2010.03.24 果冻之爱。摩门教美食指南

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HEALTH
Jell-O Love: A Guide to Mormon Cuisine
By Scarlett Lindeman
MARCH 24, 2010
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In some circles, it is a well-known and boast-worthy fact that Utah has historically consumed more Jell-O per capita than any other state in the nation. This jiggling, fruity dessert made from horse hooves and artificial flavoring holds a special wobbling place in the heart of every Utahan, native or adopted. The love of Jell-O resonates so deeply that in 2001, when Utah narrowly beat out Iowa in annual Jell-O consumption, state officials elected Jell-O the official state snack and named Bill Cosby an honorary Utah citizen.

When my family relocated to Utah from New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the summer of 1998, we were unaware of the local gelatin affinity. Shiny yellow and blue Jell-O salads sat in our fridge vibrating their friendly "welcome to the neighborhood." We discovered the strange, almost otherworldly suspensions of savory items—shredded carrots, peas, and cubed ham—in gifts of Jell-O molds. And I, just shy of my thirteenth birthday, entered a new semester of junior high and a new culinary terrain.

Home economics was my first class. My teacher, who had an incredible ability to hide and forget multiple pencils in her stiff purple bouffant, stood in front of the class, introduced herself, and with a wide smile began the semester with this question: "Now, how many of your mothers have more than five recipes for Jell-O?" Almost everyone in the class raised their hands. "Now," she said, "tell me, how many of your mothers have more than 10 recipes for Jell-O?" I could hear the soft scrape of rising fabric behind me. Many of my classmates kept their hands high. Her excitement increased. "How many of your mothers have more than 15 recipes for Jell-O?" Her eyes gleamed and her smile widened at the response. "Twenty?" I turned around, and at least six or seven classmates with Jell-O-obsessed mothers beamed back.

Utah food culture, for the most part, can be dubbed Mormon cuisine. The state was settled in 1847 by Brigham Young, the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following the assassination of founder Joseph Smith, and as the community fled religious persecution it spread into southern Idaho, California, Wyoming, and Nevada, popularly called the "Mormon Corridor" or the "Jell-O Belt." A mix of convenience foods and Southwestern ingenuity, Mormon cuisine is built around feeding dozens of mouths from pantry stores and prudent seasoning. Notably, many iconic Mormon foods are enjoyed throughout the Southwest by Mormons and non-Mormons alike.

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Because Utah is the most homogenously religious state in the nation, social life tends to revolve around LDS church functions, church potlucks being the nucleus of Mormon cuisine. Any budding culinary anthropologist can touch down at the Salt Lake City International Airport, shout "Take me to a ward potluck!", and discover the bedrock of Mormon food.

At most social functions, there will be funeral potatoes. Not just for post-burial buffets, the dish is comforting at any social gathering. Calorically astronomical and dense with melted cheese, funeral potatoes are a casserole of shredded cooked frozen potatoes, canned cream of chicken soup, and sour cream, topped with crumbled cornflakes and baked until molten. This food, along with green Jell-O, was immortalized in a set of collectible pins from the 2002 Winter Olympics.

There will also be frog's eye salad, an ambrosial addition to any potluck. This is made from small pasta balls called acini de pepe—Italian for peppercorns (fregola or orzo can be substituted)—that have been cooked, drained, and cooled, then mixed with a tub of whipped topping, canned crushed pineapple, and canned mandarin orange segments.

There might be Hawaiian haystacks, an economical and engaging dish made from a pot of white rice and refrigerator scraps. Boiled chicken, Tuesday's ham, microwaved corn niblets, and shredded lettuce are set out in little bowls. Gravy, fried wontons, and pineapple rings are essential. Guests pile their plates with a heap of rice and add toppings as they please into a loaded stack.

These dishes are composed of ingredients easily found in any Mormon fridge or pantry. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Mormon pantry is unique in its depth. The 30-page Essentials of Home Production and Storage booklet published by the LDS church states that a larder should contain up to a year of family sustenance. Both a go-to for quick family meals and a supply of beans, grains, dry milk powder, and canned peaches for surviving a The Road-style apocalypse, the pantry promotes an overall attitude of preparedness and self-sustainability that Mormons hold dear.

Mormon food can sometimes seem like an afterthought—packaged and processed foods cobbled together into bland dishes and stretched to feed piles of kids. One Mormon friend of mine, who grew up in a household of nine, mentioned the functional aspect of meals. "Food was supplied, eaten, and then moved on"; food was sustenance, not sensual pleasure.

