美國龍蝦 奢侈品變得越來越普通了

Lobster, long considered a luxury, is becoming a little more ordinary.

向來被視爲奢侈享受的龍蝦開始變得越來越普通了。

Soaring supply and falling prices for whole live lobster, along with new food trends, are changing how people eat the crustacean -- perhaps for the long term.

整隻活龍蝦的供應量飆升，價格下跌，加上新興的飲食潮流，導致人們食用這種甲殼類動物的習慣正在變化――也許會持續很長時間。

Sandwich shop Quiznos, like other inexpensive chains, is adding more lobster dishes alongside its subs. Golden Corral, the buffet-style restaurants, has put lobster on the menu for the first time. Grocery stores from Whole Foods to Wal-Mart are stocking new lobster items such as frozen tails and cooked claws.

和其他平價連鎖餐廳一樣，三明治餐廳Quiznos正在加入越來越多的龍蝦菜品。自助餐廳Golden Corral首次將龍蝦加入了菜單。從全食超市(Whole Foods)到沃爾瑪(Wal-Mart)，許多超市都在採購凍蝦尾和熟龍蝦爪等龍蝦新品。

The most expensive restaurants are going beyond classic whole lobster or lobster tail and putting the crustacean in dishes such as pasta, soups and even chips.

最昂貴的餐廳在經典整蝦或龍蝦尾之外的菜品上下功夫，把龍蝦加進了意大利麪、湯甚至是薯條裏頭。

It is rare dynamic in today's food world: Supply of lobster is plentiful and pushing down prices. This comes at a time when rising commodity costs are boosting the price of foods like beef and coffee. And much of the most popular seafood is being severely overfished. The supply of North Atlantic lobsters has steadily climbed for over a decade.

這在如今的餐飲界是罕見的現象：龍蝦的供應充足，壓低了價格。此時正值大宗商品價格的升高提振了牛肉和咖啡等食品的價格。大多數受歡迎的海鮮品種也遭到嚴重的過度捕撈。北大西洋龍蝦供應的穩步攀升已持續了10多年了。

Supply is likely growing because of a combination of factors. Warming water in recent years may be boosting lobster population. Fishermen are following regulations that protect young and egg-bearing lobsters. And there has been a decline in recent decades of natural predators such as cod, which eat baby lobsters.

龍蝦的供應不斷增加可能源於多種因素的共同影響。近幾年海水水溫升高可能導致了龍蝦數量的增多。漁民也在遵守保護小龍蝦和產卵龍蝦的規定。近幾十年來，鱈魚等捕食龍蝦仔的天敵的數量也有所下降。

Lobster fishermen groups in the U.S. and Canada, the main areas where lobster is caught for the American market, say retail prices have fallen. In the past two years, the average price that Maine fishermen are paid for whole live lobster has been under $3 per pound, down from a high of $4.63 in 2005, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

美國市場的龍蝦主要來自美加地區。這兩個國家捕撈龍蝦的漁民組織表示，龍蝦的零售價格有所下滑。據緬因州海洋資源部(Maine Department of Marine Resources)統計，過去兩年中，緬因州漁民出售整隻活龍蝦的均價一直在每磅三美元以下，2005年時則高達4.63美元。

Lobster prices can vary widely across the country. Many restaurants buy in bulk to lock in a good price.

龍蝦價格在全美各地不同地區價格相差較大。許多餐廳均大批量採購，以鎖定比較優惠的價格。

'When you increase supply by 80% in five years,' it is hard for prices to keep up when consumer spending is weak, says Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen's Association, which represent the state's fishermen.

緬因州龍蝦業者協會(Maine Lobstermen's Association)執行理事帕特里斯・麥卡倫(Patrice McCarron)說，“如果在五年內供應量增加80%”，到消費者支出疲軟的時候，價格就很難保持增長步伐。該協會是代表該州漁民的組織。

There are signs lobster prices are beginning to inch up. In 2013, prices paid to Maine fishermen rose slightly to an average of $2.89 per pound from $2.69 per pound in 2012. The amount of lobsters caught started to level off.

有跡象表明龍蝦價格開始上漲了。2013年，緬因州漁民出售龍蝦的價格從2012年的平均每磅2.69美元升至平均每磅2.89美元。龍蝦捕撈數量開始呈平穩狀態。

Inexpensive chain restaurants have jumped at the chance to add lobster's premium image to their menus.

