I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 17 Using the Mage's Hand
Internal organs are indeed a relatively difficult food to prepare, and the problems are not much different from what the halflings said.

It has a strong fishy smell and is difficult to clean. In this world, basically only the poor would eat this as a supplement to their lack of oil and fat.

However, this is not a problem for DuPont. As a nation of food lovers, there are countless people there who study various food pairings. Removing fishy smells and enhancing aromas are just the most basic things.

Have the butcher split open the pig's face, go to the kitchen to burn off the sweat glands from the pig's trotters, then use magic to remove the blood and dust before soaking these offal items in water. All the internal organs are treated in the same way.

However, the smell of this large intestine is indeed strong. Even if magic is used to clean it, it is still unavoidable to feel the stench during the cleaning process.

Fortunately, the power of magic is boundless, and in just over 10 seconds, the several-meter-long pig intestines were completely cleaned.

The farmers had gone home and there was no one to help, but that didn't stop DuPont. With the chanting of the second incantation, a dark blue hand, slightly larger than a human, was summoned.

Transmutation magic: The Mage's Hand. This is one of the essential subjects for mages.

What DuPont needs to do now is to use the magician's hands to clean his intestines while he goes to the kitchen to find spices.

Watching DuPont perform so skillfully, the butcher glanced at the chef and raised an eyebrow: "This guy seems to actually have some talent?"

The halfling nodded and said, "It is quite interesting. Flour can quickly absorb the fishy-smelling slime, and salt can pickle the taste and kill some insects. I usually add a little when washing some fruit, but I don't know how this stuff tastes when cooked."

As he spoke, the halfling suddenly remembered something and quickly returned to the kitchen: "No, I have to keep an eye on this kid, or he might misuse all my expensive spices!"

The kitchen was bustling with activity. Most of the breakfast had already been prepared by the human chefs, and freshly slaughtered pork was being cooked in large pots. The stoves, fueled by dry wood and coal, emitted intense heat, and the blower-like furnace filled the entire kitchen with steam.

At that moment, DuPont walked in.

The chefs were somewhat surprised to see DuPont in his apprentice robes. Some of the food servers recognized him, but he seemed completely at ease in the kitchen, acting as if he were at home. He even took out some freshly made sausages and popped them into his mouth, commenting, "Breakfast is at seven. If you fry them like this, they'll get soggy soon."

"Why are you using such a high heat to boil these eggs? The shells are cracked, who's going to eat them?" After saying that, she peeled off the shells and stuffed them into her mouth without caring about the heat. "Why are you looking at me? Go look at the broth. If you don't stir it, it'll burn. Let's see if you can make another pot."

"By the goddess above, there's still oil on this plate that hasn't been washed clean. If someone sees this, they'll smash the plate! Don't you want your salary?!"

The chefs, having been scolded, ran away with their heads in their hands, only exchanging glances after he stopped pursuing the matter.

Where did this kid come from?

I don't know, why did you come into the kitchen?

Could it be an inspection team sent by the college? I'd better do a good job today and not slack off.
When Judy returned, she was surprised to see the neatly organized kitchen.

As the head chef, he held absolute authority over the dishes in the kitchen and could fire anyone he wanted. However, for some reason, every chef who came here, after initially being apprehensive, would become a bit more lax.

But he didn't have time to care about the changes in the chefs right now; his eyes were fixed on DuPont in the storage room: "Hey, close the door. The steam from cooking might spoil some of those expensive spices!"

But once the door was closed, Judy suddenly remembered that she hadn't come here to see this: "The Hearthkeeper's Cauldron, I haven't gone in yet!"

The door opened, and DuPont was filling a wooden bowl with spices.

Star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, angelica root, fennel seeds... cloves, taro seeds—this seems to be a mutated variety. There's no soy sauce or dark soy sauce, but there's fish sauce and red yeast rice: "Judy, why don't you have dried chilies? You have scallions and ginger in the kitchen, right? This brandy is also good for removing the fishy smell." "Wait, this is cinnamon bark, not cassia bark. The price difference is several times, and the taste is different too. And this brandy isn't some cheap, 10-copper-a-cup stuff!"

