10種擁有美妙歷史的現代食物(9):全麥餅乾

2. Graham Crackers

2.全麥餅乾

Do you feel less lust after eating a graham cracker? You should do – or, at least, the inventor of it hopes you do.

吃完一片全麥餅乾以後是否覺得慾望有所減輕呢？這正是——或至少是其發明者所希望的。

In the 1830s, reverend Sylvester Graham decided that America had become too lust-filled. In order to curb the problem and help people across the nation get back onto a good God-fearing path, he created the ‘Graham diet.’ The diet consisted of wheat, fruit and vegetables, but absolutely no meat; eating meat and fatty foods was, Graham claimed, a way to invoke sexual thoughts in the mind. Sylvester Graham invented the graham cracker as a part of his newfound diet.

19世紀30年代，教士Sylvester Graham認爲美國慾望太過膨脹。爲解決這一問題，幫助全國的人們回到一條虔誠的道路上，他發明了“Graham 飲食”。這種飲食中包括穀物、水果和蔬菜，但絕對沒有肉；Graham認爲，吃肉和脂肪類食品會引發人心中的淫慾。Sylvester Graham發明了全麥餅乾作爲他的全新飲食的一部分。

He wasn’t alone in his mind-set; someone else who shared this was John Harvey Kellogg. Does the name seem familiar? That’s right – Kellogg’s corn flakes. The beloved breakfast cereal was Kellogg’s way to save the souls of the American people, but ended up being a delicious breakfast rather than a cure for the wandering eye.

他並不是一個人將想法付諸實際；另外一個與他共享的是John Harvey Kellogg。這名字是不是有些熟悉？沒錯——Kellogg’s玉米片（即家樂氏玉米片——譯者注）。Kellogg想要以這種受人喜愛的早餐穀物來拯救美國人的靈魂，誰知它沒有拯救得了迷茫的雙眼，卻成爲了美味的早餐。

Next time you need to calm down, try stuffing graham crackers into your mouth. If the wheat doesn’t do the trick, the dry mouth certainly will.

當下次你需要冷靜一下的時候，試試在你嘴裏塞上全麥餅乾。如果小麥解決不了問題，那口乾舌燥的感覺肯定會讓你達到目的。