平價連鎖餐廳抓住機會將龍蝦的“光輝”形象加入了菜單之中。

Golden Corral bought 200,000 pounds of frozen lobster tails last August. It paid $3.79 per tail, or about $13 a pound -- an approximately 20-year low for the restaurant, says Bob McDevitt, senior vice president of franchising for the 500-location Raleigh, N.C.-based chain. (By the time a restaurant buys lobster, its price has gone up as the supply chain can include wharf fees, a cut for dealers or wholesalers and processing-plant costs.)

Golden Corral去年8月購入了20萬磅凍蝦尾。該連鎖集團總部位於北卡羅來納州羅利(Raleigh)，在全美各地擁有500家店。集團高級副總裁鮑勃・麥克德維特(Bob McDevitt)說，每隻龍蝦尾以3.79美元的價格購入，約每磅13美元――大概是他們20年來購入的最低價。（到餐廳購買龍蝦的這一步時，價格就已經擡高一些了，因爲要加上供應鏈環節的費用，包括碼頭費、經銷商或批發商的分成以及工廠加工成本。）

Golden Corral is now thawing the tails for a limited-time special, a common practice with tails served at inexpensive restaurants. (The tails have a 12-month frozen shelf life, Mr. McDevitt says.) The special is timed to lure diners after a cold winter that kept them eating at home, he says. At $3.99 a tail, the company isn't making a profit on the special, but it is likely to boost sales of buffet dinners, he says.

Golden Corral目前用凍蝦尾做限時特價，這是平價餐廳的普遍做法。（麥克德維特說，這種蝦尾的冷凍保存期爲12個月。）他說，搞特價是爲了吸引因爲寒冬一直在家裏吃飯的人。他說，每隻蝦尾售價3.99美元，餐廳並不盈利，但有可能會提振自助晚餐的銷售。

Among national chains, lobster appeared on 35% more menus in 2013 compared with 2009, according to Datassential, a menu research and consultancy company based in Chicago.

據芝加哥菜單研究諮詢公司Datassential統計，在全美的連鎖餐廳中，2013年有龍蝦的菜單較2009年多出了35%。

At many high-end restaurants, classic whole lobster and tail dishes are seen as passe and therefore offered less 'despite the price drop,' says Maeve Webster, senior director at Datassential. Instead, lobster rolls, lobster salad and lobster bisque are growing in popularity.

Datassential高級總監梅芙・韋伯斯特(Maeve Webster)說，在許多高檔餐廳，經典的整隻龍蝦和蝦尾菜品被認爲已經過時，所以“儘管價格下降”，但餐廳的供應減少了。而龍蝦卷、龍蝦沙拉和龍蝦濃湯則越來越受歡迎。

When off-the-boat prices for lobster were plummeting about two years ago, Gramercy Tavern in New York switched to a lobster supplier who buys directly from Maine fishermen, reducing the restaurant's cost per pound by about $3, says Howard Kalachnikoff, executive sous chef at the one-Michelin-star restaurant. Gramercy Tavern is buying lobster for $8.25 a pound, or comparable with the best cuts of beef, allowing chefs 'a little bit more experimentation,' he says.

紐約米其林一星餐廳Gramercy Tavern行政副總廚霍華德・卡拉奇尼科夫(Howard Kalachnikoff)說，兩年前龍蝦的下船價大幅下滑後，餐廳換了一個直接從緬因州漁民手裏進貨的龍蝦供應商，每磅成本下降了約三美元。他說，Gramercy Tavern以每磅8.25美元的價格購買龍蝦，與最好的牛肉價格相當，這樣廚師們“就會有更多的實驗空間”。

Lobster is on the menu in a pappardelle, chorizo and mussels dish; in a salad with winter squash; as a base for sauce on a flounder, a wild rice dish; and incorporated into an airy chip served with lime aioli.

在該餐廳的菜單上，配有西班牙臘香腸和貽貝的寬意麪中有龍蝦，筍瓜沙拉中也有。在一道含菰米和比目魚的菜品中，龍蝦是醬汁的主料，配酸橙蒜泥蛋黃醬的薄薯片中也是以龍蝦爲原料的。

The priciest restaurants 'do not lower [menu prices] when lobster gets cheaper,' says Jordan Elkin, president and founder of Homarus, which buys live lobster directly from Maine fishermen and sells to about 300 high-end restaurants in New York, including Gramercy Tavern. Those restaurants know diners will pay a premium for lobster, Mr. Elkin says.

