They've sat with us at nearly every table, a pair that's partnered most of

幾乎在每個餐桌上，我們都與他們一起。兩個結伴在幾乎每一道西式廚房

the meals ever cooked in western kitchens. A Yin and Yang, darkness and light.

所做出的料理。一個陰，一個陽 ; 一個亮 ; 一個暗。

The importance of salt is crystal clear.

鹽的重要性是清清楚楚的。

Life wouldn't exist without it and if it did it would taste gross and weird.

若沒有它，一個生命不會存在，而且如真的是如此，嚐起來會很噁心而且奇怪。

But out of all the herbs and spices on the culinary roster

但是在烹飪手冊中所有的草藥還有香料中，

how did this ground up gray stuff become the go-to spice of life.

到底這個碾碎的灰色的東西是如何變成生活中的必要的香料的。

Seriously, why not salt and turmeric or salt and mustard, salt and cumin, salt

認真地說，為何不是鹽和薑、鹽和芥末、鹽和茴香

and nutmeg, salt and coriander, salt and paprika, salt and cinnamon, salt and allspice, salt and cloves.

鹽和肉豆蔻、鹽和香菜、鹽和辣椒、鹽和肉桂、鹽和多香果或是鹽和丁香呢？

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Salt, or specifically sodium chloride.

鹽，或更精確地來說，氯化鈉。

It's the only rock that we eat, the unlikely joining of a poisonous gas and

它是我們唯一會吃的岩石，不像是加了有毒氣體還有一種會爆炸的金屬（這邊在說明氯化鈉化學原子屬性），

an explosive-metal and when paired with water it provides both the incubator and

而且當它配上了水，它提供了恆溫效果

ingredients for life.

還有生命的元素。

We use sodium and chloride ions to keep our cells inflated, to regulate blood

我們用鈉還有氯離子還確保我們的細胞是充滿氣體的，來調節全身上下的

pressure and convey electrical nerve impulses throughout our body. To maintain

血壓還有傳達神經電衝動。為了維持這樣，

this we need to consume about six grams of sodium chloride every day. So salt's

我們每天必須吃下大約六公克的氯化鈉。所以我們對鹽

culinary and cultural value is no surprise

在烹飪上以及文化上的價值是不會感到驚訝的。

its history could fill a book, and it has. A great book by the way. Have you guys

它的歷史可以寫滿一本書，而事實上它也做到了。順帶一提，那是一本好書，你們有讀過一本書

read the book Salt: A World History

叫做【鹽：一個世界歷史】

Early hunter-gatherer societies got all the salt needed from their animal diet

早期狩獵採集社會從動物食物中獲取所有他們必須的鹽份

To this day the Masai people of East Africa get theirs from drinking the

時至今日，東非的馬賽人透過飲用

blood of their livestock. But as human society is shifted to growing and eating

他們家畜的血來取得鹽份。但是當人類社會轉變成種植以及食用食物時，

plants, salt became something you either found or traded for. The earliest sites

鹽就變成某種你發現的或用來交易的東西了。最早開發的鹽場，

of salt harvesting date to at least 6,000 BC in China and Europe

至少要追朔到西元前六千年的中國與歐洲。

There's salt in most of the blue wet stuff covering earth once you boil away

在世界上佈滿藍色的濕的東西（意指大海）裡，當你蒸發

or evaporate all that pesky H2O

或揮發了所有的令人討厭的水分時大部份都有鹽。

but there's pure sodium chloride in Earth's crust,

但如果你可以找到的話，

if you can find it. Following animal trails led us to natural salt licks and

地殼裡有純的氯化鈉在裡頭。跟著動物的蹤跡會把我們引至天然的鹽塊而且

some of these became our first highways. Several ancient salt harvesting cities

部分的地方變成了我們最初的礦鹽場。一些古老的鹽的開採地

still bear a pinch of history in their name. Entire economies were built around salt.

依舊擁有一點歷史故事在他的名稱裡頭。所有的經濟都是在鹽的附近所建立的。

It was a commodity and currency that you could eat.

它是一種生活用品，還有一種你可以吃的貨幣。

Roman warriors deemed worth their salt where sometimes given a salary.

羅馬的戰士認為鹽的價值有時就像是薪資一樣。

The Roman custom of salting bitter greens even gave us salad.

儘管凱薩沙拉的調味料是來自蒂華納的，

Although that caesar dressing comes from Tijuana. Today salt is cheap enough to

羅馬在苦的蔬菜上加鹽的習俗甚至給我們做出了沙拉。今日鹽的製作已經太便宜，

manufacture that many people are in danger of eating too much. But before the

很多人因為吃了太多而出現危機。但在工業時代

Industrial Age it was scarce enough that people fought wars over it.

