Chapter 16: Improving My Cooking!

After Katharina came, I began to study various dishes. I thought I had done it to some extent before I summoned Katharina, but I realized just now that I didn’t do enough research.

To begin with, when I was on Earth, I had my experiences living alone, so I did some cooking for myself. But that is using convenient Japanese ingredients and seasonings. If you get tired of the taste, you can get all the seasonings in the world. If you go to the supermarket, you can get most of the ingredients even for the most unusual of menus. It was such a blessed environment that I was able to cook for myself.

Even if I was told to cook from nothing in this world, I didn’t have that kind of skill. I think it was a little naive. I soon get tired of repeating the same menu items. I never thought that thinking about cooking day-to-day would be this hard.

Above all, there are too few seasonings and types of dishes in this world. Hard bread, lightly salted vegetable soup, and mostly salted and grilled meat and fish are common. If you’re a higher-ranking noble like a margrave, you won’t starve, but in terms of your diet, I have to say that it’s worse than the poor families of modern Japan.

So I decided to increase seasonings and cooking methods to make the most of the ingredients. I’m neither a chef nor a culinary researcher, so I don’t know much about cooking. Even I have some knowledge that I learned from TV, magazines, and the Internet, though. Among them, I have made it from things that can be done relatively easily if I have the materials.

Not only in this world but also on Earth, when it comes to milk like goat and sheep milk has long been used as an easily obtained food. But I want higher quality milk nutrition-wise like cow’s milk, but there is a problem with the amount of milk you could obtain from one cow. 1 I needed a lot of milk, so I wanted to cover it with milk production, so I asked Helmut and Isabella to do something about it.

I feel no hesitation to task them with it, but I think it was quite difficult. Cows in this world don’t get milked as easily as Holsteins on Earth, so it’s not easy to get. In addition, it seems that there is almost no dairy farming, so it must have been from the point of making arrangements for acquiring cattle to raise.

Even so, thanks to what I’ve been tasking them for so long, I’ve finally managed to get a large amount of milk prepared. Maybe the two of them are doing something like dairy farming somewhere.

Anyway, I’ll use a large amount of the milk I finally got to make fresh cream. Place it in a thin, wide container that is neither too cold nor too warm, and let it sit overnight. Fresh cream is the thick ingredient that separates from the water, rising to the top while the rest stays below.

Next, agitate the fresh cream while cooling it moderately and without heating it too much. Churn, churn, churn it all. If you remove the separated water, the solidified part left is butter. Since there are no preservative or storage methods, I will make only the necessary amount when I need it and consume all I make immediately. The separated water is also useful as buttermilk, so it is not wasted. It just takes time and effort to prepare.

Next, I made consomme. No, it’s a mistake to say consomme… or is it? Anyway, it is difficult to make dashi stock in this world where there is neither soy sauce nor miso. Without kombu, dried sardines, and dried bonito flakes, there is no way to prepare Japanese-style dashi stock.

The first thing I thought of was consomme. In Japan, you might think that consomme is a simple flavoring, soup stock powder or solid seasonings you just toss in a pot, but that’s not true.

Like pork stock or chicken stock, chicken bones or pork bones are simmered with vegetables and herbs. That’s how bouillon is made. I think? 2 Consomme was made by further boiling the bouillon, adding egg shells and egg whites, and removing the scum, thereby making it a clear soup. I just don’t know how to make it in that exhaustive detail. So rather than calling it consomme, it would be more correct to say that the dashi I made is a bouillon made by boiling pork bones, chicken bones, vegetables, and herbs together.

After all, with this dashi stock, the taste of various dishes can be varied up. Whether it’s consomme, bouillon, or something in between. Compared to consomme eaten in Japan, the taste is much less intense, but it’s still better than nothing. This alone can be used in various dishes and soups.

I will also increase sugar production. If you don’t use enough seasonings, your cooking will become monotonous. That’s why I decided to make sugar from things that are easily available in this country. The base material is sugar beet, not sugar cane. Unlike sugar cane, sugar beets can be grown in cold climates. Nearly half of the sugar production in modern earth should have been beet sugar. 3

Sugar beets are also grown in this country. But not for human consumption. The leaves are used for medicinal purposes, but the roots are used as animal feed. I think it was in the mid-to-late 1700s on Earth that sugar could be separated from this sugar beet, and it wasn’t until the early 1800s that it became possible to industrialize the process. It’s only relatively recently that it’s been used on earth.

Unlike the improved varieties on Earth, sugar beets in this world have less sugar content. Still, when the squeezed juice was boiled down, you made beet sugar. The residue from that can be used as animal feed, so it will not be wasted.

And what I really wanted to get was lard, that is, pork fat. Securing oil was a top priority in this world where large amounts of oil could not be obtained as easily as in Japan. Even on earth, they said that there’s no part of a pig you have to throw away, you could use their whole body, but somehow I managed to secure only lard… rather, I asked Helmut and Isabella to do their best.

