舌尖上的航海丨第15集 圣誕晚餐的“怪物”

圣誕節(jié)前夜，“海豹” 號(hào)來(lái)到美國(guó)的南安普敦港。

“海豹” 號(hào)船員來(lái)自世界各地，是艘混搭的遠(yuǎn)洋貨輪。

中國(guó)水手童欣第一次在國(guó)外過(guò)圣誕節(jié)。

大廚凱恩早就準(zhǔn)備了圣誕節(jié)的美食。餐桌上擺滿了烤火雞、生拌三文魚(yú)、紅腸、樹(shù)根蛋糕、姜餅條、三色塔沙拉等美食。

最后，大廚凱恩端上一道名叫“怪物”的甜點(diǎn)，食材是一堆土豆：“哥倫布土豆是歐洲人的救命恩人”大廚神秘的說(shuō)。

童欣邊吃邊思索：“怪物”與“救命恩人”驢唇不對(duì)馬嘴，還跟哥倫布連在一起，這里面一定有文章！

童欣知道船長(zhǎng)霍姆斯來(lái)自哥倫布的家鄉(xiāng)：意大利的熱那亞，是位忠實(shí)的哥倫布迷。

還在航海學(xué)校讀書(shū)的時(shí)候，哥倫布發(fā)現(xiàn)美洲大陸的英雄壯舉令他贊嘆不已。知道意大利的熱那亞是航海家的搖籃，出了眾多知名航海家。

哥倫布出身在熱那亞一個(gè)守門人的家庭。一次偶然的的機(jī)會(huì)，哥倫布來(lái)到叔叔看守的“燈籠塔”玩耍。

“燈籠塔”是意大利熱那亞的標(biāo)志，也是世界上最古老的燈塔之一。在塔頂望看海面進(jìn)進(jìn)出出的航船，哥倫布再也控制不住自己；高聲叫到：“我要做一名海員。馳騁在大海上的“海神”啊，我什么時(shí)候才能登上你的甲板！”。

終于，在哥倫布十歲的時(shí)候，登上了他向往已久的“海神”。經(jīng)過(guò)四年多的海上磨練。十四歲正式成為一名地地道道的海員，也是至今世界上最年輕的海員。

但是，“怪物”甜點(diǎn)與哥倫布有什么關(guān)系，為什么叫“哥倫布土豆？，還是歐洲人的救命恩人”

晚餐后，童欣去找大廚凱思。醉眼腥松的大廚只冒了一句：“這道甜點(diǎn)是船長(zhǎng)親自點(diǎn)的。”

忙著裝卸貨、加油、保養(yǎng)后，直到“海豹號(hào)”駛離港口，童欣才敲開(kāi)了船長(zhǎng)的房門。

船長(zhǎng)霍姆斯十分喜歡好學(xué)多問(wèn)的童欣。講起了“哥倫布土豆”的故事。

十五世紀(jì)末期。哥倫布率領(lǐng)一支龐大的船隊(duì)，經(jīng)歷了千辛萬(wàn)苦，終于登上了美洲大陸，以為來(lái)到了傳說(shuō)中遍地黃金，盛產(chǎn)香料的富庶的東方。但是，這里既設(shè)有黃金也沒(méi)有香料。船員卻發(fā)現(xiàn)在貧瘠的土地上，長(zhǎng)看一種看上去稀奇古怪的食材——土豆。

哥倫布在航海的日記里，記下了這種聞所未聞的“怪物”，把一堆球根栽種后，它會(huì)長(zhǎng)出生杈的莖，開(kāi)出紫色的花。這些植物的根在地下，連著一群雞蛋大小的東西。把雞蛋大小的東西煮熟后，色味俱佳，是船員的佳肴……。

哥倫布將這種“怪物”帶回了歐洲。

有信仰的歐洲人見(jiàn)到土豆犯了難；《圣經(jīng)》里沒(méi)有關(guān)于土豆這種“怪物”的記載。當(dāng)時(shí)有人說(shuō)它是一種靠不住的作物，認(rèn)為它的根子、塊莖形狀怪異，藏著“兇神惡煞”，吃了它，人們會(huì)得病。在歐洲長(zhǎng)期被人們拒絕食用。

但是，土豆適應(yīng)性很強(qiáng)。在任何土地里都能茁壯生長(zhǎng)，而且只需4個(gè)月的時(shí)間就能成熟。在歐洲小麥歉收的年份，土豆的收成卻十分好，直到饑荒和戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)在歐洲蔓延?！肮治铩蓖炼沟拿\(yùn)才有了轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)。

