歐羅巴十二寶之柏林的布達佩斯的紅辣椒

For the Travel section’s Oct. 19 issue on Europe, writers and editors selected special items to profile from a dozen cities. Below, explore everything from chocolate in Brussels to silk in Florence to design in Copenhagen.

在歐洲版10月19日旅遊板塊，作者與編輯精選了十二個城市的獨特珍寶，下面，我們從布魯塞爾的巧克力、佛羅倫薩的絲綢到哥本哈根的設計，逐一欣賞吧。

Budapest: Paprika

布達佩斯的紅辣椒

The job of preparing Hungarian paprika was once considered too dangerous for mothers to do. The peppers grown in Szeged — one of the country’s two primary paprika-producing regions — were so spicy that a woman who touched her children upon returning from work risked burning them, so only the elderly and unmarried were allowed the delicate task of separating the membrane from the flesh. But by the early 20th century, sweeter varieties and a machine that extracted the veins turned paprika into an equal opportunity employer and a common feature of all Hungarian cuisine. “Goulash, porkolt, the cold cheese spread called korozott that all Hungarians eat on bread at least once a month,” said the Budapest-based food journalist Dorottya Czuk. “All of our basic dishes have it.”

匈牙利人曾經認爲，讓媽媽來加工匈牙利紅辣椒太危險了。這種辣椒生長在全國兩大辣椒產地之一賽格德，它實在太辣了，如果一位母親加工辣椒時不小心摸了孩子，孩子可能會被灼傷。所以，把一層薄膜從辣椒果肉上剝離，這種工作只能由年長者或未婚人士專職去做。但到了20世紀早期，出現了味道較淡的品種，人們又發明了抽出辣椒脈絡的機器，於是加工辣椒就成了人人可做的工種，香辣也成了匈牙利菜餚的共同特點。“燉牛肉、燉豬肉，用柯羅佐冷芝士搭配麪包，我們匈牙利人每月至少吃一次。”布達佩斯的美食記者多洛緹婭·查克(Dorottya Czuk)說。“這些基本菜餚中都有紅辣椒。”

So omnipresent is paprika that you can get it at any Budapest supermarket, but the chains offer no guarantee of quality or origin. “It might be from Spain or, worse, China,” Ms. Czuk said. “I can tell you that nine Hungarians out of 10 would not want to eat paprika grown in Spain.” Look instead for tins, like those from Molnar or Hodi, that are produced locally.

紅辣椒無處不在，你可以在布達佩斯任何一家超市買到，但卻無法保證質量或正宗口味。“說不定你買到的辣椒是西班牙製造的，甚至更糟糕，中國製造。”查克女士說。“我敢說十個匈牙利人有九個都不想吃西班牙紅辣椒。”所以你要尋找那些罐裝的紅辣椒，比如產自摩爾那或霍迪的，那些才正宗。

The Central, or Great, Market Hall is a good place to start. Built at the end of the 19th century its soaring brick, iron and tile exterior alone is worth visiting. But three stories of stalls inside hold their own delights, paprika chief among them. On Fridays and Saturdays, farmers sell their homemade spice in transparent plastic bags. “That’s good,” Ms. Czuk said, “because you can see how red it is. You want a really vibrant color.”

中央集市或曰大集市是一個好起點。房屋建於19世紀末，僅僅是那高聳的磚牆、鐵欄和瓷磚貼面就值得遊覽一趟了。集市裏有三層攤位，擺滿了讓本地人自豪的特產，主要就是紅辣椒。每到週五和週六，農人們就把自家種植的香料裝在透明塑料袋裏來此地兜售。“很好。”查克女士說，“因爲你可以隔着袋子看到它有多紅。你會想要真正熱烈的顏色。”

Aroma is also important: Fresh paprika should smell sweet and a little funky, like hay in a stable. And there are different categorizations: kulonleges, or “special quality,” is the mildest and sweetest; eros is the spiciest. But taste is the most important guarantor. Paprika is cheap enough (100 grams of even the highest quality spice cost around $2) that you can buy some, try it and feel that you haven’t wasted much money if you don’t like it.

氣味也很重要：新鮮的紅辣椒聞起來應該略淡，有一絲臭味，像馬廄中的乾草。而且有不同的分類法：庫隆勒格斯意爲特殊品質，指的是最溫和、最淡的；艾洛斯則是最辣的。但口味是最重要的保證。紅辣椒非常便宜（最優質的辣椒粉售價僅爲100克2美元），可以買些嚐嚐，即使不合口味，也不費多少錢。

At Tasting Table it’s possible to forgo that step. The brand-new shop, at Brody Sandor utca 9, in the cellar of a 19th-century palace, features Hungarian wines and local specialty foods. It offers tastings of all its products, including Molnar and Hodi paprikas. “We spread goose fat from the foie gras we serve on bread, and sprinkle the paprika on that, said Gabor Banfalvi, a co-owner. “Because paprika needs fat to come to life.” LISA ABEND

在嘗味臺(Tasting Table)，更是免不了這一步。這家全新的店鋪位於布羅迪山鐸9號一座19世紀宮殿的地下室裏，專營匈牙利酒與本地特產美食。店內所有食品都可以品嚐，包括摩爾那和霍迪紅辣椒。“我們麪包上塗抹的是從鵝肝醬中提取的鵝脂，再撒上辣椒粉。”店主之一嘉寶·山鐸(Gabor Banfalvi)說。“因爲紅辣椒需要脂肪才能更好地展現辣味。”麗莎·阿本德(LISA ABEND)供稿。