The Wonderful World of Egg Tarts蛋挞的美妙世界

The egg tart is a delicious pastry-based snack loved the world over， but what is the origin of this much-adored dessert？ It appears that the egg tart’s origin story lies in the Europe.

蛋挞是在全世界都广受喜爱的美味酥皮点心，但这集万千宠爱的甜点从何而来？蛋挞的起源故事似乎源于欧洲。

Egg tarts were actually invented in either Portugal or England many centuries ago. Historical records suggest that they were served at the coronation of King Henry IV of England in 1399. Even further back in history， in the 1200s， Portuguese monks at Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon are believed to have started making egg tarts using egg yolks after previously encountering various delicious pastries in France.

蛋挞其实是在好几个世纪前，由葡萄牙或英国发明的。据历史记载，蛋挞在1399年于英格兰国王亨利四世的加冕典礼上供应过。再更久远一点至13世纪，有人认为在葡萄牙里斯本热罗尼莫斯修道院的修士，过去在法国接触到各种美味的糕点后，便开始使用蛋黄制作蛋挞。

Fast-forward to 1820， and monks at the same monastery began selling egg tarts to a nearby sugar refinery to sustain the monastery. Unfortunately， due to a changing political climate in Portugal， the monastery eventually closed down in 1834 and sold their recipe to the owner of the refinery， which subsequently transformed into a bakery. There， you can still buy egg tarts made using the original recipe.

时间转到1820年，同间修道院的修士开始贩卖蛋挞给邻近的糖厂以支撑修道院。不幸的是，由于葡萄牙政治局势的变化，该修道院最终于1834年关闭，他们便将蛋挞的烹饪法卖给糖厂老板，那间糖厂后来变成了一间面包店。在那里，你仍可以买到用最初的烹饪法制成的蛋挞。

Regarding how the egg tart came to Asia， it is likely to have been introduced to China when Portuguese sailors first arrived in Guangzhou in 1513. Much later in the 1840s， tea restaurants offering Western dishes began popping up after World War II. There they created modifications of egg tarts， French toast and even milk tea. These restaurants continue to thrive.

关于蛋挞是如何传至亚洲，可能是葡萄牙水手在1513年首次登陆广州时传入中国。在很久以后的19世纪40年代，提供西式餐点的茶餐厅开始出现。他们做出蛋挞、法式吐司甚至奶茶的改良版。这些餐厅至今仍生意兴隆。

This， in a nutshell， is the brief history of the egg tart. The most certain thing is that no matter where you believe egg tarts came from， once you start eating them， you won’t be able to stop.

簡而言之，这就是蛋挞的简史。最能确定的是，不管你认为蛋挞源起何处，一旦你开始吃蛋挞，就停不下来了。

Word Bank

coronation /'kɒrə'neɪʃn/ n. 加冕；加冕典礼

modification /'mɒdɪfɪ'keɪʃn/ n. 修改；改进；改变

thrive /θraɪv/ v. 兴旺发达；繁荣；蓬勃发展

New businesses thrive in this area.

in a nutshell  简而言之；用简明的话