas), but from which town – the same goes for asparagus, and even cauliflower. If there is something worth eating, and cooking, there is a best representative of such. Many foods are known by the town that made them famous, such as Pessac for strawberries, the peas of Saint-Germaine, Macau artichokes, the Charollais steer, butter of Isigny. 不仅基础烹饪技术需要大量技巧，在调料搭配上也要求要有深刻的理解。就好像葡萄酒商一样，会知道波尔多最好的酒是山头那面生长的葡萄酝酿的而不是这面；同样，大厨不仅要知道最好的豌豆（细嫩青豌豆）是来自哪个区域，而且还要知道是来自哪个城镇——还有芦笋，甚至花椰菜也要知道。如果某样东西值得一吃，值得一煮，那它就是某个食材的最佳代表了。很多食材因在某城镇闻名而出名，比如贝莎克的草莓，圣杰曼的豌豆，澳门的朝鲜蓟，夏洛莱牛肉和伊斯尼黄油。

The French and English adapted service a la russe, in which courses are served separately, in the middle of the 19th century. A French meal might begin with a hot hors d’oeuvre (or for luncheon, a cold hors d’oeuvre) followed by soup, main course, salad, cheese, and finally dessert. The French operate with a strong sense that there is an appropriate beverage for every food and occasion. Wine is drunk with the meal, but rarely without food. An aperitif (a light alcoholic beverage such as Lillet) precedes the meal and a digestif (something more spirited – say cognac) may follow. This close relationship between food and wine may, in part, closely parallel the evolution of great cooking and great wine making. It is probably not coincidental that some of the best cooking in France happens in some of her finest wine-growing regions. In Burgundy, Bordeaux, Provence, and Touraine, wine is as prevalent in the cooking process as it is in the glass. Champagne as a beverage doesn’t accompany food gracefully, likewise, as a region it is not well known for its food. One notable exception to this rule (and there are of course others) is Normandy, who, from her fantastic butter, cream, cheese, apples and the riches of the sea, has produced a marvelous local cuisine without the help of wine. However, the local Calvados, an apple based eau-de-vie, may also explain the phenomenon.

在19世纪中期，法国菜和英国菜都是分开上菜的。法国菜可能先上一道热的开胃菜（或者午餐先上冷的开胃菜），然后是汤，主菜，沙拉，芝士，最后是甜点。法国菜会给人一种浓厚的味觉享受，因为每一道菜，每一个场合都会有专属的配酒。葡萄酒会一同进餐，很少有不吃东西喝酒的情况。饭前一杯开胃酒（一种带有轻微酒精的饮料比如苦艾酒），饭后一杯餐后酒（比开胃酒酒精更浓的——有说是类似白兰地的酒）。这种食材和酒的紧密搭配，有部分原因可能是烹饪和制酒的不断发展。在法国，好的菜式通常都出现在那些出好酒的区域，这不可能是种巧合。在勃艮第、波尔多、普罗旺斯和都兰，美食美酒同样出色。香槟不是一种下菜的酒，所以作为一个地区的时候它的食材并不出名。有一个地方是一个例外（当然还有其他地方），那就是诺曼底，它有超棒的黄油、奶油、芝士、苹果和丰富的海产品，有很多超赞的本土菜式，但不需要透过酒都能出名。然而，当地的苹果白兰地酒，把苹果浸泡在白兰地中，可能能够解释这个例外。

The French are predominantly Catholic and thus have no eating prohibitions, though many dishes have a Lenten variation. Moreover, the Gauls are not afraid to eat anything. Kidney, brain, sweetbreads, tripe, blood sauces and sausages, sheep’s foot, tongue, and intestines are all common in French cooking and hold equal standing with the meat of lamb, beef, pork, poultry, and game. Quite the opposite of being exotic, these foods are at the heart of the bourgeois menu, with seafood inevitably being the soul, and vegetables, the flesh.

法国人信奉天主教，所以没有饮食限制，虽然有很多菜式是斋戒期饮食变化而来的。而且，高卢人不畏惧吃任何东西。肾脏、脑袋、胰脏、内脏、血红、羊脚、舌头和肠在法国菜中都很常见，和羊肉、牛肉、猪肉、鸡肉、野味的地位是平等的。与其异国情调相反，这些食物与海鲜、蔬菜、肉类一起成为高级菜单的核心。

本文来源：https://www.bwwdw.com/article/ltmf.html