When first encountered with the idea of computer-generated recipes, I assumed the result would be home cook-friendly. If the recipes were the result of science, and not art, then surely the average cook would be able to follow the recipe.

　　第一次听到电脑生成食谱的想法时，我觉得这可能给家庭烹饪带来更多方便。如果这些食谱是基于科学而非艺术，那么厨师当然可以根据这些食谱来做饭。

　　“Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson,”by IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education, proves my assumptions wrong.

　　但是IBM和烹饪教育学院一起出版的《沃森大厨的认知烹饪》证明我之前想的似乎并不对。

　　The book contains more than 65 original recipes that were created partially by a cognitive computer named Watson, which IBM created in 2011 to answer questions on Jeopardy, and partially by chefs at ICE, an award-winning immersive culinary school in New York.

　　这本书中包含了超级电脑沃森以及位于纽约的烹饪教育学院共同创作的65道食谱。沃森是IBM公司2011年发明的那台在智力竞猜电视节目《危险边缘》中回答问题的电脑。

　　First, how does Watson work? Here is very simplified version: Data scientists at IBM loaded it up with thousands of recipes and a database of food chemical compositions. They then “taught”Watson known food pairings, like rosemary and potatoes, so it could learn how the chemicals of foods interact, to create those tasty pairings. Then they gave him a list of known favorites like roasted chicken to keep him from reinventing the wheel.

　　那么沃森是怎么生成食谱的呢?简单来说是这样的：首先IBM的数据工程师们给沃森输入上千种食谱以及食物化学成分的数据库，然后他们教给沃森一些常见的食物搭配，如迷迭香和土豆等，这样沃森可以了解食物之间都会发生怎样的化学反应、怎样搭配会更美味。最后他们再给沃森一个最后喜爱的食物列表如烤鸡翅，以避免它重新生成已有的食物。

　　Watson then created “recipes”–or rather, groups of ingredients that he felt should be paired together in a dish. Then professional chefs from ICE created actual recipes, including ingredient amounts and cooking instructions, to create a dish.

　　之后沃森就可以生成“食谱”了，或者说是一些它认为能够在一道菜中搭配的化学成分组合。接着，烹饪教育学院的专业厨师据此在此基础上编制食谱，包括各食材的用量、烹饪的顺序等。

　　Each recipe in the book is rated by three metrics. “Surprise”measures how rare of the flavor combination is. Recipes are also measured by “pleasantness,”which is based on flavors known to give people pleasure on a molecular level (also called “hedonic psychophysics.”And finally, recipes are rated on their “synergy,”which factors in how common compounds known to taste better together are used.

　　这本书中的每个食谱都从三个方面给与了评定。“惊喜”衡量的是指所得食物味道的罕见程度，“愉悦”指的是这道菜能否给人带来快乐，“协同”就是搭配在一起味道更佳的组合。

　　What was the result? A dizzying collection of totally off the wall concepts, such as the Austrian Chocolate Burrito, which has a beef filling flavored with dark chocolate and ground cinnamon, a cocoa-apricot purée, and mashed edamame (100 percent surprise, 75 percent pleasant, and 45 percent synergy).

　　结果就出现了一些出乎意料之外、感觉不怎么靠谱的菜肴，比如奥地利巧克力煎饼，其制作食材包括：黑巧克力味道的牛肉、肉桂粉、可可杏仁泥以及捣碎的毛豆等。这道菜的三个等级评分分别是：惊喜100%，愉悦75%，协同45%。

　　So what’s the point of the book? It could be seen as a fun challenge to a professional cook. At the very least, it’s some good entertaining, and educational, reading for anyone who is curious about the intersection of food and science.

　　那么出这本书的意义何在呢?也许可以把它视为是对专业烹饪书籍的一次有趣的挑战。对于那些对食物和科学的结合很好奇的人来说，这本书也会很有趣，而且也很有教育性。

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（责任编辑：何莹莹）