深更半夜忽然想大吃一顿，冰箱里却没有存货，怎么办？德国人不用为此发愁，因为他们有香肠自动售货机。这种售货机24小时营业，不但出售德式香肠，还出售鸡蛋、牛奶等其他生鲜食品，大大方便了上班族。

 

Food cravings don't operate on a set schedule. They can strike at any time, like during the late-night hours when most businesses are closed for the day. As the Independent reports, Germany has come up with an ingenious solution to this common inconvenience: 24-hour sausage vending¹ machines that are accessible when the butcher is away.

对美食的渴望是不定点的，说来就来，比如说，你可能会在大多数商店都已关门的深夜时分忽然想吃一种东西。据《独立报》报道，对于这种常见的吃货小烦恼，德国人已经想出了一个绝妙的解决办法，那就是24小时香肠自动售货机，即使卖肉商贩不在，你也能买到肉食。

 

The miniature meat markets have become popular in recent years outside German cities. Butchers and other purveyors of fresh food close early in rural parts of the country, which can make grocery shopping difficult for people who work typical hours. The sausage vending machines are always open for business, so customers can pick up their meat for the week's meals (or for an impromptu² midnight snack) at the time that works best for them. There were more than 500,000 such machines servicing Germany's carnivores as of 2020, according to NPR.

这种香肠售货机近几年在德国乡镇地区变得很流行。德国乡下的屠夫和生鲜供应商关店时间早，使得正常时间上班的人难以买到这些食品。但是香肠自动售货机24小时都营业，无论顾客是要选购平日吃的肉食，还是一时兴起想吃夜宵，都可以在方便的时间过来购买。据美国国家公共广播电台报道，截至2020年，德国已经有50多万台这样的肉食售货机。

 

The automated³ vendors⁴ are famous for stocking products like bratwurst and bockwurst, but their inventories⁵ aren't limited to German sausage. Patrons can pick up other essentials like eggs, milk, produce, and butter, as well as prepared sides like potato salad for a full meal. The meats are vacuum-sealed and the machines are temperature-controlled, so shopping from them is just as safe as buying from the butcher.

这种自动售货机以出售德式小香肠和烟熏香肠等产品著称，但是他们的库存不仅限于德国香肠。顾客还可以在售货机上购买其他必需品，比如鸡蛋、牛奶、农产品、黄油，还有土豆沙拉这种现成的正餐配菜。肉制品是真空包装的，售货机也有控温功能，因此从售货机购买就和从肉商那里购买一样安全。

 

After taking off in Germany, the trend has spread overseas. In June 2021, Hermann, Missouri, welcomed a German-built vending machine stocked with smoked meat products. Getting German sausage at the push of a button may have been a first for the state, but the US has experimented with unconventional vending machines in the past. Los Angeles has hosted a caviar machine, and for customers with smaller budgets, a ready-to-eat burrito vending machine.

香肠自动售货机在德国兴起后，这股潮流也吹到了国外。2021年6月，美国密苏里州赫尔曼市引进了一台德国制造的烟熏肉制品自动售货机，这是该州首台出售德国香肠的售货机。不过美国过去也曾试用过非传统售货机，洛杉矶就曾推出过鱼子酱售货机和价格实惠的即食墨西哥卷饼售货机。

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