萬萬想不到：電腦成廚王 出書分享原創食譜

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.
第一次聽到電腦生成食譜的想法時，我覺得這可能給家庭烹飪帶來更多方便。如果這些食譜是基於科學而非藝術，那麼廚師當然可以根據這些食譜來做飯。

“Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson,”by IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education, proves my assumptions wrong.
但是IBM和烹飪教育學院一起出版的《沃森大廚的認知烹飪》證明我之前想的似乎並不對。

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.
這本書中包含了超級電腦沃森以及位於紐約的烹飪教育學院共同創作的65道食譜。沃森是IBM公司2011年發明的那臺在智力競猜電視節目《危險邊緣》中回答問題的電腦。

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.
那麼沃森是怎麼生成食譜的呢？簡單來說是這樣的：首先IBM的數據工程師們給沃森輸入上千種食譜以及食物化學成分的數據庫，然後他們教給沃森一些常見的食物搭配，如迷迭香和土豆等，這樣沃森可以瞭解食物之間都會發生怎樣的化學反應、怎樣搭配會更美味。最後他們再給沃森一個最後喜愛的食物列表如烤雞翅，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.
之後沃森就可以生成“食譜”了，或者說是一些它認爲能夠在一道菜中搭配的化學成分組合。接着，烹飪教育學院的專業廚師據此在此基礎上編制食譜，包括各食材的用量、烹飪的順序等。

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.
這本書中的每個食譜都從三個方面給與了評定。“驚喜”衡量的是指所得食物味道的罕見程度，“愉悅”指的是這道菜能否給人帶來快樂，“協同”就是搭配在一起味道更佳的組合。

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).
結果就出現了一些出乎意料之外、感覺不怎麼靠譜的菜餚，比如奧地利巧克力煎餅，其製作食材包括：黑巧克力味道的牛肉、肉桂粉、可可杏仁泥以及搗碎的毛豆等。這道菜的三個等級評分分別是：驚喜100%，愉悅75%，協同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.
那麼出這本書的意義何在呢？也許可以把它視爲是對專業烹飪書籍的一次有趣的挑戰。對於那些對食物和科學的結合很好奇的人來說，這本書也會很有趣，而且也很有教育性。