Chapter 573: Corn Oil and Seawater Brine

This chapter is an additional update for the "Glory of the Battle Song" reward.

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Cris Truth is overseeing the Flame Mushroom experiment, which reassures Liszt. It is now early May, and although most crops have not yet matured, many crops enhanced by the insect grass can already be harvested.

For the first time, corn on the cob and corn rice are on Liszt's menu—the corn on the cob has a slightly sweet taste, somewhat different from that on Earth; the cob is larger, but the kernels are sparse and not plump, making it inferior.

Corn rice, made from hulled grain corn, has a richer flavor and smoother texture compared to millet rice.

In the absence of rice, corn rice can serve as a suitable substitute. Eating pasta or millet rice daily doesn't suit Liszt's palate.

"Starting today, my staple food will be corn rice. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, I will have corn rice at noon and pasta in the evening; on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, I will have corn rice in the evening and millet rice at noon; as for breakfast, I will add two ears of corn to each meal."

"Yes, Lord," Carter, the butler, acknowledged, noting Liszt's instructions.

He then gestured to the footmen to bring three stir-fried dishes, saying, "Lord, these are stir-fried tomato and egg, stir-fried onion with shredded pork, and stir-fried green beans, all cooked using freshly pressed corn oil. Mrs. Abi hopes you'll taste them and advise whether to switch to corn oil for stir-frying."

Liszt picked up his chopsticks.

He sipped water to cleanse his palate, then picked up a piece of tomato and egg, chewed it for a moment, and nodded: "The taste is good, I don't detect any corn flavor. The oil is light, allowing the tomato and egg flavors to stand out."

After cleansing his palate, he sampled the stir-fried onion with shredded pork, followed by the stir-fried green beans.

After tasting all three, he had a general answer: "Use corn oil for the tomato and egg and the stir-fried green beans; continue using soybean oil for the stir-fried onion with shredded pork. I will decide on the oil for other stir-fried dishes after tasting them one by one."

Carter, the butler, replied, "Yes, Lord."

The castle's kitchen stocks various oils—millet, peanut, soybean, grape seed, and now corn oil—offering a richer selection to enhance certain dishes.

Regarding cuisine,

Liszt wasn't originally a gourmet, but with limited entertainment options in this world—either watching stage plays, farces, reading books, or going horseback riding, hunting, or fishing—he eventually got bored. Uninterested in mahjong or cards, he turned his attention to food and drink.

He strives to make every dish as delicious as possible.

His castle's chef team is larger than those in many Marquis' castles. The chefs specialize in various cuisines: pasta, stir-fries, pastries, seafood, barbecue, and fruits and vegetables, among others.

Just after he tasted the stir-fried dishes with corn oil,

His personal footman reported, "Lord, Bavell, the restaurant chef, is here to see you."

"Bavell?" Liszt raised an eyebrow; this was the chef he funded to research tofu, who had been out of touch for a long time, "Bring him to me."

A moment later.

Bavell entered the dining room, knelt in respect, and eagerly said without prompting: "Praise the Lord, the glory of knighthood has blessed me, Bavell, and I've finally made tofu! It's white and tender, just as you described, Lord!"

"Oh, the tofu is made? Did you bring it?"

"The tofu is very soft, Bavell left it in the restaurant kitchen and did not bring it over."

"Never mind, I'll go and see it myself." Liszt eagerly stood up, ready to see the long-awaited tofu. His attendants immediately brought the blueblooded horse for him to ride.

Traveling within Flower Town.

Liszt no longer rides the land bird Loki; the previous Black Dragon horse was also given to Parris to ride. He now rides the blueblooded horse gifted by the Duke—this horse he named "Gem," and as the mount of an honorary member of the Blueblood Knights, it cannot be given to others and can only be ridden by himself.

Moreover, Gem's qualities are indeed outstanding, making it an excellent warhorse that can follow him into battle in the future—a knight can have many mounts and switch them at any time.

After arriving at the tavern,

the merchants dining on the second floor were immediately asked to leave by Liszt's squire knights. No one dared to cause trouble or complain, demonstrating the authority and status of the nobility.

The footmen wiped down the tables and chairs, and Liszt took his seat.

Bavell had already brought out the tofu, a whole pot of it. It was quite white, but the surface was rough. It was somewhat different from the tofu Liszt remembered, but the difference was not significant. He scooped a bit with a wooden spoon; it wasn't very soft, but it wasn't too hard either—just acceptable.

"Have you tried it?"

"My Lord, I prepared the tofu half a month ago, but at that time, I wasn't sure if it was really tofu, nor did I know if it was safe or edible. Over the past half month, I've been testing its safety and refining the tofu-making technique. Only when I was confident it met the standards did I dare to report to you, my Lord."

"You prepared it half a month ago? Tell me about the process."

"I first repeatedly pressed the soybeans to extract their milk, then started boiling the soy milk, and then used the method you taught to coagulate it with brine. After many trials, I finally succeeded in coagulating the soy milk with seawater, forming tofu curd. I scooped up the curd and pressed out the water using a wooden board, resulting in these blocks of tofu."

"Seawater can also be used to coagulate it?"

"At first, I discovered that seawater could coagulate boiled soy milk into tofu curd, but the tofu made this way was very unpalatable, bitter and astringent. Later, through gradual experimentation, I found the right method to use seawater for coagulation, finally producing tofu that meets your requirements, my Lord."

"I see." This was the first time Liszt had heard that seawater could also be used to coagulate tofu. Regardless, the tofu was now right in front of him.

He immediately began to taste it.

As soon as it entered his mouth, the familiar taste of tofu filled his mouth, and he couldn't help but praise, "Good, this is the tofu I know! Bavell, although developing the tofu took you a long time and cost me a fair amount of gold, your success in developing it is still commendable!"

Immediately, he rewarded Bavell with a gold coin.

Bavell took the gold coin and joyfully replied, "Thank you, my Lord!"

"While you have succeeded in making tofu, it is still quite rough. I will continue to fund your research for better production techniques. Moreover, from now on, the supply of tofu for the castle will be your sole responsibility. Also, I will hand over the management of the Flower Tavern to someone else and build a tofu workshop for you to manage."

Bavell was a serf.

Naturally, whatever Liszt told him to do, he had to do. Moreover, being promoted to a workshop manager was a significant step up from being a tavern chef, so he had no reason to refuse.

Pleased, Bavell quickly prepared a plate of braised tofu as requested by the Lord.

Eating the familiar taste, Liszt felt particularly satisfied: "From now on, the tofu workshop will be a key protected area of the territory. The tofu recipe will be strictly confidential, and tofu will become another important specialty of the territory!" Tofu has a short shelf life and is not suitable for long-distance sales, and he had no intention of exporting it.

Only by coming to Flower Town could one enjoy the deliciousness of tofu.