I really can’t do anything without those two… the two of them do all the searching and shopping for ingredients. As for me, I just instruct the two of them to look for something like this, or if there is something like that. You might think I have a great novel new idea, but in the end, it’s just the wisdom of my predecessors on earth, and I didn’t come up with anything.

Tomato ketchup is not just sugar, salt, and vinegar, but also various herbs, onions, and celery are added to improve it. Thanks to these studies, the repertoire of dishes and the range of flavors should have expanded dramatically.

Now that lard is available, the ban on fried foods has also been lifted. I can’t afford to throw away so much, so I’m going to fry croquettes with a thin layer of lard in a small pan that barely fits them. I can’t use enough oil for the croquette to be completely submerged and swim around, so I fry one side with lard that is shallow enough to submerge one side. 4

Add minced carrots and onions to the mashed potatoes. And add consomme, not bouillon? Either way is fine. Let’s prepare cabbage rolls with a consomme flavor. I also make it with plenty of vegetables and feed it to Katharina.

The bread that was kneaded with butter and raisins also smelled good as it baked. I don’t know about diet or nutritional balance. If you eat regularly a variety of foods, your malnutrition and weak constitution will eventually improve. With that in mind, I brought the food for me and Katharina to her room today as well.

These days, morning, noon, and night, Flora’s birth mother Maria has found her appetite whetted by the wonderful smells wafting in the air. However, as she waited expectantly, the usual bland salt soup and salt-grilled meat and fish were served at her meals. Maria’s frustration with Flora is only increasing as her lovely only daughter doesn’t eat with her these days. And finally, the day came when she reached the limit of her patience.

The smell of the cooking process of that day’s menu was too brutal. First of all, there was the aroma of baking bread with butter kneaded into it. For someone who usually eats hard, unsavory bread, the smell of baking buttered bread was somehow intriguing.

And the smell of cream stew. The gentle scent of the fragrant cream will lure you in. The last straw was the fried chicken. The smell of fragrant chicken cooked in lard is intriguing even if you don’t know what the dish would taste like.

And with the end of her patience, Maria rushed into the kitchen and shouted in an embarrassingly loud voice:

“Wait a minute, Flora darling! It’s unfair to eat such a delicious-smelling meal alone with Katharina! Mother wants to try it too!”

“Huh…?”

Flora was surprised by her mother’s boldness, at a loss of what to do as her mother tearfully explained the situation to her.

Today, there was someone visiting Alberto’s office to directly appeal an important matter. His name is Damian. He was a cook who came from a neighboring country and is currently the head cook of House Carruthers. On Earth, it would be called a chef or a restaurateur, but the words were only created with the rise of high-class cuisine after the 19th century, so naturally, it does not exist in this world. 5

“Lord Albert! I’ve come to ask you a favor regarding Young Lady Flora!”

When Albert saw Damian say that as powerfully as he could from the start, he thought that Flora had done something wrong. Albert had made her learn how to cook in the field, but there’s no way an aristocrat’s daughter can cook properly. Damian, who came from a neighboring country whose cuisine was more popular than the Kingdom of Ploiss, must have thought that Flora was loitering around in his kitchen and couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Tell me,” Albert said.

“My Lord!” Damian cried. “Could you please teach me about Young Lady Flora’s cooking?”

“… What?” Albert asked, dumbfounded.

It was too different from his expectation that Damian had come to complain about his work, such as Flora keeping him from entering his kitchen.

“Lady Flora’s many wonderful dishes may be the secrets of House Carruthers!” Damian said, raising his voice again. “But please, teach me how to make those amazing foods!” he said before he lowered his head.

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After Albert confirmed he had neither misheard nor misunderstood Damian, Albert slowly rose from his chair.

“First of all… let’s check this cooking of Flora’s…” Albert said. “If it is as good as you say, then you may learn how to cook it from Flora herself.”

“Thank you very much!” Damian cried. “I’ll make sure to ask Young Lady Flora right away!”

Damian immediately left the office after that, but instead of chasing after him, Albert decided to listen to what the Carruthers’s family doctor had to say. He should have just come to examine Katharina today.

That doctor had finished his duty, so Albert was able to meet him as he was leaving, but Albert was surprised when he asked about the details of the situation. The doctor said that Katharina’s condition has improved incredibly. From a state where other doctors and healing magicians had just given up on her, Katharina had improved considerably in just a month.

Besides, when it comes to cooking, what in the hell is Flora cooking, with Damian rushing in so distraught earlier?

Albert was surprised when Flora suddenly said she wanted to treat Helmut’s sister. He had thought the young girl was in love with her first ever butler, a reliable older man, but she told him otherwise.

Albert also understands that Helmut has an extraordinary talent. He intended to have children with incredible potential and the same age as his eldest son, Friedrich, cross paths, raising them together as Friedrich’s confidants by sharing joys and sorrows from an early age.

However, in reality, things did not go as expected, and Friedrich and Helmut ended up going their separate ways without being able to open up to each other.