But often the cuisine's thrifty use-what's-on-hand creativity is bolstered by bursts of decadent combination. Take fry sauce, the perfect mix of two highly processed and beloved ingredients. Ketchup and mayonnaise combine to surpass the originals: the mix is tangy, with a savory tomato backdrop and the fattiness of aioli. Dragging fries through a coral-pink pooling is a local pastime at any of Utah's great hamburger joints: Iceberg's, Crown Burger, Apollo Burger, Arctic Circle, or Hires Big H, all of which have their own variations.

The pastrami burger is also a nod in this direction. Though California can claim ownership, Utah has taken it and sprinted. Piles of griddled pastrami heaped onto juicy char-broiled hamburgers and slicked with cheese and the all the fixings, they are standard in Utah restaurants. As is the Utah scone, similar to the crumbly currant-studded pastries of New England only in name. A Utah scone is a mass of soft chewy dough deep-fried until golden and puffy as a seat cushion. Its roots lie in Native American fry bread, a dish conjured out of government issued rations of lard, flour, and salt. These fried disks are often the foundation for a mess of chili, beans, and melted cheese, but they are even better served sweet. Honey butter, another Beehive-State icon, is slathered on for full effect.

Since Mormon doctrine prohibits consumption of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and drugs, one might begin to suspect that Jell-O, cheesy casseroles, meat-topped burgers, and ice cream sundaes—Brigham Young University has five locations of its own ice cream shop to supply its students—are the allowed opiates of the community. This is not to say there is no asceticism. A 24-hour monthly fast is recommended.

Scarlett Lindeman is a New York City-based food writer and perpetual line-cook. She just received her master's degree in Food Studies from New York University.




健康
果冻之爱。摩门教美食指南
作者：斯嘉丽-林德曼
2010年3月24日
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在某些圈子里，一个众所周知且值得夸耀的事实是，犹他州在历史上人均消费的果冻比全国任何其他州都多。这种由马蹄和人工香料制成的抖动的果味甜点在每个犹他州人的心中都占有特殊的地位，无论是本地人还是被收养者。对果冻的热爱是如此深刻，以至于在2001年，当犹他州在每年的果冻消费中以微弱优势击败爱荷华州时，州政府官员将果冻选为州政府的官方小吃，并将比尔-科斯比评为犹他州的荣誉公民。

1998年夏天，当我的家人从新泽西州的新不伦瑞克（New Brunswick）搬迁到犹他州时，我们并没有意识到当地的果冻亲和力。闪亮的黄色和蓝色果冻沙拉放在我们的冰箱里，振动着他们友好的 "欢迎来到附近"。我们发现美味的东西--胡萝卜丝、豌豆和火腿块--在果冻模具的礼物中被奇怪地、几乎超乎寻常地悬浮起来。而我，就在我13岁生日之前，进入了初中的一个新学期和一个新的烹饪领域。

家政学是我的第一堂课。我的老师有一种令人难以置信的能力，可以把多支铅笔藏在她那硬邦邦的紫色发髻里，忘记了，她站在全班同学面前，介绍了自己，并面带微笑地以这个问题开始了这个学期。"现在，你们有多少人的母亲拥有超过五个果冻的食谱？" 班上几乎所有人都举起了手。"现在，"她说，"告诉我，你们的母亲中有多少人有超过10个果冻的食谱？" 我可以听到我身后上升的织物的轻轻刮擦声。我的许多同学都把手举得很高。她的兴奋感增强了。"你们中有多少人的母亲有超过15个果冻的食谱？" 她的眼睛闪闪发光，她的笑容在回答中扩大了。"20个？" 我转过身去，至少有六七个同学的母亲痴迷于Jell-O果冻，他们都回以微笑。

犹他州的饮食文化，在大多数情况下，可以被称为摩门教美食。该州于1847年由耶稣基督后期圣徒教会的领袖杨百翰在创始人约瑟夫-史密斯被暗杀后定居，随着该社区逃离宗教迫害，它蔓延到爱达荷州南部、加利福尼亚州、怀俄明州和内华达州，俗称 "摩门教走廊 "或 "果冻带"。摩门教美食是方便食品和西南地区独创性的混合体，它是围绕着用储藏室里的食物和谨慎的调料喂养几十张嘴而建立的。值得注意的是，在整个西南地区，摩门教徒和非摩门教徒都能享受到许多标志性的摩门教食品。

