Champagne Bubbles Key to Taste
Let’s raise a toast to champagne. And its ubiquitous bubbles. Because new research says the bubbles aren’t just tickling your tongue. They’re erupting with aromas vital to the taste of the beverage.
A team of (who else) French researchers used mass spectrometry to nose around a glass of champagne. They found that concentrations of certain molecular compounds were higher at the surface of the glass than in the liquid itself. They report the finding in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The scientists say the sea shares champagne’s secret. If you’ve ever enjoyed ocean air, it’s because compounds called surfactants are dragged along with bubbles in the waves. When those bubbles burst, the surfactants break into smaller molecules called aerosols that are suspended in the breeze, giving coastal areas their distinctive oceany odor. In essence, a glass of champagne hosts a small version of this process, but the bubbles bring more appetizing aerosols to the surface.
Legend has it that Dom Perignon shouted “I’m tasting the stars” when he uncorked his first bottle of champagne. But it was physics and chemistry, not astronomy, that he was really savoring.
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破解香槟之谜：关键是泡沫
让我们为香槟干杯，为它无处不在的泡沫干杯。因为新的研究认为，香槟的泡沫不仅仅刺激你的舌头，它们还带有大量的香味，这些香味对香槟的味道至关重要。
法国的一个研究小组（还能有谁呢？译注：法国人以产香槟而自豪，也最喜欢研究香槟）使用质谱的方法检测了一杯香槟。他们发现，某些分子化合物的浓度在酒杯 上面要比液体香槟本身含量高。研究者们在《美国国家科学院院刊》（Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences）杂志上报道了他们的研究发现。
科学家们说，大海分享了香槟的秘密。如果你曾经享受过海边的空气，那么你就能理解其中的道理了。这是因为在波浪中称为表明活性剂的化合物附着在泡沫上。当 这些泡沫破灭的时候，这些表面活性剂分解为更小的气溶胶分子，它们悬浮在微风中，因此使得海岸地带具有特殊的海洋气味。从本质上说，一杯香槟酒也表现出上 述这样的过程，只是规模小一些而已， 不过香槟泡沫把更多气溶胶带到了酒表面，从而让你食欲大开。
据说当Dom Perignon打开他的第一瓶香槟的时候，他大声叫道：“我正在品尝星星”。不过他真正品尝的不是天文学，而是物理和化学。 |
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