That's because coffee, bread, cheese, beer, even chocolate are all home to millions of microbes.

這是因為咖啡、麵包、起司、啤酒，甚至是巧克力，全都是數百萬的微生物的棲息地。

In fact, these foods only acquire the tastes, smells, and textures we love because of tiny bacteria and fungi.

事實上，因為微小的細菌及真菌，這些食物才有了我們喜愛的口味、氣味以及口感。

The vast majority of microbes, about 99 percent, are actually quite harmless to humans.

絕大多數的微生物，大約 99%，事實上是對人體無害的。

But the other 1 percent are nasty enough that our ancestors and the ancestors of various other mammals and birds, evolved a natural repulsion to stuff that might harbor nasty germs.

但是其餘的 1% 是相當有害的，它們使我們的祖先及其他哺乳類及鳥類的祖先，對那些藏著有害微生物的東西產生天生的排斥。

In general, we think rotten stuff looks and smells disgusting, which, considering what's at stake, isn't overly cautious.

一般而言，我們認為腐爛的食物看起來跟聞起來都很噁心，例如說，那些在牛排上的微生物，必須要小心對付。

Fortunately, if friendly microbes get to our food first, they can keep the bad guys at bay.

幸好，如果有益的微生物先到了我們的食物上，它們可以使壞菌遠離。

Meat left out on the counter provides the perfect conditions for pathogens to flourish.

留在櫃台上的肉提供了一個完美的狀態讓病原體滋長。

It's warm, moist and protein-rich, just like our bodies.

因為很溫、很潮濕而且富含蛋白質，就像我們的身體一樣。

But with some micro-management, adding lots of salt, for instance, we can help harmless, salt-tolerant microbes out-compete their dangerous but salt-sensitive relatives.

但是，運用微生物管理技巧，像是加入大量的鹽，我們可以幫助無害的、耐鹽分的微生物擊退那些危險且對鹽分敏感的微生物。

A few unrefrigerated months later, we get salami, rather than Salmonella!

經過幾個月不冷藏後，我們得到了薩拉米香腸，而不是沙門氏菌！

Our ancestors stumbled on this kind of controlled spoilage thousands of years ago, either by lucky accidents or out of serious desperation.

我們的祖先千年以前意外的發現這種控制腐敗的技術，可能是透過幸運的意外或者是嚴重的飢荒。

And we humans have been intentionally spoiling food ever since.

而人類從那時開始就有目的地讓食物腐敗。

Not only to keep our food safe to eat, but also because the microbes we culture can transform it, almost magically, into awesome deliciousness.

不只是因為讓食物在食用上保持安全，也因為那些我們運用的微生物可以神奇地改變食物，讓它們變得非常美味。

Yeast, for example, gorge on the sugary starch in bread dough, then burp out carbon dioxide that helps give loaves their lift.

拿酵母來舉例，它們吃生麵團裡的澱粉，然後吐出二氧化碳，幫助麵包膨起。

In a more exotic transformation, bacteria and fungi take turns munching on piles of cacao, mellowing out better polyphenols and helping create the complex and delicious taste of chocolate.

另一個更奇特的變化是，細菌跟真菌交替吃著成堆的可可，催熟較好的多酚並幫助巧克力產生複雜且美味的口感。

And deep in cheese caves, mold spores populate small holes and cracks in soon to be blue cheese, digesting big protein and fat molecules into a host of smaller aromatic and flavor compounds that give the final product its smoothness and rich, funky flavor.

在起司洞穴的深處，黴菌的孢子生長在小洞和裂縫上，很快將變成藍起司，它們把大蛋白質跟大脂肪分子消化成芬芳且有特殊氣味的混合物，讓最後的產品產生滑順、豐富且有霉味的味道。

But to some, stinky cheese is about as appetizing as licking someone's toes.

但對某些人來說，臭起司吃起來像是在舔某人的腳趾頭。

Which isn't that far off since the bacteria that make some cheeses super-stinky are the same ones that cause foot odor. Yum?

並不會差很遠，因為那些讓起司變的超級臭的細菌跟讓人的腳產生臭味的細菌是一樣的。美味吧？

Even so, these flavors tend to grow on us, not just literally but also figuratively.

甚至於，這些味道還會在我們身上生長，不只實際上，還有比喻上。

The more we were exposed to particular microbial funks, which can even start in the womb, the more we tend to like them.

我們曝露在特定的微生物臭味中愈久，我們就越喜歡它們，甚至從我們還在子宮裡就會受到影響。

As a result, people around the world have some very different ideas about how to microbe-ify foods.

因此，世界各地的人們對於如何用微生物腐敗食物有著不同的想法。

But every culinary culture involves fermentation in one way or another.

但是每個烹飪的文化都包含一種以上的發酵方法。

If we didn't let food spoiled just a little bit, we have no sauerkraut, soy sauce, pickles, or prosciutto.

如果我們不讓食物腐敗一點點，我們就不會有德國泡菜、醬油、醃菜或煙燻火腿了。

Not to mention Kefir, Kimchi, Kombucha, Koumiss, Katsuobushi, and plenty of other delicacies that don't start with K.

更不要提酸奶、韓國泡菜、昆布醬、奶酒、柴魚還有各式各樣其他不是 K 開頭的美食了。

What's more, spoiled food may well have changed far more than our tastes.

更重要的是，腐敗食物可以大大改變我們所嚐到的味道。

Historical evidence suggests that when our ancestors gave up their wandering ways and settled down to grow grain, it was likely for love of either bread or beer.

歷史證據推測當我們的祖先放棄流浪而定居下來種植穀物時，他們很可能非常喜愛麵包或啤酒。

Whatever the case, one thing is clear: Without the help of friendly fermenting microbes, we humans would be terribly uncultured.

無論是哪種情況，有一件事是清楚的，那就是如果沒有有益而且能發酵的菌的幫助，人類現在還有可能嚴重地未開化。

This episode of Minute Earth is supported in part by tab for a cause.

這一集是由 tab for a cause 部分贊助。

One of our subscribers on Subbable and also a browser extension that gives money to charity each time you open a new tab in your web browser.

是我們其中一個訂閱者和瀏覽者，每次你在網頁上打開一個新的標籤它就會捐錢給慈善組織。

And it doesn't cost you a thing! Click the link in the description to start raising the money for great charities simply by surfing the web.

這不花費你任何東西！點下去並填寫就可以開始替慈善機構募款。