DuPont agreed and replaced the spices, but didn't throw down the wine bottle: "What good wine could you possibly have in your kitchen? Isn't it all just for cooking?"

"Who told you that? Sometimes even the tutors order à la carte. This stuff costs more than those offal glasses." Judy rolled her eyes and pulled out a dusty bottle. "Use this. It's only one silver coin a bottle. Use it as you like."

DuPont didn't stand on ceremony. After gathering all the spices, he took the necessary utensils. However, there was something more important right now: "These offal might still have a taste after blanching. Shall we wait until they finish eating before we cook them?"

“No need. Just set up a makeshift stove outside the back door.” Judy said, pointing to a half-finished tin bucket. “Use this and an iron pot to make a makeshift stove. It’s usually used to cook whole chickens or geese. Don’t make my kitchen stink.”

DuPont is perfectly acceptable; the sorcerer has already thoroughly cleaned the intestines and intestines, and all that's needed is to change the water and wash away the flour and other impurities.

However, just as he was carrying water, Man Shi, who had been watching the commotion, frowned, and a somewhat lazy voice rang in his ear.

"Why are you staying here so long today? This isn't like you."

"Someone made a new dish today, it looks interesting, I'm going to try it."

"A new dish?" The man's voice carried a hint of doubt. "Did the fleet heading to the Far East bring back a new recipe, or has Judy come up with some other new tricks?"

"No, it seems they're making stewed offal. I haven't had this in years," the butcher replied via telepathy, a malicious smile playing on his lips. "And the intestines for holding shit, too. Interested in trying some?"

"Ugh, you're still such a spoilsport. I shouldn't have chatted with you. You won't get any thymus tonight either."

"You talk as if I like eating it. The last time I ate that crap, it tasted no different from pig brain. The texture was weird, and it was a bit like the lymph nodes that Chenxing said you absolutely shouldn't eat. Only you would like to eat this crap."

"Heh, what do you know? This is a top-tier ingredient that's famous even in the Silvermoon Federation. Forget it, I'm not going to talk to someone like you who doesn't understand food. Goodbye."

DuPont had no idea what the others were doing. After blanching the pork, he changed the water, added spices, salt, and pork, and then put the lid on.

"Okay, bring it to a boil and skim off the foam. After it boils, turn the heat down to low. After an hour, turn off the heat and let it simmer for another two hours to let the flavors meld. It should be ready to eat around 9 o'clock."

"By the way, Judy, give me a whole chicken. It can be cooked with meat and the combination enhances the flavor of the whole dish."

"I feel like you're wasting my stuff." Judy said reluctantly, but still picked out a fat chicken that she was going to make for lunch and asked the chef to come and prepare it. Her halfling curiosity made her patient with this interesting new cooking method: "What about these innards? Aren't you going to make these things? Why did you just blanch them in hot water and then leave them alone?"

“Cooking them together will definitely affect the taste. Just cook them after you’ve cooked the pig’s head and trotters. These things cook faster, about an hour should be enough.” DuPont cleaned his hands as he spoke. “By the way, do you have any flour? It’s the perfect match for flatbread. You can also use cucumbers, scallions, and green peppers to make a side dish to cut through the greasiness. Otherwise, you probably won’t be able to eat much later.”

“A real man wouldn’t eat that green junk.” Man Shi shook his head and asked, “By the way, are you practicing killing to prepare for becoming an adventurer?”

“That’s the idea.” DuPont nodded. “Nowhere is safe right now, so this is a good way to toughen myself up. We’ll have to face this sooner or later anyway.”

"Adventure is no easy feat. Besides their powerful spells, mages rely heavily on their ability to adapt to situations. Even if they manage to do that, finding reliable teammates is still a challenge." The Butcher said with a nostalgic look on his face. "But having this ambition is commendable. If your cooking tastes good later, you can come with me to Damai Village on the western mountain. I'll show you something truly challenging."

(End of this chapter)