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One prominent effort to reduce unpleasant tastes involves a gene editing tool called CRISPR-Cas9, which snips out unwanted genes.
减少不良口味的一项突出努力涉及一种名为CRISPR-Cas9的基因编辑工具，它可以剪掉不需要的基因。
The vegetable company Pairwise, based in Durham, North Carolina, used the technique to remove the bitter enzyme myrosinase from mustard greens.
位于北卡罗来纳州达勒姆的蔬菜公司Pairwise使用该技术去除了芥菜中的苦味酶黑芥子酶。
When bowls of the resulting greens in salads were given to taste testers, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, says Tom Adams, cofounder and chief executive officer.
联合创始人兼执行长汤姆·亚当斯表示，当将所得的蔬菜沙拉提供给味觉测试人员时，反馈非常积极。
After brief introducing their milder mustard greens under the label Conscious Greens, Pairwise recently licensed it to food giant Bayer, which is gearing up for a national rollout.
在简要介绍了Conscious Greens标签下的温和芥菜后，Pairwise最近将其授权给食品巨头拜耳，该公司正准备在全国范围内推广。
Pairwise has also put blackberries under CRISPR's knife to dampen the tart flavor of the fruit, which comes in part from antioxidants.
Pairwise也将黑莓置于CRISPR刀下，以抑制水果的酸味，部分来自抗氧化剂。
Blackberries have more of those compounds and vitamin C than blueberries but are less frequently consumed.
黑莓比蓝莓含有更多的这些化合物和维生素C，但食用频率较低。
The company is working to remove genes from a little-used variety known for sweetness but whose thorns and hard seeds make it difficult to commercialize.
该公司正在努力从一种很少使用的品种中去除基因，该品种以甜味而闻名，但它的刺和坚硬的种子使其难以商业化。
A new, tastier blackberry with softer seeds could be available within a few years. The company expects other less tart or bitter vegetables and fruits to follow.
一种新的、更美味的、种子更柔软的黑莓可能会在几年内上市。该公司预计其他不太酸或苦的蔬菜和水果也会跟进。
Pineapple company Fresh Del Monte is also turning to genetic modification to tamp down the pucker.
凤梨公司Fresh Del Monte也正在转向基因改造来抑制皱褶。
Since the 1990s, their selective breeding program has emphasized a balance of sugars and citric acids to create pineapples that are sweeter than traditional sour varieties.
自20世纪90年代以来，他们的选择性育种计划一直强调糖和柠檬酸的平衡，以生产比传统酸味品种更甜的凤梨。
Now, the company has introduced an even less tart version called Pinkglow, available in supermarkets since 2022.
现在，该公司推出了更酸的版本，名为Pinkglow，自2022年起在超市出售。
The fruit has genetic tweaks that inhibit the red lycopene from converting to the yellow pigment beta-carotene, which gives it a soft pink interior color and less acidic taste.
这种水果经过基因调整，可以抑制红色番茄红素转化为黄色色素β-胡萝卜素，从而赋予其柔和的粉红色内部颜色和较少的酸性味道。
The resulting fruit provides a "candy sweet experience," says Hans Sauter, senior vice president of research and development at the Miami, Florida, based company.
这家总部位于佛罗里达州迈阿密的公司的研发高级副总裁汉斯·索特表示，由此产生的水果提供了“糖果般的甜蜜体验”。
Despite its less desirable flavor profile, bitter components of fruits and vegetables called phytochemicals have numerous health benefits, research in animal models make clear.
动物模型研究表明，尽管味道不太理想，但水果和蔬菜中被称为植物化学物质的苦味成分对健康有许多好处。
In 2022, Miller and his colleagues reviewed these compounds in the journal Nutrients and found studies supporting their ability to prevent inflammation, improve insulin resistance, and destroy problematic bacteria.
2022年，米勒和他的同事在《营养》杂志上审查了这些化合物，发现研究支持它们具有预防发炎、改善胰岛素阻抗和消灭问题细菌的能力。
Other studies document the substances' cancer prevention properties, through controlling cell growth and killing problematic cells before they spread.
其他研究记录了这些物质通过控制细胞生长并在问题细胞扩散之前杀死它们来预防癌症的特性。
And bitter phytochemicals stimulate gastrointestinal hormones and improve the movement of food through your gut in ways that prevent overeating and weight gain.