之前，它是稀少到人們甚至為它打仗。

It even inspired at least one revolution.

它甚至激起了至少一次的革命。

Before refrigeration, salting was one way to keep food from spoiling.

在冷藏技術發明之前，加鹽是一種讓食物免於腐壞的方式。

Since most harmful bacteria can't grow in high salt conditions. But obviously

因為大部份有害的細菌無法在高鹽分的環境下生存。但是明顯地，

salt also changes how we experience our food. It makes things taste salty but it

鹽也改變了我們體驗食物的方式。它使得東西嚐起來變鹹，但它

also accentuates other flavors. Sodium chloride can chemically block bitter

也加重了其他口味。氯化鈉可以化學地阻擋苦味

taste receptors and amplify those that sense

的接收器，並且放大甜、鹹以及鮮味的味覺。

sweet, salty, and umami. Depending on when and how its applied to food it can

根據何時還有它是如何被應用在食物裡頭，

change the very chemistry of how it's cooked.

它可以改變食物被煮的時候產生的化學反應。

Salt is probably the most important ingredient on Earth. But then there's pepper.

鹽可能是世界上最重要的成分。但接著出現了胡椒。

One spice to rule them all.

一種統治所有成分的香料。

If you thought salt was interesting, pepper is is a thing.

如果你認為鹽很有趣，胡椒...就是一種東西。

Black pepper comes from a flowering vine native to Southeast Asia.

黑胡椒來自一種原產於東南亞會開花的藤蔓類。

It gets its heat from a chemical called piperine. Rather than capsaicin like

它從一種化學成分“胡椒鹼“中獲得辣度。而不是像其他

those confusingly named fruits of the chili pepper family.

容易混淆的辣椒家族中的辣椒鹼成分。

It's been a common ingredient in Indian cooking for at least four thousand years.

它已經成為印度料理中普遍的成分至少四千年之久了。

But small amounts of black pepper made their way to Greece, Rome, and even

但少量的黑胡椒則各自以自己的方式融入了希臘、羅馬，

ancient Egypt, where peppercorns were apparently valuable enough to stuff up

還有甚至是古埃及，一個胡椒粒有價值到足以放在

the mummified nose of

一尊木乃伊，

Ramses the second.

拉美希斯二世的鼻子裡。

Pepper became a key commodity in the spice trade stretching between Asia and

胡椒成為了在亞洲與歐洲香料交易中一個關鍵的商品。

Europe, where its main use like other pungent spices was to mask the flavor of

那裡主要的用法像是其他辛辣香料一樣，是用來蓋過那些，

meat that was, shall we say, past its prime.

可以這麼說，過了賞味期的肉類。

The extreme distances involved in trading pepper across the known world

在我們所知世界裡，胡椒交易中很長的距離

translated into extreme prices. To inflate them further Arab traders

也轉變成了極高的價格。為了要提高價格，以前的阿拉伯交易商

invented a myth that pepper gardens were guarded by serpents which had to be

發明了一個神話，胡椒花園是被蛇守護的，而且在收割之前

chased away with fire before a harvest. Who wouldn't want to put magic snake

必須經歷一場火災，誰不會想要把魔法蛇的粉末

powder on their food. Throughout the Middle Ages it was common to see many

加在他們的食物上呢？經過了中古世紀，在貴族已經很常見到

spices used in the food of the wealthy, but the enduring popularity of black

食物裡加了很多香料，但是黑胡椒長期的知名度

pepper may owe itself to one picky eater.

可能要歸因於一個挑食的人。

Its said that Louis XIV demanded his food lightly seasoned,

據說路易十四世要求他的食物要少量調味，

preferring only salt and pepper be added. The French cuisine developed then was

他比較喜歡只有加入鹽與胡椒。當時法式食物的發展，

the basis for much of what we eat today,

也是目前我們現在大部份所吃的料理中的基礎。

and now pepper is the spice and I'm sick of it. Too long we've been forced to look

而且現在胡椒是一種胡椒，而我為此感到厭惡。我們已經被迫要去看

at the world of spice in black and white! Held prisoner by pepper, unable to gaze

世界上黑與白色的香料太久了，被胡椒囚禁了，而無法去看

upon the full rainbow of flavors and I say no more!

所有其他豐富的口味，我說，不要再這樣了！

Join me, brothers and sisters, stand together. We say yes to salt.

兄弟姐妹們，加入我，一起站出來。我們接受鹽，

But let us say anything but pepper!

但是讓我們絕對不要接受胡椒！

Stay spicy, and curious