Name: 胡椒的威力 ⏲️ 6分鐘英語 (The power of pepper ⏲️ 6 Minute English)
Uploaded: 2026-02-26T21:34:57.000Z
Duration: 6 min 16 s

Six Minute English from BBCLearningEnglish.com hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

BBCLearningEnglish.com 的 Six Minute English，哈囉，我是 BBC Learning English 的 Six Minute English。

In this episode, we're discussing a food seasoning that's so popular.

在這集節目裡，我們要討論一種非常受歡迎的香料。

We eat around three quarters of a million tons of it a year.

我們一年會吃掉大約七十五萬噸。

Becca，你會在食物裡加 pepper 嗎？

I think it's an easy way to add some spice.

我覺得這是個輕鬆為食物增添風味的方法。

嗯，不是什麼都加，但我確實很喜歡。

Given its popularity, it's surprising that most people know very little about pepper.

考量到它的受歡迎程度，大部分人對 pepper 卻知之甚少，這還真令人驚訝。

Did you know, for example, that peppers are the fruit of vines often growing over 10 meters high?

你知道嗎，例如，pepper 是藤蔓的果實，而且藤蔓經常長到十公尺高？

Our ancestors would be surprised how little we know.

我們的祖先應該會驚訝我們知道這麼少。

From ancient Greece onwards, pepper was prized as the black gold of ingredients.

從古希臘開始，pepper 就被視為食材中的 black gold。

And explorers cross oceans in search of it, des discovering new continents along the way.

探險家們為了尋找它而橫渡海洋，途中還發現了新大陸。

In this episode, we'll get reacquainted with pepper and learn some useful new words and phrases too.

這一集，我們要重新認識 pepper，也會學到一些實用的新單字和片語喔。

And remember, you'll find a transcript for you to read along with us as you listen on our website, bbclearningenglish.com okay, first, I have a question for you.

而且別忘了，在我們的網站 bbclearningenglish.com 上，你會找到一份 transcript 讓你可以邊聽邊看喔，好，首先，我有一個問題要問你。

Although it's black pepper you're most likely to see in shops and restaurants in the uk, there are hundreds of different varieties worldwide.

雖然在英國的商店和餐廳裡，你最常看到的是 black pepper，但全世界有數百種不同的品種。

Does it A make people cry, B tastes like Parmesan cheese, or C costs more than gold?

它會 A 讓人流淚，B 嚐起來像 Parmesan cheese，還是 C 比黃金還貴？

Well, I don't think it would be as expensive as gold and I kind of want it to taste like Parmesan cheese.

嗯，我不認為它會像黃金一樣貴，而且我有點希望它嚐起來像 Parmesan cheese。

Ok, well, we'll find out later in the program.

好的，我們稍後會在節目中揭曉。

Mathilde Rollinger is the daughter of Olivier Rollinger, an award winning French chef famous for his use of spices.

Mathilde Rollinger 是 Olivier Rollinger 的女兒，Olivier Rollinger 是一位屢獲殊榮的法國名廚，以善用香料聞名。

While other little girls of her age were sprinkling sugar on their breakfast yogurt, Mathilde was the only girl in Paris sprinkling pepper.

其他同齡的小女孩還在早餐優格上撒糖的時候，Mathilde 是巴黎唯一一個撒 pepper 的小女孩。

Today, Mathilde runs the Epice Rollinger spice shop in the Opera area of the city.

現在，Mathilde 在歌劇院區經營 Epice Rollinger 香料店。

Here customers can find a huge range of peppers, from fruity red Cambodian Kampot pepper to Borneo's Sarawak black pepper.

在這裡，顧客可以找到各式各樣的 pepper，從帶有果香的紅色高棉 Kampot pepper，到婆羅洲的 Sarawak black pepper。

With its woody aroma, these peppers have strong, distinctive tastes.

這些 pepper 帶有木質香氣，味道濃鬱而獨特。

But curiously, they enhance rather than overpower the flavour of the food you're eating.

但有趣的是，它們能襯託而非壓倒你正在吃的食物的風味。

As Mathilde explained to BBC World Service programme the Food Chain, it will give a kick and transform it, but

正如 Mathilde 在 BBC World Service 的 Food Chain 節目中所解釋的，它會 giving a kick 並轉變風味，但

you will still have the savor of the different ingredients.

你仍然能嚐到不同食材的原味。

It will not disguise the other ingredient, but it will push them.

它不會掩蓋其他食材，但會將它們推向更突出的位置。

A flavor catalyst we can say in punctuation like it's an exclamation.

我們可以說它是一種風味 catalyst，就像標點符號中的 exclamation mark。

Mathilde 說 pepper 能為食物帶來 kick。

To give something a kick means to provide it with extra stimulation or excitement.