苦味植物化学物质会刺激胃肠激素，改善食物在肠道中的运动，从而防止暴饮暴食和体重增加。
Many cooks reduce the bitterness of vegetables like kale and mustard green by cooking them, which inactivates the myrosinase and, therefore, sweetens the taste.
许多厨师通过烹饪来减少甘蓝和芥菜等蔬菜的苦味，从而使黑芥子酶失活，进而使味道变甜。
This has long been thought to destroy their healthful phytochemicals, although recent research reveals that as much as 40 percent of the bitter compounds may be reconstituted in the gut by bacteria in the microbiome.
长期以来，人们一直认为这会破坏其有益健康的植物化学物质，尽管最近的研究表明，多达40%的苦味化合物可能会在肠道中被微生物群中的细菌重新组成。
It turns out "you have bitter taste receptors all the way down your gut, not just in your mouth," says Miller, who is studying the issue.
事实证明，“苦味受体遍布你的肠道，而不仅仅是在你的嘴里，”正在研究这个问题的米勒如是说。
Still, the amount generated in the gut is less than when the raw compounds are chewed and depends heavily on the composition of the individual's microbiome.
尽管如此，肠道中产生的量仍少于咀嚼原始化合物时产生的量，并且在很大程度上取决于个体微生物群的组成。
Food scientists involved in these efforts insist that even if some health-promoting chemicals are lost, the increased consumption of more palatable fruits and vegetables more than makes up for it.
参与这些努力的食品科学家坚持认为，即使损失了一些促进健康的化学物质，增加食用更美味的水果和蔬菜也足以弥补这一损失。
Currently, just 10 percent of Americans eat the recommended two to three cups of vegetables daily and only 12 percent consume the one-and-a-half to two cups of fruit.
目前，只有10%的美国人每天摄取建议的两到三杯量的蔬菜，只有12%的人每天摄取一杯半到两杯量的水果。
Plus, they point out, enticing people to eat more plant-based foods instead of meats or ultra-processed fare is better for the planet.
此外，他们指出，吸引人们多吃植物性食品而不是肉类或超加工食品对地球更有利。
The humble brussels sprout may hold some lessons for juggling these competing factors.
不起眼的球芽甘蓝可能为应对这些竞争因素提供了一些教训。
In the twentieth century, when conglomerates began to dominate agriculture, efforts to alter harvests emphasized ease of growing and transportation.
在20世纪，当企业集团开始主导农业时，改变收成的努力强调了种植和运输的便利性。
"Growers want it to mature at the right time, be the right size, have the right, withstand pests, while supermarkets have their own criteria for shelf life," Mazourek says. "Usually, the consumer is not the focus."
“种植者希望它在正确的时间成熟、大小合适、拥有合适的品种、抵御害虫，而超市有自己的保质期标准，”马祖雷克说。“通常，消费者不是焦点。”
That began to change for brassica vegetables in the 1990s, when Dutch scientists cross-bred an older variety of brussels sprouts that contained fewer glucosinolates but produced poorer harvests with a more productive modern version.
20世纪90年代，芸苔类蔬菜的情况开始发生变化，当时荷兰科学家将一种较老的球芽甘蓝品种与一种产量更高的现代品种进行杂交，这种球芽甘蓝含有较少的芥子油苷，但收成较差。
Eventually, they landed on one that met growers' yield demands but made eaters smile.
最终，他们找到了一个既能满足种植者产量要求、又能让食客微笑的产品。
Thanks to these sprouts, the U.S. per capita consumption of brussels sprouts has more than doubled in the past decade, with the California Farm Bureau recently calling it a culinary superstar.
由于这些芽菜，美国人均球芽甘蓝消费量在过去十年中增加了一倍多，加州农业局最近称其为烹饪超级明星。
Plant scientists would be wise to find a balance for these fruits and vegetables where both sweet and acidic flavors remain.
植物科学家应该明智地为这些水果和蔬菜找到一个平衡点，既保留甜味又保留酸味。
Mazourek says, "I think the sweet spot would be less sharp but not removed entirely."
马祖雷克说，“我认为最佳点不会那么尖锐，但不会完全消除。”
This is important not only for humans, he points out, but for the survival of the crops as well.
他指出，这不仅对人类很重要，对农作物的生存也很重要。
Were bitter compounds to be eliminated entirely, as the plants grow in the fields "the bugs will also be eager to eat a lot more."
如果完全消除苦味化合物，随着植物在田间生长，“虫子也会渴望吃更多东西。”
