John Harrison has what must be the most wanted job in the United States. He’s the official taster for Edy’s Grand Ice Cream, one of the nation’s best-selling brands. Harrison’s taste buds are insured for $1 million. ___1___ And when he isn’t doing that, he travels, buying Edy’s in supermarkets all over the country so that he can check for perfect appearance, texture, and flavor.

　　After I interviewed Harrison, I realized that the life of an ice cream taster isn’t all Cookies ’n Cream — a flavor that* he invented, by the way. No, it’s extremely hard work, which requires discipline and selflessness.

　　For one thing, he doesn’t swallow on the job. Like a coffee taster, Harrison spits. Using a gold spoon to avoid “off” flavors, he takes a small bite and moves it around in his mouth to introduce it to all 9,000 or so taste buds. ___2___ Then he breathes in gently to bring the aroma up through the back of his nose. Each step helps Harrison evaluate whether the ice cream has a good balance of dairy, sweetness, and added ingredients 一 the three-flavor components of ice cream. Then, even if the ice cream tastes heavenly, he puts it into a trash can. A full stomach makes it, impossible to judge the quality of the flavors.

　　During the workweek, Harrison told me that he has to make other sacrifices, too: no onions, garlic, or spicy food, and no caffeine. Caffeine will block the taste buds, he says, so his breakfast is a cup of herbal tea. ___3___

　　Harrison’s family has been in the ice cream business in one way or another1 for four generations, so Harrison has spent his entire life with it2. However, he has never lost his love for its cold, creamy sweetness. ___4___ On these occasions3, he does swallow, and he eats about a quart (0.95 liters) each week. By comparison4, the average person in the United States eats 23.2 quarts (21. 96 liters) of ice cream and other frozen dairy products each year.

　　Edy’s ice cream is available in dozens of flavors. So what flavor does the best-trained ice-cream taster in the country prefer? Vanilla! In fact, vanilla is the best-selling variety in the United States. ___5___ “It’s a very complex flavor,” Harrison says.

　　約翰·哈瑞森擁有一份可能是美國(guó)人最想要的工作。他是一名職業(yè)的冰淇淋品嘗師，供職于美國(guó)最暢銷的冰淇淋品牌之一Edy’s Grand Ice Cream。哈瑞森已經(jīng)給味蕾投保了100萬(wàn)美元。他每天要在位于加州奧克蘭的Edy’s總部嘗試60種冰淇淋樣品。休假時(shí)，他會(huì)去旅行，并且到全國(guó)各地的超市買來(lái)Edy’s產(chǎn)品，以便檢査外觀，質(zhì)地和口味是否完美。

　　在采訪完哈瑞森之后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)冰淇淋品嘗師的生活并不像他發(fā)明的奶油曲奇味雪糕那樣甜。這是一個(gè)需要克制和無(wú)私的艱難工作。

　　首先，工作時(shí)他不能咽下冰淇淋，只能像咖啡品嘗師那樣吐出。為了避免其他味道的混入，他用金制的湯匙舀取冰淇淋，咬一小口在口中攪動(dòng)，讓大約9 000個(gè)味蕾全部都能感覺到味道，然后他不斷咂嘴唇好讓空氣進(jìn)入口中。接著，他輕輕吸一口氣，讓冰淇淋的芳香竄入鼻中。每一個(gè)步驟都有助于哈瑞森判斷出這款冰淇淋的牛奶、甜度和添加劑這三種成分是否已達(dá)到完美的平衡。即使這個(gè)冰淇淋嘗起來(lái)極其美味，他接下來(lái)也會(huì)把它扔到垃圾桶里。飽腹感是不可能判斷出口味的品質(zhì)的。

　　哈瑞森告訴我說(shuō)，在工作周，他也不得不做出很多犧牲：不能吃洋蔥、大蒜或辣的食物以及含咖啡因的食物。因?yàn)榭Х纫驎?huì)限制味蕾，所以他早飯時(shí)只喝一杯花草茶。這只是他為了自己口中世界上的工作所付出的一個(gè)小代價(jià)。

　　哈瑞森的家族中已經(jīng)有四代人以這樣或那樣的方式在冰淇淋行業(yè)工作，所以他已經(jīng)為此付出了一生。但他并沒有失去對(duì)這種涼爽油膩的甜品的愛。他甚至?xí)�在餐廳中點(diǎn)冰淇淋作為甜品。在這些時(shí)候，他會(huì)咽下它們，他每周大概會(huì)吃掉一夸脫(0.95升)的冰淇淋。而美國(guó)普通人平均每年要吃掉23.2夸脫(21. 96升)的冰淇淋和其他冰凍奶制品。

　　Edy’s的冰淇淋有幾十種口味。哪種口味才是這個(gè)國(guó)家最有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的冰淇淋品嘗師的最愛呢?香草味的!事實(shí)上，香草口味是全美最暢銷的。但是，你不能稱它是純香草口味�！斑@是個(gè)很復(fù)雜的口味，”哈瑞森說(shuō)道。