The Magical Food God of Hogwarts

Chapter 119 Can I eat this?

Lucas was stunned.

Are you kidding me? I'm standing right in front of you! The rumors are so outrageous, can't you just ask me, the person involved?

"Quiet, children."

A gentle voice broke the commotion as Professor Sprout, wearing a patched pointed hat and covered in mud, looked at them with a smile, giving a special nod to Lucas.

"Class is about to start, children, come over here."

The young wizards chattered as they approached a wooden shelf in the center of the greenhouse. There, on the pile of damp, even rotten wood, grew clusters of unique mushrooms with thick, fleshy crowns and rounded stems, their entire bodies a brownish-brown color.

Lucas took a deep sniff and smelled a rich fragrance, instantly losing his senses.

"Today's lesson is about the glowing mushroom," Professor Sprout explained. "Can anyone tell me its characteristics?"

Hermione's hand shot up high in a flash.

However, Professor Sprout acted as if he hadn't seen it, fixing his gaze directly on Lucas: "Lucas, you answer?"

"Huh?" Lucas didn't react immediately, answering according to his own imagination, "The crown is thick, the texture is firm, the stem is sturdy, and it's plump and juicy..."

'

"Suitable for dry-frying. First, tear it into strips by hand, dry-fry until golden brown, then add dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and minced garlic. It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes."

"Suitable for salt and pepper seasoning. Cut into thick slices or chunks, coat with a thin layer of starch, deep-fry, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cumin. It's crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside."

"Perfect for pan-frying in butter. Thick slices, pan-fry in butter until golden brown on both sides, sprinkle with black pepper and sea salt, and they will be juicy and meaty."

Professor Sprout's smile froze, while Lucas spoke more and more fluently, and the little badger and lion beside him began to smack their lips.

"Suitable for braising. Cut into chunks, pan-fry first, then braise with soy sauce, rock sugar, and star anise. It's thick, juicy, and a perfect accompaniment to rice."

"Suitable for stir-frying with sliced ​​meat. When stir-fried with pork belly or chicken, the mushroom slices absorb the meaty aroma, becoming tender yet chewy."

"Suitable for braising in abalone sauce. Simmered over low heat in broth or abalone sauce, the finished product tastes even better than abalone."

The little badgers and lion cubs were drooling, wishing they could just disperse and go eat the mushroom feast.

Suitable for baking with honey sauce.

"Lucas!" Professor Sprout's lips twitched as he finally interrupted him. "I'm asking about the magical properties of the glowing mushroom!"

This child, all he thinks about is eating!

Lucas finally snapped out of his daze. Seeing Professor Sprout's helpless yet expectant expression, he cleared his throat and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "Ahem, it's mentioned in 'A Thousand Magical Herbs and Mushrooms' that the glowing mushroom is a very interesting magical plant."

"It typically grows in dark, damp caves or deep forests, absorbing light during the day and emitting a soft, bright yellow glow at night. A special fluorescent oil can be extracted from it, which is an important ingredient in making various magical crafts and magical lamps."

Hermione lowered her head in disappointment. Lucas had answered everything correctly, without missing a single point, so she had no chance to make up for it and get points.

Professor Sprout finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Excellent answer, Hufflepuff gets five points. But..."

'

She changed the subject: "Lucas, you missed the most important point."

Hermione paused for a moment. Had he missed something, or was it the most important one? Lucas had clearly answered all the key points.

Then Professor Sprout said, enunciating each word clearly, "Lucas, remember this—glowing mushrooms are inedible."

"How could this happen!" Lucas exclaimed, his face filled with grief and indignation. "Why?"

Professor Sprout said, "Didn't you just say it yourself? Glowing mushrooms can be used to extract glowing oil. Glowing oil is a magical ingredient for external use; it can't be ingested—it's poisonous!"

It's poisonous, it's poisonous...

Lucas, clinging to a last hope, asked, "Even if it's cooked thoroughly, it's still inedible?"

"cannot."

"Is it cooked through?"

"cannot."

"Then...how about hot pot? Can I cook it for fifteen minutes?"

