原文标题：World in a dishTender is the nightThe choice between chicken wings and tenders raises a deeper question:should food be a challenge or a comfort?盘中世界今晚吃鸡柳选鸡翅还是鸡柳？这引发一个更深层次的问题：食物应该是一种挑战还是一种安慰？Wings v tenders: the choice says more about you than you think鸡翅v鸡柳：你的选择透露了更多关于你自身的信息

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PICTURE THE scene. You are perched on a stool at a bar. A sport—basketball, say, or baseball—is playing on a screen above. A beer sits in front of you, its icy base adhering to the paper mat.

想象一下这个场景。你坐在酒吧的凳子上。上方的屏幕正在播放一项运动--比如说篮球或棒球。你面前摆着一瓶啤酒，冰凉的瓶底下方有一张纸垫。

And then a basket appears, lined with some kind of grease-resistant paper, celery sticks sprouting from one end next to a pot of blue-cheese dip.

然后，你面前又摆了一个篮子，里面铺着某种防油纸，芹菜棒从一端冒出来，旁边是一碟蓝奶酪蘸酱。

The main event will be one of two things, buffalo chicken wings or buffalo chicken tenders. Which you choose says more about you than you might think: do you want to fight your food or inhale it?主菜是二选一，布法罗辣鸡翅或辣鸡柳。你的选择透露了更多关于你自身的信息：你选择与食物对抗还是选择食用？

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Cheap, salty and popular, chicken wings and tenders are now the quintessentialbar snacks.

廉价且受欢迎的咸味鸡翅和鸡柳现在是酒吧的经典小吃。

But poultry’s popularity in America is relatively recent. Chicken production boomed during the second world war.

但家禽在美国的流行是相对较近的事。第二次世界大战期间，鸡肉生产蓬勃发展。

In the 1940s the US Department of Agriculture launched the “Chicken of Tomorrow”, a contest to develop fatter and faster-growing birds.

1940 年代，美国农业部发起了“明日之鸡”竞赛，以培育出更胖、体重增长更快的鸡。

Production became more industrialised and efficient. By the 1950s what had been one of the most expensive meats was the cheapest. 生产变得更加工业化和高效。鸡肉原本是最昂贵的肉类之一，到 1950 年代，变成了最便宜的肉类。

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For years Americans preferred white meat and sent their chicken wings to China.

多年来，美国人喜欢吃白肉，他们将鸡翅出口到中国。

The invention of buffalo chicken wings in upstate New York in the 1960s single-handedly changed the structure of the global chicken trade, argues Emelyn Rude in “Tastes Like Chicken: A History of America’s Favourite Bird”.

埃梅林.鲁德在《美国最喜爱的家禽肉：历史与文化》一书中认为， 1960 年代纽约州北部布法罗辣鸡翅的发明，单枪匹马地改变了全球鸡肉贸易的结构。

America began keeping its wings and sent China only the feet.美国开始留下鸡翅，只将鸡爪出口到中国。

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But those home-grown bosomybirds also left America with lots of white meat. One result was chicken tenders.

但那些本土养殖的肥胸鸡也给美国留下了大量的白肉。于是产生了鸡柳。

Unlike nuggets—which, says the original recipe, are 85% “mechanically deboned spent layer meat”—tenders are a single piece of meat.

与鸡块不同的是--根据最初的食谱，85%的鸡块是 "机械去骨的废弃层鸡肉"--鸡柳是单块肉。

They are formed from tenderloin, the pectoralisminor muscle, found beneath the breast but smaller and thinner.它们是鸡里脊，位于胸腔下方更小更薄的鸡胸肉。

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Chicken tenders satisfy a common desire, perhaps most acute in America, for consistency and convenience.

鸡柳满足了美国人对一致性和便利性的普遍需求，也可能是最强烈的需求。

Cooking chicken wings is tricky. Thedrumette and the wingette may cook unevenly.Getting the skin crispy is a skill, leaving it flabby—a crime.

烹饪鸡翅很棘手。鸡翅根部和鸡翅中部可能会煮得不均匀。把鸡皮弄酥脆是一种技巧，把它弄得松垮是一种犯罪。

Eating them is no simpler.Smears of sauce wind up slicked around your mouth and stuck under your fingernails. The meat has to be prisedfrom the bones.

