一口就爱上：夏季美味水果杨梅 Love at first bite: Yangmei a summer fruit

Never mind the harsh humidity, the relentless sunshine or anyone complaining of unbearably hot summers in China. Who has time to worry about that in June, a month that, for me, is inextricably entwined with the arrival of what I consider the country’s most enchanting fruit –yangmei, also known as the waxberry or Chinese bayberry.

不用理会潮湿的空气和炙热的阳光，或者任何关于中国的夏天难以忍受的抱怨。没人会在六月理会这些，因为我心心念念的杨梅成熟了。我觉得杨梅是中国最迷人的水果。

This uniquely summer indulgence grows primarily in China, with much of the fruit produced in my husband Jun’s home province of Zhejiang. If you’ve never tried the juicy goodness ofyangmei, imagine a mouthwatering, sweet-tart mix of pomegranate, strawberry and cranberry flavors, packed together into a cherry-sized sphere with a curiously bumpy surface and, when fully ripe, the deep burgundy color of a fine red wine.

杨梅主产于中国，而我丈夫骏的故乡就是杨梅产地浙江。如果你从未吃过杨梅，那就想象一下这种水果：混合了石榴、草莓和小红莓的味道，多汁甜美，樱桃大小，表面凹凸不平，完全成熟后呈现出优质红酒的颜色。

It’s a little piece of ecstasy that will dance across your tastebuds and probably dribble onto the table or your summer clothes. But you won’t even care about the mess because it tastes so amazing.

杨梅在味蕾上起舞，令人着迷。有时杨梅汁会滴在桌上或衣服上，但谁会在意这些呢，毕竟杨梅如此美味。

Yangmei, which has been used in traditional Chinese remedies for more than 2,000 years, also has high medicinal value. The first time a Chinese friend brought a bag of the fruit to my apartment, she told me, “Yangmei saves your life,” a popular saying I would come to hear echoed by many others, including my father-in-law. Studies have shown thatyangmei provides a rich source of antioxidants such as vitamin C, and may be useful for inflammation, diarrhea, intestinal ailments, cancer and even diabetes. It’s no wonder people have dubbed it a superfruit.

两千多年来，杨梅一直用于中药，具有很高的药用价值。一个中国朋友第一次给了我一袋杨梅，她当时说：“杨梅救命”。这话我公公和很多人都说过。研究证明，杨梅有维生素C等大量抗氧化成分，可帮助缓解发炎、腹泻、肠道疾病、癌症甚至糖尿病。怪不得人们将杨梅看做超级水果。

No matter your reasons for eatingyangmei, chances are you might end up just like me — in love at first bite. Consuming the fruit is now a yearly ritual for me and my husband, and every mouthful brings with it sweet memories of summer days.

不论你为什么吃杨梅，你都可能像我一样，吃一口就爱上它。现在，吃杨梅是我们夫妻俩每年的仪式，美一口都充满夏日的甜美回忆。

I’m reminded of weekends in June, when the roadside fruit stands in rural Hangzhou suddenly had the power to slow down passersby, including us, at the sight of tantalizing rows of green mesh baskets piled high withyangmei. I would watch my husband go through his usual ritual for buying the fruit, from tasting one for himself to selecting each and every berry by hand with a discerning eye for freshness. And after arriving home, it didn’t matter what needed to get done — the first order of business would always be washing up a heaping bowl ofyangmei to relish for the moment.

我想起往年的六月份，浙江农村小路上驻足的行人，都在观望树上包裹着绿色网兜的杨梅。我丈夫会买杨梅，先尝一颗试试味道，然后精挑细选，检查果实是否新鲜。到家以后，第一件事就是洗杨梅，盛一大碗。

I also recall how my mother-in-law once shared with me the most beautiful secret for any connoisseur of the fruit -- that anyone could pickyangmei for free in the trees near her house. Sure enough, one late afternoon she walked me through her rural village to see the grove beside the public auditorium, where branches were studded with ripe clusters ofyangmei that, in my eyes, appeared like delicious jewels. Even though my mother-in-law dismissed them with a grimace as “too sour”, in the coming days she would leave on the dinner table huge baskets ofyangmei she had collected and urge me to eat more.

我婆婆曾经告诉我一个秘密——她房子旁边就有杨梅树，可以随意采摘。一个午后，她带我来到村里礼堂边的小树林里，那里的杨梅好像美味的珠宝一样挂满枝头。尽管婆婆说这些杨梅“太酸”，但她在接下来的几天里，都会在桌上放几大筐自己摘的杨梅，让我多吃一些。

Someday, I hope to introduce my family in the US to the wonders ofyangmei. But for now, I’ll savor this special fruit, which makes the month of June, with all its heat waves and humidity, a little more ambrosial.

总有一天，我希望给在美国的家人介绍杨梅的好处。不过现在，我品尝这特别的水果，在夏日的热浪和潮湿中，感觉它的味道更好了。