【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

Chapter 327: Primitive Tribe Chieftain Mother-in-law 47

"That's a good idea too. In a few days, Shu will bring some firewood and have this team follow you out to collect it."

"Okay."

"Everyone, learn to read. This will help you improve. Especially those who can't transform into beasts. You should work hard. Maybe one day you can transform into a beast. Ordinary people have almost no chance of survival when encountering a ferocious beast, but beastmen at least have the strength to fight."

"Yes!"

Time passed quickly. The yard used as a warehouse next to the Golden Palace to the north was already filled with dried meat, bacon, dried seafood and tapioca pearls. The two warehouses next door were also mostly full. It was the golden autumn season for harvest and work.

There are abundant fruits near the tribe. The tribesmen adhere to the principle of plucking feathers from passing geese and keep harvesting them. Various fruits and nuts are transported to the tribe.

Yun Xi saw that this was not going to work. Nuts were fine and easy to preserve, but what about fruits?

Then start making jam and sugar!

Jam is a traditional way of making fruit, perfectly capturing the aroma and sweetness of fruit to create delicious jam. Whether it is used to accompany breakfast toast, as a cake filling or as a condiment, jam is an indispensable delicacy.

Making jam is also simple. Rinse the fruit with clean water and remove the stems and leaves.

For large fruits, such as peaches or apricots, cut them into small pieces first; for small fruits, such as blueberries or strawberries, you can leave them raw.

Take an iron pot and add fruit. Sugar should be added here, but there is no sugar in the tribe, so you can just boil it directly.

Heat the pot over medium-low heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and continue to simmer. Stir frequently to prevent the fruit from sticking to the bottom of the pot or burning it.

When the fruit is cooked until soft and the juice is thick, you can crush the fruit with a spoon to make the jam smoother. In the last few minutes, add an appropriate amount of lemon juice to increase the sour taste of the jam and help keep the color bright.

When the jam is ready, turn off the heat and allow it to cool slightly before placing it in a clean, sterilized glass jar. Make sure to leave enough space to prevent bubbles from forming during fermentation. Seal the jar and store it in a cool, dry place.

After opening, it must be consumed as soon as possible, because it cannot be preserved for too long without adding sugar, and the taste is not that sweet, and it is a bit sour. However, for orcs who have never eaten sugar, it is undoubtedly a delicacy. After eating it, you will feel that your whole body is wrapped in happiness.

Not much jam was made, and each family shared three jars. Some fruits that were sweet enough were boiled into sugar, which was used to make preserved fruits. The taste was a bit complicated, but surprisingly delicious, and received unanimous praise from the tribe members, especially the children. The adults would put some in their pockets when they went out and have a piece when they were free.

The production of preserved fruits is not difficult. Like meat jerky, preserved fruits are made through several processes including washing, peeling, cooking, soaking and drying.

Because people were not used to eating the fruits of baobab trees and breadfruit trees, everyone tacitly stayed away from these two trees and did not collect these two fruits. Yun Xi did not force them.

The fruit of the baobab tree is called "baobab fruit". Its flesh is juicy and tastes like bread, hence the name. The tribesmen have never eaten bread before so they are not used to it.

On this day, Yun Xi had the rare urge to run around Qinghu Lake. Unexpectedly, there were thick reeds here, and there were all kinds of pheasants, wild ducks, chickens and duck eggs. No one had hunted them all year round, so the number was extremely large.

"Two flocks of wild ducks call in the green willows, and a line of white geese soars into the blue sky."

Wow, I immediately remembered the taste of preserved eggs and salted duck eggs.

Suck!

Yun Xi asked the tribesmen to catch a lot of chickens and ducks. When the children heard that there were chicken and duck eggs, they ran to pick them up. The warehouse was soon full, so she had to teach the tribesmen how to make preserved eggs and salted duck eggs.

The taste of the preserved egg is fresh, smooth, elastic and fragrant, and its color, aroma and taste are unique. Many people like to eat it directly after peeling the shell, and the preparation method is also very simple.

First, pick the eggs. The easiest way is to shake them and listen to the sound of water. If the sound of water is clear, then they are probably rotten. Otherwise, you can keep them. Because there is a lot to do, most of the tribesmen come to help.

Yun Xi weighed lime powder and alkali flour according to the correct ratio: one pound of lime to three ounces of alkali flour. She dissolved the alkali flour in hot water, then gradually added the lime powder, stirring continuously until a fine paste formed. She cracked a few eggs into the pot and adjusted the consistency of the lime paste until the eggs were half-floating in it.

Prepare a slanted wooden board and place it next to the iron pot. Sprinkle sawdust on the board. Roll the egg dipped in lime paste over the board to evenly coat it with sawdust.

If there's any unadhered lime paste on the eggs, gently rub them with your hands to firm them up and ensure the lime paste is evenly distributed. Once done, place the eggs in a ceramic jar, seal the bag, and place it in a cool, well-ventilated place for 7 to 10 days until the eggs are ready.

Lime powder is easy to find, and alkaline noodles can be replaced with wood ash, which is simple to make.

"Chief, is this okay? Will the eggs go bad?" Yu wrinkled her nose, obviously she had smelled the smell of rotten eggs before.

Yun Xi proudly puffed out her belly and said, "Of course, put your heart back in your stomach, and then the fragrance will make your tongue fall off. You must have eaten a lot of the candies and preserved fruits I taught you to make, right? Have you forgotten the taste so quickly?"

Several children covered their mouths and laughed, but the missing front teeth looked too funny.

"Hehe, I'm afraid of damaging my teeth, so I don't dare eat too much."

"That's right. If your teeth are damaged, you won't be able to eat meat."

Next is the salted duck eggs. Salted duck eggs are a bit more troublesome to make, as they require white wine and vinegar. There is some monkey wine in the tribe that can be used, but I don’t know if lemon can be used to replace white vinegar. It’s better not to waste food. In the end, Yun Xi took out the white vinegar.

First, pick out cracked and bad duck eggs. These cannot be used! Add white vinegar to water and soak the duck eggs for more than half an hour. Rinse the duck eggs and dry them in the air or in the wind. Rinse them twice to remove any dirt.

Prepare 3000ml of water, 400g of salt, a handful of about 30 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, and 2 star anise. Boil all the ingredients together and let them cool for later use. These things can be found in the wild.

Take a small bowl and pour some simply distilled monkey wine, wrap the dried duck eggs in the wine to sterilize them, and then gently place them in a sealed jar.

Pour in cold salt water and all the remaining white wine in the small bowl. Finally, press the surface with two or three pieces of kitchen paper, and then press it with a bamboo net or bamboo stick to prevent the duck eggs from floating up and going bad. Then seal it and place it in a cool and ventilated place.

For normal consumption, 15 days is basically enough. If you want the egg yolk to be sandy and oily, you have to wait for about a month. The egg yolk for making egg yolk pastry needs to be matured for 40 to 60 days.

The chickens and ducks caught were also made into various delicacies, greatly enriching the tribe’s diet.