給予某樣東西 kick，意思就是為它提供額外的刺激或興奮感。

Mathilde calls it a catalyst, something that causes another action to start or makes it happen more quickly.

Mathilde 形容它是個 catalyst，也就是能引發另一項行動開始，或是讓它更快發生的事物。

In fact, she says pepper is like an exclamation mark.

事實上，她說 pepper 就像個 exclamation mark。

Saying something is like an exclamation mark means it shows strong emotion or excitement, the same thing an exclamation mark does in written punctuation.

說某樣東西像個 exclamation mark，意思就是它能展現強烈的情感或興奮感，就像書寫標點符號中的 exclamation mark 一樣。

Mathilde's spice shop holds pepper tasting sessions where she explains to customers the origin of her peppers and how they grow, changing color as they harden in the sun.

Mathilde 的香料店會舉辦 pepper 品嚐會，她會向顧客解釋她販售的 pepper 的來源以及它們如何生長，在陽光下晒乾時顏色會改變。

Reporter John Laurenson attended one of these tasting sessions for BBC World Service program Food Chain.

記者 John Laurenson 曾參加 BBC World Service 節目 Food Chain 的其中一場品嚐會。

The different colours of pepper, though, as Mathilde started to say, do not correspond to the different varieties, but

不過，正如 Mathilde 開始說的，pepper 的不同顏色，並不代表它們有不同的品種，而是

to the maturity of the peppercorns and what people do to them.

取決於胡椒果的成熟度以及人們對它們做了什麼。

They're green when they're young, black when they're mature and dried red when they're very mature.

它們年輕時是綠色的，成熟時是黑色的，非常成熟時則是晒乾的紅色。

Grey pepper is an industrial creation, not a botanical one ground to a fine powder.

灰色胡椒是工業產物，並非植物本身磨成的細粉。

Mathilde 說，那不過是灰色的粉塵。

她對那個（灰色胡椒）不太感興趣。

The color of pepper is not determined by the variety but by its maturity.

胡椒的顏色不是由品種決定的，而是由它的成熟度決定的。

A food's maturity describes the stage when a food is fully grown and ready to harvest.

食物的成熟度描述了食物完全生長並準備好採收的階段。

For peppers, this is when they wrinkle and go black.

對胡椒來說，就是它們皺縮變黑的時候。

Often a pepper mill is used to grind pepper, to crush it into powder by pressing it between two hard surfaces.

通常會使用胡椒研磨器來 grind pepper，透過擠壓在兩個堅硬的表面之間將其壓成粉末。

This happens with grey pepper, an artificially produced pepper mix, which Mathilde is not keen on, meaning she doesn't like it.

這發生在灰色胡椒上，一種人工生產的胡椒混合物，Mathilde 不喜歡它，意思就是她不愛。

I'll look at it differently the next time I sprinkle some on my food.

下次我撒 pepper 在食物上時，會用不同的眼光看待它。

Ok, Neil, I think it's time to reveal the answer to your question.

好的，Neil，我想是時候揭曉你問題的答案了。

I asked you what's unusual about Phu Quoc, a white pepper from Vietnam.

我問你，來自越南的白 pepper Phu Quoc 有什麼特別之處。

I answered B, because I want it to taste like Parmesan cheese.

我回答 B，因為我希望它吃起來像 Parmesan cheese。

Well, you're lucky, because it is, in fact, B, it tastes like Parmesan cheese.

哇，你很幸運，因為答案確實是 B，它吃起來像 Parmesan cheese。

Ok, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with the phrase give something a kick, meaning to add extra thrill or excitement.

好了，我們來複習一下學到的詞彙，從 give something a kick 這個片語開始，它的意思是增加額外的刺激或興奮感。

A catalyst causes something to start or speeds it up.

A catalyst 會促使某事發生或加速它的進行。

If you say something is like an exclamation mark, you mean it signifies strong emotion, surprise or excitement, just like an exclamation mark does in writing.

如果你說某樣東西像一個 exclamation mark，意思就是它代表強烈的情緒、驚訝或興奮，就像寫作中的驚嘆號一樣。

A food's maturity refers to the stage when it's fully grown and ready for harvest.

食物的成熟度是指它已經完全長大、準備好收成的階段。

To grind food means to crush it into powder by being pressed between two hard surfaces.

grind 食物的意思是將它壓在兩個堅硬的表面之間，壓成粉末。

And finally, if you're keen on something, you like it and enjoy doing it.

最後，如果你 keen on 某件事，表示你喜歡它，而且很享受做這件事。

再次提醒，我們的六分鐘時間到了。

But remember, you can find worksheets, quizzes and loads more resources to improve your English on our website, bbclearningenglish.com see you there soon.

但請記得，你可以在我們的網站 bbclearningenglish.com 上找到工作表、測驗和更多資源來提升你的英文，下次見。

Six minute English from BBCLearningEnglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com 的 Six minute English。