In your cereal, in your coffee, in your glass.

在你的早餐麥片裡、咖啡裡、玻璃杯裡。

Calcium!

鈣質！

But the best use for milk: dunking cookies.

但牛奶的最佳用途是：泡餅乾。

I mean, who doesn't love a cookie dipped in milk?

我是說，誰不愛沾過牛奶的餅乾？

But why?

但為什麼呢？

Turns out it's because science says so.

原來是因為科學說的。

But before we get into it, let's take a quick look back in time.

但在我們進入這個話題前，讓我們快速回顧一下過去。

It's 10,000 BCE.

現在是西元前一萬年，

The agricultural revolution occurs,

發生了農業革命，

animals are domesticated and animals are milked. Great!

動物們被馴養，也被擠乳，很好！

A lot of time goes by.

過了很久很久。

Hey, guess what? It's 1862.

嘿，猜怎麼著？現在是西元 1862 年！

Louis Pasteur modernizes milk safety.

Louis Pasteur 將牛奶安全現代化，

The term pasteurize is born.

「巴斯德式殺菌法」就此誕生。

Get it?

懂了嗎？

Maybe no?

可能還不懂？

Who cares!

管他的！

Moving on. It's 1884!

繼續，現在式西元 1884 年！

Milk is bottled up.

牛奶被做成瓶裝。

The milkman became a thing, yada, yada, yada.

送奶人隨處可見，blah blah blah...

1994, "Got Milk?" ads swept the nation.

1994 年，「有牛奶嗎？」廣告遍佈全國。

Everyone's got a milk mustache, great!

每個人都有牛奶鬍子，太棒了！

Now that's over.

好，結束了。

Why the h-e-double hockey sticks do we dunk our cookies into milk?

到底天殺的為什麼我們要把餅乾泡進牛奶裡？

When you dip cookies into milk, you change a number of things about those cookies that completely alters your eating experience.

當你把餅乾泡進牛奶裡，你就改變餅乾的好一部份，並且這會完全轉變你的味覺體驗。

By alters, Matt means, oh wait, let me introduce you to Matt.

Matt 說「轉變」的意思是，噢等等，讓我介紹 Matt 給你認識。

Hi, my name is Matt Hartings, and I am a Professor of Chemistry.

嗨，我叫 Matt Hartings，我是個化學教授。

And I teach a class on cooking chemistry here at American University.

我在美國大學教一門烹飪化學課。

But back to it.

回到正題！

By alters, Matt means when you dip cookies into milk, not only does the texture and flavor change, but the chemical composition does as well,

Matt 說的「轉變」是指，當你把餅乾泡進牛奶裡，不只是口感和口味會變不同，它的化學成分也會改變。

which is what makes scientists go wild.

也正是如此讓科學家們為之瘋狂。

Chemists are fascinated in how taste works, and how all of the molecules that you're experiencing when you're eating food,

化學家著迷於味道的運作方式，還有所有你進食時體驗到的分子。

how they all work together, and lead to one thought in your brain.

是如何交互運，作並把一個想法傳達至你腦中。

But how?

但這怎麼辦到的呢？

There are specific ways to measure food chemistry,

有些具體的方式能測量食品的化學成分，

things like an MS-Nose that tries to break down food aromas into their individual parts.

好比 MS-Nose 會試著將食物氣味分解成個體。

The MS-Nose is a tool that helps scientists understand how complex molecules come together to make flavor.

MS-Nose 是個工具，它讓化學家理解分子是多麽複雜地結合才能產生口味。

So what does all this fancy technology tell us when you dunk that cookie?

所以這些繁複的科技讓我們知道把餅乾泡進牛奶裡會怎麼樣呢？

You add a creaminess to your cookie, and that makes your cookie taste completely different.

你給餅乾添加了奶霜的口感，而這讓它嚐起來完全不同。

We will dampen some of the flavors that are naturally sharp in a chocolate chip cookie.

我們會使某些原本在巧克力餅乾中突出的風味變得潮濕；

It will soak up liquids,

它會吸收液體,

so we can universally agree, dunking chocolate chip cookies into milk is the best thing ever?

因此我們可以全體同意，把巧克力餅乾泡到牛奶中是史上最棒的事了嗎？

Speaking to my own experience, I am not a big dipper.

就我自己的經驗來說，其實我不常把餅乾泡到牛奶裡。

Wait, what?

等等，什麼？

I take a bite of my cookie and then have a drink of milk.

我都先咬一口餅乾，再喝一口牛奶。

You just had to be different, didn't you?!

你就是要和大家不一樣就對了？！

Still sounds delicious to me.

但我聽起來還是很美味。