一位來(lái)自法國(guó)名叫安東尼·帕門提爾的人，原是軍隊(duì)中的藥劑師。在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中被普魯士俘虜。在這之前，周圍饑荒，很多普魯士人開(kāi)始食用土豆。在牢里，土豆成了安東尼·帕門提爾唯一的食物。

恰巧，法國(guó)遭遇的災(zāi)荒，糧食連連歉收?；氐椒▏?guó)的帕門提爾在法國(guó)國(guó)王路易十六的生日宴會(huì)上，獻(xiàn)上了紫色的土豆花，并說(shuō)服了國(guó)王和王后接受了“怪物”，王后還把紫色的土豆花戴在發(fā)髻上做裝飾。

“怪物”被堂而皇之地?cái)[在了宮廷的筵席上。不久，國(guó)王和王后又賜給了帕門提爾一塊土地，專門種植“怪物”土豆。

“怪物”土豆使饑荒和戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)年代的歐洲找到了救命的食材。

從此，“怪物”找到了大顯身手的機(jī)會(huì)。歐洲各國(guó)先后廣泛種植這種高產(chǎn)的糧食，并逐漸傳到了東方?！懊康绞フQ節(jié)”之夜，歐洲人總忘不了做上一道“怪物”甜點(diǎn)——土豆，船長(zhǎng)霍姆斯說(shuō)：“這是對(duì)土豆的感激，也是對(duì)哥倫布發(fā)現(xiàn)美洲大陸的紀(jì)念?！?/p>

船長(zhǎng)霍姆斯說(shuō)著拿出一張珍藏已久的照片；這是在哥倫布家鄉(xiāng)紀(jì)念館拍的照片；一幀高懸的鏡框里，并排著四枚徽章，第一枚和第二枚是卡斯利亞和萊昂王室的徽章——城堡和獅子。第三枚是海浪拍擊的金色島嶼。第四枚是五個(gè)鐵錨加上金色原野。

船長(zhǎng)最后自豪地說(shuō)：“這是哥倫布生前得到的最高獎(jiǎng)賞，至今懸掛在熱那亞“哥倫布紀(jì)念館里。”“哥倫布土豆”是海員的光榮，它記載著人類航海的光輝歷史！

The MV Seal arrived at Southampton Harbor in the United States on Christmas Eve.

The MV Seal is a motor ship that transports cargo all around the world. Its crew features

members from many different countries and of all ages and experiences. One of its crew

members, a young Chinese shiphand named Tong, was about to celebrate his first Christmas

onboard, so his crewmates wanted this Christmas to be extra special.

The MV Seal’s chief cook, Ken, had begun to prepare a large Christmas feast for the

excited seafarers hours in advance. Roast turkey, salmon, sausages, gingerbread, salads, and

cake stood tall on the table in the MV Seal’s grand terrace, awaiting the call for dinnertime.

As the crew gathered on the grand terrace and got ready to commence their meal, Ken

took out one last dish from the kitchen. It was a dessert named Sputnik that’s mainly made

with potatoes, and according to Ken, they were part of the Columbian Exchange and changed

the world.

Tong sunk his fork into the Sputnik and took a large bite. It tasted sweet and unlike any

other potatoes he’d ever tried before, but he had no idea how a simple starchy vegetable

could change the course of history. Ken also said that Sputnik was somehow related to

Christopher Columbus, who Tong thought he knew a lot about. When he was a student at a

Nautical Academy, he was impressed by Columbus’s feat of accidentally discovering

America and read many resources about his career and early life.

Tong knew that since Genoa was a prosperous seaside town, many of its residents once

had dreams of becoming a seafarer. Christopher Columbus was no exception. Though he was

born to merchant parents, Columbus’s uncle was a professional lighthouse keeper who

regularly allowed him to explore and play around the enigmatic Lighthouse of Genoa.

The Lighthouse of Genoa was and still is today an important landmark that guided the

many ships and cruises that frequented the waters off the coast of Italy. Standing at the top of

the Lighthouse and looking over the ocean and crafts in the horizon, a young Christopher

Columbus thought to himself, “One day, I will become a great sailor. When, oh when will I

be able to set out to sea?”

As a result of his determination, Columbus started training for a life of nautical

adventures when he was only ten years old. After four years of harsh trials and rigorous

studying of the ocean’s every mood and action, Columbus got his first position as a shiphand

at fourteen years old and set sail for nearby European countries like England and Ireland.