吃的时候也不简单。会吃得满嘴酱汁，还会粘在指甲里。因为你需要把肉从骨头上弄下来。

The texture varies; there is cartilageand gristleto contend with. (Elsewhere that is a bonus: knobblychicken feet and tense little gizzards are relished in China precisely because of their texture.)

肉质各不相同，有软骨要处理。(在其他地方，软骨也美味：在中国，多节鸡爪和硬鸡胗正是因为它们独特的肉质而受欢迎。）

Finally, wings have a certain discomforting realness. Like legs, they are recognisably part of an animal in name and appearance.最后，翅膀有一种令人不安的真实感。就像腿一样，它们在名称和外观上都是动物的一部分。

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Tenders—battered or breaded—are a more straightforward proposition for both chef and eater.

鸡柳--裹面糊或裹面包屑--对厨师和食客来说都是一个更简单的选择。

There is no skin with which to battle. Each bite is identical, the texture unvarying.

没有皮肉之争。每一口都是一样的，肉质没有变化。

Many people value uniformity in what they eat: the appeal of fast-food chains lies in large part in customers’ appreciation of the fact that, wherever they are, they know they will be served the same items, cooked in the same way.

许多人重视饮食的统一性：快餐连锁店的吸引力很大程度上取决于顾客对食物一致性的认可度，即无论他们身在何方，他们都知道会迟到烹制方式相同的同一食物。

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For some, comfort food means not having to think too much about what they are eating.

对一些人来说，爽心美食意味着他们不必过多考虑吃了是什么。

For others, it means food that requires enough concentration to avoid thinking about anything else. 对其他人来说，爽心美食意味着他们需要有足够的专注力来避免思考其他事情。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量540左右）原文出自：2023年5月20日《The Economist》Culture版块

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）明日之鸡Chicken of Tomorrow政策是美国农业部在1940年举行的一项比赛，旨在鼓励家禽肉产业改进育种技术和增加生产效率。比赛要求参赛者培育出能够在12周内体重增长更快、胸脯更大、肉更有营养价值的家禽品种。此次比赛吸引了全国各地的养殖者和育种专家参加，并且得到了广泛关注。经过两年的评选，最终选出了几个优胜者，他们的鸡获得了比赛中最高的评分，其主要特点是成长速度更快，骨骼更强壮，肉质更加嫩滑。这项政策对于美国家禽肉产业产生了深远的影响。它促使了家禽肉产业向着现代化和商业化方向发展，带来了更高的生产效率和更好的市场竞争力。《美国最喜爱的家禽肉：历史与文化》是作者Emelyn Rude撰写的一本关于家禽肉在美国历史上发展的书籍。这本书从十七世纪早期开始，追溯了美国家禽肉的历史、文化和社会影响，并探讨了饮食习惯、营养学和环境问题。家禽肉在美国历史上具有重要地位，特别是在工业化时代之后。书中介绍了家禽肉生产和消费的变化，以及家禽肉如何成为21世纪美国最主要的蛋白质来源之一的过程。废弃层鸡肉Spent layer meat是指那些已经停产或无法再生产蛋的鸡所产出的肉。这些鸡通常在18-24个月的生命周期内被用于产蛋，但其产蛋量逐渐下降，因此它们通常会在此后被屠宰并用于食品加工。这种肉质通常比较柴硬，由于鸡已经变老，所以在食用时需要进行特殊的处理和烹调。鸡翅通常分成三个部位：drumette小鸡腿，即靠近鸡身体的那一段、wingette中段和tip翅尖，即鸡翅的最末端，没有肉只有骨头。drumette小鸡腿有肉和骨头，肉质较柔嫩，通常在烤鸡翅时比较受欢迎。【重点句子】（3个）But those home-grown bosomy birds also left America with lots of white meat. One result was chicken tenders.但那些本土养殖的肥胸鸡也给美国留下了大量的白肉。于是产生了鸡柳。Chicken tenders satisfy a common desire, perhaps most acute in America, for consistency and convenience.鸡柳满足了美国人对一致性和便利性的普遍需求，也可能是最强烈的需求。There is no skin with which to battle. Each bite is identical, the texture unvarying.没有皮肉之争。每一口都是一样的，肉质没有变化。