kscans

Chapter 223 - # A Guide to Earth-Style Cooking 3. Pickle Discussion (Part 1)

So, while the plan to feature fried food as the main course was decided, it is a universal truth that a meal cannot consist of a main dish alone. Side dishes to support the fried food were necessary.

"Well, I plan to arrange that part myself, but..."

"If there are too many greasy things in a row, the guests might find it unpleasant, right?"

From Yuri's modern perspective, after eating greasy food, he wanted something refreshing to cleanse his palate. A salad of fresh vegetables seemed appropriate, but...

"Just serving a pile of plain vegetables... they get disliked for looking cheap."

It seemed there was a tendency to not particularly like vegetables, but when serving them as a dish, they would apparently be looked down upon unless they were prepared with some effort. Well, he could sort of see how ladies and gentlemen munching on raw cabbage or daikon radish wouldn't make for a very pretty picture.

"Well, fat-soluble vitamins... some of the nutrients in vegetables are easily dissolved in fat, so stir-frying them is a reasonably logical method... and if you remove the moisture to reduce the bulk, you can eat a lot of vegetables too."

"Ah... I see... so there's that advantage too."

Yuri glanced at Mand, who was nodding in agreement as if he was learning something new, and then he suddenly remembered pickles. In terms of removing moisture to reduce bulk, weren't they a similar thing?

He then remembered one more thing. Mayonnaise was a condiment that went very well with raw vegetables. In his past life, there were even people called "mayonnaise lovers," weren't there? ...Well, whether vegetables with mayonnaise would serve as a palate cleanser for fried food was another matter.

"...Mand-san, I just remembered two things."

"Oh? Got a good idea?"

"I don't know if it's a good idea, but the mayonnaise we just talked about, it goes really well with raw vegetables. If you toss them in an elaborate dressing, wouldn't that raise the status of a salad?"

"Oh... a dressing, is that like a sauce?"

"Yes, well... you can think of it as a sauce for salads... I don't know the details myself, but I believe it's made with a base of vinegar, oil, and salt, and then flavored with herbs and such. If you keep the oil content low, I think you could get a refreshing taste."

Yuri's memory of these recipes was hazy. For Yuri, who had lived in Japan in his previous life, miso and soy sauce, and sometimes noodle soup base, were more than enough as seasonings. He had made a mock ponzu sauce since he had obtained some citrus-like fruit, but he had never felt like making a complicated French dressing. However, it would likely be useful information for Mand.

"I see... if I make an elaborate sauce, I can serve raw vegetables in a new and interesting way. ...So? What's the other thing?"

"I was thinking... what about pickles?"

"Pickles? You mean the ones where you salt- or vinegar-cure raw vegetables?"

"Yes. Would that not work?"

Mand pondered this. The pickles he knew of were salt-cured cabbage (Capet) or cucumber (Kumisu), and onions (Sepa) soaked in salt and vinegar. He had also heard of pickled thistle flowers, but had never seen them himself. However...

"Doesn't sound very impressive, does it? The saltiness can be managed by soaking, but there's nothing you can do about the bad texture, right?"

Hearing Mand's response, Yuri's conviction was renewed, ah, as I thought. At least in this country, it seemed pickles had not managed to escape the category of preserved food. Furthermore, it seemed the techniques for maintaining a crisp texture were unknown.

"No, for example, sauerkraut... which is salt-cured cabbage (Capet), did you know that if you pickle it layered with cherry (Sakkuru) or grape leaves, it can maintain a crisp texture?"

"What did you say?"