However none of the scholarly articles that Tong read had any mention of the “Sputnik

potatoes”, nor did they explain what exactly was the Columbian Exchange.

After dinner, Tong approached Chef Ken once again to ask about Columbus and

Sputnik. Ken, who was high-spirited and drunk from all the Christmas wine, told Tong, “I

only know that the Captain personally requested this dessert himself.”

In order to finish up his tasks of loading and unloading cargo, refueling the vessel’s tank,

and basic ship maintenance, Tong was only able to approach the Captain long after the MV

Seal left Southampton Harbor.

Cautiously, Tong knocked on the Captain’s door and awaited an answer.

The captain of the MV Seal, Captain Jovani, was a seasoned sailor who also grew up in

Columbus’s hometown of Genoa, Italy, and knew many secrets about the notable navigator.

Captain Jovani listened to Tong’s curious inquiry about Columbus, and commended him

for being eager to learn. Jovani asked Tong to sit down in front of his desk, and began telling

the tale of the Columbian Exchange.

At the tail of the 15th century, Columbus led a large fleet of ships through extreme

adversities and finally reached the North American continent. At the time, Columbus

believed he had set foot on the Indies, which is the modern country of Indonesia. But instead

of finding rich spices and tropical commodities, Columbus and his crew could only retrieve

the strange-looking, circular plant-like produce that we now call potatoes.

In Columbus’s journal, he detailed his observations on this unheard vegetable, Sputnik.

After planting a roll of the bulbous plant into the ground, its stems eventually sprouted above

the soil and blossomed with purple flowers. When the egg-like plants were cultivated to their

final form, they could be cooked in a variety of ways: roasted over a bonfire, boiled in hot

water, or raw with other vegetables and fruits.

Columbus brought the Sputnik with him back to Europe on a voyage that came to be

known as the Columbian Exchange.

To his disappointment, many European natives were not fond of this strange item. There

was no record of such a food in the Bible, and its strange shape and taste compelled people to

think that it was an unreliable crop. Besides, the name “Sputnik” sounded unfamiliar and

alien, and many assumed that they would go ill if they ever ate this peculiar produce.

Nevertheless, potatoes were resilient and adaptable. It could grow on any land and in

any type of dirt, and only needed a short period of four months to become fully ripe. During

Europe’s years of devastating famine, when wheat crops failed to satisfy the needs of citizens,

Sputnik stepped up as an abundant resource. Especially when war and food shortages

escalated across Europe, Sputnik had its time to shine, thanks to a Frenchman named

Antoine-Augustin Parmentier.

Parmentier served as a military pharmacist for the French army in the Seven Weeks War,

and served in a Prussian prison for a long time following his capture. Prussia had just

suffered from a great famine right before the war, and the only widespread food was Sputnik.

Under Prussian incarceration, Sputnik was the only food Parmentier could eat.

By chance, as Parmentier was released and returned home, the people of France were

also suffering from a severe food deprivation. At a royal banquet, Parmentier presented a

bouquet of purple flowers to King Louis XVI and convinced the regency to accept his gift of

Sputnik to the monarchy. Marie Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI, fell infatuated with

the delicate purple flowers and even embellished them in her hair accessories.

The Sputnik was put on display inside the French imperial court. Soon later, the King

and Queen assigned a piece of land to Parmentier and tasked him with cultivating the

delicious vegetable during the French famine.

The Sputnik helped multiple countries tackle the hardships of war and food scarcities,

and charmed countless people with its distinctive taste.

Aside from being a valuable crop in times of famine, the Sputnik has had many

opportunities to show its strengths. Because of the various ways it can be cooked, the Sputnik

became a staple in both daily home cooked meals and upscale events or celebrations. Every

Christmas, many sailors cooked a special dessert with potatoes and called it Sputnik, in order

to honor the achievements of the potato and to show appreciation for those who recognized

its functionality.

Captain Jovani pulled out an old photograph from his drawer and showed it to Tong. It

was taken in Jovani’s hometown of Genoa, at the Christopher Columbus memorial. The

wooden frame around the photo had four medals fixed in its corners. The first and second

were the emblems of the Royal Houses of Castile and Léon, the third was a shining badge of

a golden island with waves hitting its shores, and the last featured five anchors and a golden

potato field at its center.

Jovani declared proudly, “These are the most important awards that Christopher

Columbus had ever received, and they are still displayed at the Columbus Memorial in

Genoa. The Sputnik is an eminent glory for all seafarers, and it demonstrates just how

monumental nautical travel and exchanges can be!”