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So why did Victorians love fruitcake so much?
那么，为什么维多利亚人如此喜欢水果蛋糕呢？
It may have been the booze.
可能是因为酒精。
They added alcohol to the recipe as a way to preserve the cake and boost its flavor.
维多利亚人在水果蛋糕的食谱中加入了酒精，以此来延长蛋糕保质期并优化其风味。
After the fresh cake has a chance to cool, bakers will wrap it in a cloth soaked in liquor and seal it in an airtight container.
刚刚做好的蛋糕冷却后，面包师会用浸泡在酒中的布将其包裹起来，并将其密封在容器中。
Alcohol kills bacteria, as well as any yeast or mold that would otherwise grow on a fruitcake and make it inedible.
酒精能杀死细菌，也会杀死酵母或霉菌，否则这些酵母或霉菌就会长在水果蛋糕上，使其无法食用。
This process is called denaturation, and while we've mentioned it a couple times in other episodes of Food History, we've never really explained what it means for something to denature.
这个过程被称为变性，虽然我们在其它几期中也提到过它，但我们还没有解释过某种东西“变性”意味着什么。
Denaturation can occur for a number of reasons, including changes in temperature or pH.
发生变性的原因有很多，包括温度或pH值的变化。
When you cook an egg for example, and the white becomes opaque, it's because the proteins in the albumen are denaturing.
例如，当你煮鸡蛋时，蛋白变得不再透明，是因为蛋白中的蛋白质正在变性。
When a protein denatures, the sequence of amino acids comprising the protein remains the same, but its shape changes, sometimes irreversibly so.
蛋白质变性时，组成蛋白质的氨基酸序列保持不变，但它的形状发生了变化，有时是不可逆的变化。
That changed shape can cause the protein to function differently, and in the case of a living organism like bacteria, it can actually kill the microbe.
这种形状上的改变可以让蛋白质的功能发生变化，用细菌这样的生命有机体来说，它可以杀死微生物。
When bacteria meets alcohol, one of the things going on is the alcohol denaturing the proteins and stopping cellular function.
当细菌遇到酒精，酒精使蛋白质变性，并让细胞失去原有的功能。
Denaturation is one of the ways hand sanitizer works actually, and it's how fruitcake can last so long without going bad.
变性是洗手液的作用方式之一，这也是水果蛋糕能长时间保存而不会变质的原因。
Am I telling you to sanitize your groceries by rubbing fruitcake all over them?
我是想让你把水果蛋糕擦得到处都是来为你的杂货消毒吗？
Sure.
是的。
Why not?
为什么不呢？
It's been a weird year.
毕竟今年是奇怪的一年。
When it comes to shelf life, it also helps that fruitcake is made with low-moisture ingredients like nuts and dried fruit, giving bacteria less to feed on in the first place.
提到保质期，水果蛋糕是用坚果和干果等水分含量低的原料制成的，这也有助于减少细菌的滋生。
Some people claim that fruitcake actually gets better with age.
一些人声称，水果蛋糕实际上存放时间越长越好吃。
The fruit in fruit cake contains bitter flavor compounds, called tannins, which start to mellow out with time.
水果蛋糕中的水果含有苦味化合物，称为单宁，随着时间的推移，这种化合物的味道会变得醇厚。
As the cake ages, the bitter flavors are toned down and other complex flavors become more pronounced.
蛋糕存放时间越长，苦味越淡，其他复杂的味道也会越明显。
This, incidentally, is roughly the same process that happens when wine is aged.
顺便说一句，这与葡萄酒陈年的过程大致相同。
So if you want to annoy your family around the holidays, just, I don't know, try pointing out the subtle notes of wet earth and oak in your aunt's fruit cake.
所以，如果你想在节日期间惹恼你的家人，可以告诉大家你阿姨做的水果蛋糕里有微妙的湿润泥土和橡木的味道。
Or, you know, just drink a bottle of liquefied fruitcake, too.
或者，你知道的，喝一瓶液态水果蛋糕。
That's probably gonna work, I'm not gonna stop you.
这可能有用，放手去做吧。
But how long can a properly aged fruitcake last?
但是，一个保存时间适中的水果蛋糕能存放多久呢？
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, mail-order fruit cakes can stay good for up to 6 months in the fridge and up to a year in the freezer.
根据美国农业部的说法，邮购的水果蛋糕可以在冰箱里保存长达6个月，在冰柜里保存长达一年。
There are a number of variables in play, though - most notably moisture content.
不过，有许多变量在起作用——特别是水分含量。
We know that Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Antarctic fruit cake at least looked edible after chilling for almost 110 years, and there's evidence that some fruit cakes can last even longer than that.
我们知道罗伯特·法尔肯·斯科特落在南极的不幸的水果蛋糕在严寒中保存了近110年后至少看起来可以食用，而且有证据表明，一些水果蛋糕可以保存更长时间。
One family from Michigan has held on to the same fruitcake for 142 years.
密歇根州的一家人将一个水果蛋糕保留了142年。
It was baked by Fidelia Ford in 1878 shortly before she passed away.
这是1878年菲德莉亚·福特在她去世前不久烘焙的。
Her husband decided to keep the cake as a way to remember her, and decades later, the couple's descendants are still honoring that wish - for the most part.
她的丈夫决定保留这个蛋糕来纪念她，几十年后，这对夫妇的后代仍然在保存这个蛋糕——的绝大部分。
In 2003, they brought the cake on The Tonight Show and allowed Jay Leno to sample a nibble of it in front of a live studio audience.
2003年，他们把蛋糕带到了《今夜秀》上，让杰·雷诺在现场观众面前品尝了一口。
His review: "It needs more time."
他的评论是：“还可以再放放。”
That actually wasn't the first time fruitcake was memorably skewered by a host of the Tonight Show.
这并不是《今夜秀》主持人和水果蛋糕的第一个难忘故事。
Some people credit Johnny Carson for giving it its bad reputation, famously joking that, while fruitcakes seemed to be a perennial gift, nobody ever actually ate them.
一些人说约翰尼·卡森坏了水果蛋糕的名声，因为他曾开玩笑说，虽然水果蛋糕经常被拿来当礼物，但根本没人吃。
It's true that fruitcake may not be the most popular dish on the Christmas table, but, hey, that's no problem - you can always save the leftovers and serve them next year.
诚然，水果蛋糕可能不是圣诞餐桌上最受欢迎的菜肴，但没关系——你可以把剩下的留着，明年再上。
Thanks for watching Food History!
感谢收看食物的历史！
I hope you learned a little bit more about your great aunt's favorite dessert.
我希望你对你姑姥姥最喜欢的甜点有了更多的了解。
If you have an idea for a future episode of the show, make sure to leave it in the comments below.
如果你对以后的节目有什么想法，请在评论区评论。
Happy holidays from all of us at Mental Floss, and have a safe New Year.
《心理牙线》全体祝大家节日快乐，过一个安全的新年。
