【精英翻譯】的部落格

Cakes and Their Origins 蛋糕名字的由來

─Owain Mckimm

精英翻譯轉自http://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0058/300417/web/

Being in a well-stocked bakery is nothing short of paradise for many of us. All those spongy and creamy cakes are simply hard to resist. However, if you'll stop for a moment and consider where these cakes come from, you'll find the stories behind many of them are just as delicious.

對我們很多人來說，身處在商品齊全的烘培坊簡直就是天堂。所有那些鬆軟滑順的蛋糕就是讓人難以抗拒。然而，如果你稍微停下來思考這些蛋糕是從哪裡來的，你會發現許多蛋糕背後的故事也一樣美味。

The famous Black Forest cake, for example, is named after the German region where it came from. What's interesting, though, is that the cake's ingredients mirror the traditional clothing of the local women. Women used to wear black dresses (chocolate) with white sleeves (whipped cream) and hats decorated with large red pom-poms (cherries).

舉例來說，知名的「黑森林蛋糕」是以它源起的德國地區來命名的。不過有趣的是這種蛋糕的原料與當地女子的傳統服裝相似。女子以前會穿有著白色袖子（發泡鮮奶油）的黑色連身裙（巧克力），以及頭戴裝飾著紅色大絨球（櫻桃）的帽子。

Another cake with a curious regional tie is Castella cake—a popular Japanese treat. "Castella" is actually Portuguese, and it means "bread from Castile" (an area of Spain). This Spanish "bread" was introduced to Japan in the 16th century when the Portuguese visited, and it was so popular that it became a national favorite.

另一種有奇特地緣關係的蛋糕是「卡斯提拉蛋糕」，這是一種受歡迎的日本美食。「卡斯提拉」（Castella）其實是葡萄牙語，意思是「來自卡斯蒂爾（西班牙的一個地區）的麵包」。這種西班牙「麵包」在十六世紀葡萄牙人到日本時所引進，它非常受歡迎以致於變成了一種受到全國喜愛的食物。

Next, there's the Swiss roll. If you're guessing that this cake comes from Switzerland, then guess again. It actually comes from Britain! Confusingly, Swiss rolls have no connection at all to Switzerland. This simply proves that names can often be misleading!

接著還有「瑞士卷」。如果你猜這種蛋糕是來自瑞士，就再猜一次吧。其實它來自英國！令人困惑的是瑞士卷跟瑞士一點關係也沒有。這只證明名字經常可能會令人誤解！