盘中知世界之亡灵面包 | 经济学人文化

The joys of pan de muerto, a sweet tribute to departed loved ones

曾经沧海难为水 努力“加餐”寄哀思
(借“亡灵面包”之愉纪念已故的亲朋好友)

The bread forms a crucial part of Día de los Muertos celebrations

“亡灵面包”成为墨西哥亡灵节庆祝活动不可或缺的美食

Let’s get one thing straight from the start: Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is not “Mexican Halloween”. Yes, the two events fall at similar times: Halloween on October 31st, Day of the Dead on the subsequent two days. Their iconography overlaps, as both feature skulls, skeletons, graves and intimations of the dead returning. And eating sweet foods is an integral part of each holiday.

开篇得先澄清一个概念：Día de los Muertos（墨西哥亡灵节）不是“墨西哥版的万圣节”。诚然，这两个节日的时间有些接近：万圣节在10月31日，而亡灵节在11月1日至2日。它们的庆祝图腾也大同小异：都是骷髅头、骨架、坟墓以及亡灵归来的故事。此外，品尝甜食也是这两个节日必不可少的一大特色。

But Halloween’s origins are Celtic, and its original rituals of costuming and bonfire-lighting were designed to ward off ghosts. Today it is an anodyne and wholly commercialised event. Early next week, hordes of little terrors will pound on strangers’ doors to demand chocolates and other plastic-wrapped corn-syrup confections that keep dentists in Mercedeses.

但是万圣节源于凯尔特人的习俗，其乔装打扮和点燃篝火的仪式初衷是为了辟邪驱鬼，但现如今万圣节却变成了一个消愁解闷、完全商业化的节日。下周初，成群结队的“小捣蛋鬼”将去敲陌生人家的门，讨要巧克力和其它塑料包装的玉米糖浆糖果——你以为牙医的奔驰车是怎么赚来的？

Day of the Dead, meanwhile, grew out of an Aztec festival that the Spanish wove into the Christian calendar. Though observed in much of Latin America, it is most closely associated with the vibrant celebrations across Mexico. Its rituals are designed to honour the dead by fondly remembering departed friends and family. It is a more interesting occasion, and its food much better.

亡灵节则源于阿兹特克族的节日，西班牙人将其编入公历节日。尽管拉丁美洲的许多地区都会过亡灵节，但其中以墨西哥的庆典活动最具代表。亡灵节上，人们举办各种仪式来致敬逝者，向已逝的亲朋好友寄托思念。与万圣节相比，亡灵节更有意义，节庆食物也更美味。

Some of it is not eaten. Families set up ofrendas (the word means “offering”) for the deceased, which they decorate with marigolds—to guide the souls to the goods—as well as calaveras, decorated sugar skulls. The home altar will also bear late relatives’ favourite foods, which the living do not touch.

但并非所有祭品都可以食用。每逢亡灵节，每家每户会为逝者奉上祭品（ofrendas），撒满万寿菊用以装饰，为亡魂指向通往祭品的道路，同时还会摆上精心装饰的“糖骷髅”（calaveras）。家里的祭台上还会放上已故亲人最爱的美食，而生者不得触碰。

Mexico’s extraordinary culinary diversity means that the dishes produced for the festivities vary from region to region. One item consumed nearly everywhere is pan de muerto, a bread enriched with butter and margarine, and flavoured either with orange zest and orange-blossom water, with aniseeds and sesame seeds, or with a mix. Fany Gerson, a Mexican chef and author now based in New York, says that it is “something that everyone has in one form or another…it’s super important to the holiday”. Usually it is baked in a boule shape, topped with decorative bones and a ball (representing a skull) made from the same dough. It may be dusted with sugar.

墨西哥美食本身种类就纷繁多样，不同地区的节庆食物自然也是大相径庭，而 “亡灵面包”则流行于各地之间。这是一种加入黄油和人造奶油的面包，有的会加橙皮碎和橙花水，有的会加一些茴香籽和芝麻调味，而有的则两者兼具。住在纽约的墨西哥大厨兼作家范尼·格尔森（Fany Gerson）表示：“每个人所吃的亡灵面包各不相同。亡灵面包对于亡灵节而言不可或缺。”亡灵面包一般会做成法国球形面包形状，再用同一个面团的面料捏出骨头和一个小球（寓意头颅），附在面包顶部以作装饰。有些“亡灵面包”上面还会撒上糖霜。

Bakeries sell pan de muerto but many people also make it at home, which is well worth the effort. Like most brioche-type doughs, it is supple and malleable, and when baking makes the kitchen smell wonderful, with the high, floral scent of orange blossoms complementing the rich yeastiness of fresh bread. Traditionally consumed with champurrado, a drink made from chocolate, spices and cornmeal, it also pairs well with coffee or strong black tea.

虽然人们可以从面包店买到“亡灵面包”，但是许多人会选择在家自己动手制作，这是一项很有意义的活动。“亡灵面包”所用面团和大部分黄油面包一样，都十分柔软且易于塑形，烤制时沁人心脾的橙花花香夹杂着新鲜面包浓郁的酵香，令整个厨房香气四溢。通常吃“亡灵面包”的时候都会配上一杯巧克力、香料和玉米粉做成的墨西哥热巧（champurrado），和咖啡或者浓红茶也很配。

To some it may seem odd to commemorate the dead with sweet, rich foods—a far cry from sackcloth and ashes. But it is of a piece with the holiday itself, which is not sombre, but ebullient. “By remembering and celebrating” the deceased, explains Ms Gerson, “you keep them with us. People have whole parties on the tombstones. There’s mariachis, and food. They sit around with their loved ones and remember them. That’s a joyful thing.”

对有些人而言，用甜蜜油腻的点心来祭奠逝者十分古怪，毕竟与哀戚悲苦的情绪相去甚远，但“亡灵面包”与亡灵节一脉相承，本就是热情奔放，而非阴郁伤感的。格尔森先生表示“通过铭记逝者、欢庆节日，他们的灵魂就与我们同在。人们在墓碑前举办派对，邀请街头乐队、摆上佳肴美食，他们与自己所爱之人身在一处、心中缅怀，这是一件幸事。”

Collin，男，崇拜科比的一枚小翻译

Sean，男大学生，相信奶茶在手翻译无忧

Lavender，MTI在读，不会做模特的追星女孩不是好的话剧爱好者

Dossver，男，是错永不对真永是真

Francis，男，但诗句的终极意义，在于你

Very，男，电气民工，经济学人资浅爱好者

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