龍蝦供應公司Homarus總裁及創始人喬丹・埃爾金(Jordan Elkin)說，最貴的餐廳“不會在龍蝦降價的時候下調菜品價格”。該公司從緬因漁民手中直接購買活龍蝦，爲包括Gramercy Tavern在內的約300家高檔紐約餐廳供貨。他說，這些餐廳知道，食客願意花高價吃龍蝦。

At L2O in Chicago, a seafood restaurant where the lowest-priced dinner is a prix fixe meal for $140 per person, lobster is now more often paired with pricey ingredients, says Matthew Kirkley, the restaurant's chef.

在芝加哥海鮮餐廳L2O，價格最低的晚餐是每人140美元的一份套餐。餐廳主廚馬修・柯克利(Matthew Kirkley)說，現在龍蝦更多地和昂貴的食材搭配在一起。

'I'm serving sweetbread and truffles with lobster,' because of his current $8 a pound wholesale price (which doesn't include overnight shipping by FedEx), says Mr. Kirkley. Usually pairing '$600-a-pound black truffles' with pricey lobster in one dish would be cost prohibitive, he says.

柯克利說，“我們用小牛胰臟和松露配龍蝦”，因爲目前批發價是每磅八美元（還不包括聯邦快遞(FedEx)的隔夜送達運費）。他說，通常一道菜中用“600美元一磅的黑松露”搭配昂貴的龍蝦就會導致成本過高。

The lobster eaten most often in the U.S. is Homarus americanus, the only species with two large claws that is caught along the north Atlantic coast in Canada and the U.S.

美國最常食用的龍蝦是美洲鰲龍蝦，這是唯一一個擁有兩個大鉗子、在加拿大和美國的大西洋北海岸捕撈的品種。

Because of differences in weather, fishing seasonsand fishing regulations, most hard-shell (and therefore easily shipped) live lobster is procured in Canada, while most soft-shell lobster (sold live in New England, but difficult to ship longer distances) is caught in the U.S. (A lobster has a hard shell before it molts and then grows a new soft shell.)

由於氣候、捕撈季節和捕撈規定的差異，大多數硬殼（因此也就容易運輸）活龍蝦都是在加拿大捕撈，而大多數軟殼龍蝦（在新英格蘭州鮮活售賣，但不易長距離運輸）都在美國捕撈。（龍蝦在脫殼前有一層硬殼，脫殼後會長出新的軟殼。）

A large amount of soft-shell lobster caught in New England is sent to processing plants in Canada, destined to become frozen tails or precooked knuckle and claw meat.

在新英格蘭州捕撈的大量軟殼龍蝦都被送往加拿大的加工廠，被製作成凍蝦尾或半成品的關節肉和鉗肉。

In summer, when fishing is easiest, New England is flooded with inexpensive live soft shell lobster that doesn't make it to other parts of the country.

在捕撈最容易的夏季，新英格蘭州有大量便宜的、不會被運往其他地區的軟殼活龍蝦。

Canada's lobster industry has faced supply levels that are 'up about 50% in the last 10 years,' driving down prices, says Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada, which represents buyers, shippers, processors and fishermen.

加拿大龍蝦委員會(Lobster Council of Canada)執行理事傑夫・歐文(Geoff Irvine)說，加拿大的龍蝦產業供應水平大幅升高，“過去10年上漲了約50%”，導致了價格的下降。該委員會是代表龍蝦購買商、運輸商、加工商和漁民的機構。

Whole Foods Market Inc. paid less for its frozen lobster tails last year, then dropped its price to shoppers, says a spokeswoman for the store, who declined to give specific pricing details.

全食超市發言人說，公司去年購買凍蝦尾的價格有所下降，於是超市零售價也進行了下調。該發言人拒絕透露具體的定價情況。

Wal-Mart in the past 12 months added three new lobster products, including a frozen lobster tail and cooked whole lobster, says a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

沃爾瑪發言人說，公司在過去12個月新增了三種龍蝦產品，包括凍龍蝦尾和整隻熟龍蝦。

While it is unlikely to challenge home cooks' love of chicken as a quick, cheap, easy dinner, the lobster industry is trying by investing in new high-pressure machines to burst raw lobster meat from its shell into an easy-to-cook form.

儘管龍蝦不大可能挑戰普通家庭對快速價廉便捷的雞肉的熱愛，但龍蝦產業正在努力。各公司紛紛引進新的高壓設備，將龍蝦肉從殼裏剝離出來，加工成方便烹飪的形式。