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由于犹他州是全国宗教信仰最单一的州，社会生活往往围绕着LDS教会的活动，教会聚餐是摩门教美食的核心。任何初出茅庐的烹饪人类学家都可以在盐湖城国际机场降落，大喊 "带我去参加教区聚餐"，然后发现摩门教食物的基石。

在大多数社交活动中，都会有葬礼用的土豆。这道菜不仅适用于葬礼后的自助餐，在任何社交聚会中都是令人欣慰的。葬礼土豆是一种砂锅菜，由煮熟的冷冻土豆丝、鸡汤罐头和酸奶油组成，上面放有碎玉米片，烤至熔化。这种食物与绿色果冻一起，在2002年冬奥会的一套收藏徽章中得到了永生。

还有青蛙眼沙拉，这是任何聚餐活动中的一种美味补充。这是由被称为 "acini de pep "的小面团制成的--意大利语中的花椒（fregola orzo也可替代）--已经煮熟，沥干，冷却，然后与一桶打发的配料、罐装菠萝碎和罐装柑橘段混合。

可能还有夏威夷干草堆，这是用一锅白米饭和冰箱里的残渣做成的一道经济而有吸引力的菜。煮熟的鸡肉、星期二的火腿、微波炉加热的玉米粒和生菜丝被摆在小碗里。肉汁、炸馄饨和菠萝圈是必不可少的。客人们在盘子里堆上一堆米饭，然后随心所欲地添加配料，形成一个满满的堆栈。

这些菜是由任何摩门教徒的冰箱或储藏室里很容易找到的成分组成的。也许毫不奇怪，摩门教徒的储藏室在深度上是独一无二的。由LDS教会出版的30页的《家庭生产和储存要点》小册子指出，一个储藏室应该包含一年的家庭食物。儲藏室既是家庭快速用餐的工具，也是豆类、谷物、干奶粉和桃子罐头的供应，以便在《大路》式的启示录中幸存下来，儲藏室提倡摩门教徒所珍视的准备工作和自我维持的整体态度。

摩门教徒的食物有时看起来像是事后才想到的--包装和加工的食物拼凑成平淡无奇的菜肴，被拉长来喂养成堆的孩子。我的一位摩门教徒朋友在一个九口之家长大，他提到了膳食的功能方面。"食物被供应，被吃掉，然后继续前进"；食物是养料，而不是感官上的享受。

但是，美食的节俭使用--手头的东西的创意往往被一阵阵的颓废组合所支持。以炸酱为例，它是两种高度加工的、受人喜爱的原料的完美组合。番茄酱和蛋黄酱的结合超越了原物：混合后的番茄酱味道浓郁，有咸味的番茄背景和蛋黄酱的肥美。在犹他州的任何一家伟大的汉堡包店，拖着薯条穿过珊瑚粉色的水池是当地的一种消遣。Iceberg's、Crown Burger、Apollo Burger、Arctic Circle或Hires Big H，所有这些都有自己的变化。

熏牛肉汉堡也是这个方向的一个点头。尽管加利福尼亚可以宣称拥有它，但犹他州已经把它拿下并冲刺了。一堆堆烤过的熏牛肉堆在多汁的炭烤汉堡包上，再加上奶酪和所有的配料，它们是犹他州餐馆的标准。犹他州的烤饼也是如此，它与新英格兰地区酥脆的卷心菜糕点仅在名称上相似。犹他烤饼是一团柔软有嚼劲的面团，经油炸后呈金黄色，像座垫一样蓬松。它的根源在于美国原住民的油炸面包，这是一种由政府发放的猪油、面粉和盐的配给而产生的菜肴。这些油炸盘通常是辣椒、豆子和融化的奶酪的基础，但它们的甜味甚至更好。蜂蜜黄油，另一个蜂巢国的标志，被涂抹在上面以达到充分的效果。

由于摩门教义禁止饮用咖啡因、尼古丁、酒精和毒品，人们可能会开始怀疑果冻、奶酪砂锅、肉顶汉堡和冰淇淋圣代（杨伯翰大学有五家自己的冰淇淋店供应学生）是社区允许的鸦片制剂。这并不是说没有禁欲主义的存在。建议每月禁食24小时。

斯嘉丽-林德曼(Scarlett Lindeman)是纽约市的美食作家，也是一个永远的排队厨师。她刚刚从纽约大学获得了食品研究的硕士学位。