On the first floor of the castle, in the lord's kitchen.
It was the servants' meal time. When Bruno arrived, the servants were gathering in twos and threes, eating the day's dinner.
In this world, except for nobles like Bruno, most ordinary people can only eat two meals a day, breakfast and dinner.
"Is this your food for today?"
Bruno curiously picked up a piece of dark, hard and rough bread.
The sudden arrival of the lord made the servants who were eating suddenly feel uneasy, and the cook who was washing the ingredients was frightened out of his wits.
"Yes, yes...it's my food." The servant said quickly, stammering with fear.
Bruno looked at the piece of black bread from left to right, and knocked it a few times on the stove next to him. The black bread and the stove made a ding ding sound.
It's rough and hard. That's right. This is probably the legendary black bread...
Bruno had heard of medieval black bread a long time ago, and his original body also had some impression of it in his memory, but it was not until today that he saw it with his own eyes for the first time.
"Is this what you usually eat?"
"Having black bread to eat everyday is a life that only gods can enjoy. The old housekeeper is kind-hearted. The black bread he gives to the little ones is made of barley, oats or rye. Although it is mixed with some bran, peas and other things, it is much more delicious than ordinary black bread."
Hearing Bruno's question, Leon, who was standing nearby, spoke quickly.
"Is this a god-like life? Is it possible that other people eat worse than this?" Bruno couldn't help but ask.
"Of course. Although ordinary people can occasionally catch a few fish to improve their lives, black bread is still their staple food. Moreover, the bread that ordinary people eat is mostly mixed with a lot of pebbles, sand, bran, weeds and other things. Not only is it hard to chew, but it also tastes hard to swallow. Some people can only grind cheap crops such as peas and acorns into flour to make bread."
Hearing this, although Bruno had expected it, he was still a little shocked. This world... is indeed too barren...
Can I...change...this poor and backward world?
Bruno asked all the servants in the kitchen to stand up, and then he carefully looked at the ingredients and utensils in the kitchen.
Compared with those civilians who had no food to eat, their lives seemed to be much better.
It must be said that the ingredients in the kitchen were not as simple as Bruno had imagined. The fruits included not only the common apples, lemons, peaches, etc., but also many unknown berries picked from the wild. The vegetables included cabbage, onions, celery, radishes, and... beets! ?
Bruno seemed to have discovered a new world. He quickly walked over and picked up the beets to examine them carefully. Beets are an important raw material for making sugar on Earth...
There is definitely no one who found a way to make sugar from beets in this world. At least in the memory of this unfortunate guy whose soul I have traveled through, beets are just simple vegetables used to make soup.
In this world, the only source of sugar is honey collected from the wild, which is hard to come by. Therefore, sugar is extremely precious in this world.
It seems that I need to take some time to make candy in the future. This is a way to make money right in front of me!
However, sugar production is not the top priority right now.
Bruno was fed up with dealing with barely edible white bread all day long, so what he wanted to do most was to train a qualified cook as soon as possible.
As for the system's tasks... let's fill our stomachs first. There's a long time to come, so there's no need to rush.
The cooking utensils are very simple. People in this world only know how to cook food by stewing, roasting and boiling. Therefore, there are no iron pots, which shatters Bruno's dream of eating stir-fried dishes.
After looking around, it seems that... noodles are the simplest option.
It is impossible to do it yourself. As a noble, you must have the dignity and pride of a noble.
He directed the cook to scoop out a large bowl of flour, add water to make the dough, then knead it carefully and repeatedly in a clay basin.
"Master, are you going to cook for yourself?" Leon asked softly.
"It depends on the situation..." Bruno said casually.
"How can this be possible?.How can you do it yourself? If this gets out, it will damage your dignity as a nobleman."
Old Ford frowned and said in a deep voice.
"It's okay if I don't do it directly by myself, right? Besides, the chef at home is really not very skilled, so I'll just give him some advice." Bruno said helplessly.
In this era, there seemed to be an insurmountable gap between the nobility and the common people. Therefore, Bruno's behavior today was considered extremely rude by most nobles.
Old Ford had no choice but to nod. Although he watched Bruno grow up, Bruno was the owner of this land. If Bruno did not trust him, his status would be no different from that of an ordinary servant.
The cook who was kneading dough was so frightened when he heard Bruno say that his skills were limited that he knelt on the ground, "I am so sorry, I can't cook a meal that suits your taste..."
"Get up. I'll teach you how to make noodles this time. You can study it carefully in the future."
"Master, you are so amazing. You know everything!" Leon complimented with a smile on his face.
Bruno: "…"
While the dough was resting, Bruno picked out some fresh-looking vegetables and asked the servants to wash them carefully.
As for the meat… There were quite a few pieces of dried meat hanging by the window in the kitchen, including not only the common beef and mutton, but also some game. However, perhaps because they had been stored for too long, the surface of the meat was covered with a layer of mold, and it didn't look fresh at first glance, not to mention the sour smell that was faintly visible in the air.
In order to preserve meat products, people in this world mostly dry the meat and store it, and do not sprinkle too much salt on it.
Because in the other world, the method of making salt is still very backward, and most of the people use coarse salt, which has a bitter taste. Even for nobles like Bruno, the salt they consume on a daily basis is not much better.
Not only did it taste bad, but there was also not enough salt. One had to be very careful when sprinkling it, not daring to be extravagant at all.
When they were almost awake, Bruno decided to roll up his sleeves and take action himself.
Although old Ford wanted to say something, he held it back. Forget it, just don't let rhe servants tell anyone else.
Bruno kneaded the dough with his hands and found that it had some elasticity, so he simply pinched off a piece and rolled it on the chopping board with a rolling pin.
Although Bruno didn't cook much at home in his previous life, he had seen pigs run even if he hadn't eaten pork, so he started to try to make noodles properly.
Although the process was a bit bumpy, the final result was good.
Looking at the crooked and uneven noodles piled on the panel, Bruno finally felt a hint of joy in his heart.
There was no iron pot, but there was a clay pot. Bruno stared at the blazing fire until a faint aroma of flour wafted from the clay pot, and then Bruno's stomach started to growl.
Serve the noodles and add some lard and salt. The aroma of oil and noodles mixed together rises in the hot steam, and just the smell is enough to make your mouth water.
"Master is indeed a wise man!" Swallowing his saliva, Leon flattered immediately.