Albert is not going to say who is in the wrong or the right, such as why Friedrich cut Helmut from his staff. Even if he asked that now, it won’t help. He just thought it was a shame with Helmut’s talent. Albert was surprised to hear that his young daughter said that she regretted Friedrich’s failing to notice Helmut’s talent, just like Albert himself.

In order to understand his daughter’s point of view, Albert let her attempt to treat Helmut’s sister, but it seems that this is not over yet. The doctor also gave his stamp of approval that Katharina’s condition had improved considerably. And there was Damian’s distress. Albert belatedly went to the kitchen to see what in the hell was going on in his house.

Flora was confused. Her mother, who usually never enters the kitchen, suddenly came into it. That alone was surprising but even she got shouted at today by the head cook, Damian.

At first, Flora was afraid that she would finally be kicked out of the kitchen, but she was confused when Damian bowed his head and asked her to teach him how to cook. Flora thinks that she is an amateur at cooking, having lived alone and cooked a little for herself. She never expected that her family’s head cook would bow his head and beg her to teach him her cooking.

And the ultimate surprise was her father. As the last to appear, Albert asked her to let him taste the food she was making for today’s lunch.

“What is this cloudy, thick soup?” Albert said as he scooped it up with a spoon.

“It’s cream stew…” Flora replied.

“Hmm… I see…” Albert said as he brought it into his mouth.

Maria looks like she wanted to eat it too, but Albert pretends not to care and continues to taste the other dishes.

“And this is?” Albert asked.

“This is chicken fried in lard, seasoned with fish sauce…” Flora said.

“Hmm…”

The fried food was a little hot, so it burned the inside of Albert’s mouth slightly, but he couldn’t afford to get upset in front of everyone, so he managed to eat it.

“Isn’t this bread different from normal bread?” Albert asked.

“I’m kneading in fresh cream made from milk, it’s called butter…” Flora said.

“Hmm……”

Albert tasted all the dishes and was inwardly surprised. The bread is soft and flavorful, and nothing compared to the hard, unpalatable bread he usually eats. The cream stew looked thick and creepy, but it had a rich taste and was delicious. The fried chicken was a little hot, but unlike the usual salted and grilled meat, the savory flavor was wonderful.

Albert didn’t know what fish sauce was, but apparently, it was a seasoning that Flora ordered from afar. 6 Flora seems to have made the butter and fresh cream herself. In this world where there are almost no dairy products in wide distribution, most of the things Flora makes are dishes he’s never seen before.

“Flora,” Albert said. “If you don’t mind, can you teach Damian about these dishes?”

He managed to omit the part where he wanted to eat so many of these dishes every single day. He can’t say that in front of everyone. But Maria had a twinkle in her eye and was shaking her head up and down. Maria obviously wanted to eat these dishes as well.

“I don’t mind, but…” Flora said.

Albert tilted his head at Flora’s childish tone when she’s usually so clear and forward. It must have been hard to think of so many new and wonderful dishes. He thought she didn’t want to teach it to others, but apparently, Albert was wrong.

“I don’t know how someone of my skill level can teach our head cook, Damian. However, if he can remember how to make my food, would it be possible for him to help me make the menu for Katharina as well? It would be better if the professional cook Damian made it rather than me, and I want someone else to think about the balance and components of the menu.”

And with all that said, Albert looked at Damian. Damian was nodding his head, too. That settled the conversation.

“Then, from now on, Damian will learn your cooking, Flora, and Damian will prepare meals for us all of House Carruthers, including Katharina,” Albert said. “You’ll also both be joining us at the table, Flora.”

“Yes,” Flora said.

“Now I can eat Flora darling’s food!” Maria cheered.

“Understood, My Lord,” Damian said.

And at that, Albert turned around and left the kitchen, trying desperately not to smile at the thought of eating such delicious food from now on.

Footnotes

Ironically, Flora would have been fine sticking to sheep and goat’s milk. They’re both healthy choices and can even be superior to cow’s milk in some respects.Flora is correct, Bouillon is the French word for “stock,” which is the exact same thing as broth, stock, or brodo. When processed, Cane and Beet sugar are basically chemically indistinguishable, they’re both 99.95% sucrose. What plant your sugar came from is a matter of local producers than the consumer.Three things: don’t crowd your pan when pan frying, you cause moisture buildup that makes things soggy as the water vapor can’t escape properly. Don’t overcrowd your deep frying vessel or else you severely drop the temperature of your oil which makes things oily and soggy; oil needs to be nice and hot at around 180c to get the crispiness and juiciness of good deep fry. Finally, reuse your frying oil. In the modern day, filtering it out with the help of a cheesecloth or coffee filter will get rid of most of the floating pieces of gunk and other impurities that might taint your next fry-up.This is incorrect. While popular myths say that the fall of the French aristocracy and the now-jobless house chefs looking for a living started fine dining as we know it today, restaurants have existed even before the French Revolution and in non-European countries, such as China.It would likely have come from a Rome equivalent, and would be known then as “Garum.” Failing that, somewhere from a South East Asia equivalent.

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