"No!" Professor Sprout decisively shattered his last hope.

Seeing Lucas's disappointed look, the professor divided them into groups of four and taught them how to cultivate and care for fluorescent mushrooms.

After hearing the key points, Lucas was somewhat stunned.

How is this process any different from growing shiitake mushrooms in the Muggle world? Isn't it all about controlling humidity, temperature, and light? I'm good at that, but—

"Professor," Lucas couldn't help but raise his hand, "may I ask a question?"

"Of course, child," Professor Sprout said kindly, then immediately changed his tone, "as long as you don't ask how to eat it."

Lucas's question surprised the young wizards: "Can Muggles cultivate and care for glow mushrooms?"

Professor Sprout was intrigued and smiled. "Why do you ask, Lucas?"

"Because I noticed that we don't need to wave wands or chant spells when cultivating glow mushrooms. It's similar to Potions class, but also a bit different."

Lucas continued, "Although Potions class doesn't use wands or spells, the brewing process is essentially still spellcasting. The wizard's will, under the influence of magic, is incorporated into the cauldron, ultimately making the potion effective... But when cultivating glow mushrooms, I didn't feel any magic involved at all."

"Besides, even without wizards, glow-in-the-wisps will still grow and glow in nature. Does this mean... whether or not someone is a wizard is completely unimportant to glow-in-the-wisps, and that Muggles can actually cultivate them too?"

When the question was posed, all the students were stunned; they had never thought about it from this perspective before. Especially the Muggle-born young wizards, Justin, Wayne... they suddenly felt as if a brand new, magnificent door had been opened a crack, but the light was fleeting, and they failed to capture the true brilliance.

Only Hermione had a fleeting thought: Could ordinary people also do things in the magical world?

Professor Sprout looked at Lucas in surprise. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. "You're right, Lucas. Theoretically, Muggles can also cultivate glow mushrooms."

The young wizards immediately erupted in a heated discussion, and Professor Sprout continued, "To broaden the scope further, if it's just harmless magical plants like glow mushrooms, Muggles can indeed cultivate them. Theoretically, this applies to all non-toxic and harmless magical plants."

"But—" Professor Sprout paused, the shift in his tone making the young wizards prick up their ears, and Lucas listened intently as well: "But such plants are ultimately few and far between. Most magical plants are poisonous, dangerous, and aggressive, such as the Devil's Web, the Whomping Willow, the Poison Tentacles... and countless others."

"Cultivating them requires various magical skills to soothe or suppress their danger, and Muggles must not approach these plants at all. Moreover, even some harmless magical plants often coexist with dangerous magical plants, making it extremely dangerous for Muggles to cultivate, care for, or harvest them."

"That's why herbalism is a core subject in magic."

But Lucas's excitement remained undiminished: "Because of the Secrets Act, it's impossible for Muggles to actually come into contact with magical plants, but on the other hand, since cultivating these plants doesn't require magic, then we can use Muggle's advanced cultivation techniques!"

Professor Sprout was stunned: "...Advanced technology?"

"Yes!" Lucas pointed to the pile of rotten wood. "Professor, the wizarding world uses log cultivation—cough, glow mushrooms—but the Muggle world started using bagged substrate technology ten years ago! It can increase mushroom production fivefold!"

Professor Sprout was stunned, gripping the water bottle tightly in her hand: "Five times?"

"Yes, Professor, of course this technology is used on mushrooms in the Muggle world, and we don't yet know its specific effects on magical mushrooms." Lucas examined the glowing mushroom. "But it's definitely worth experimenting with. Since glowing mushrooms can be grown without magic, theoretically, Muggle technology should also work."

Professor Sprout had already stood next to Lucas: "So, Lucas, what is meant by bag-based mushroom cultivation technology?"

So Lucas patted the wood and began to speak eloquently: "The bag substrate technology involves putting raw materials such as sawdust and wheat bran into high-temperature resistant plastic bags, sterilizing and inoculating them to create a nutrient-rich and pure environment for the mushroom mycelium to grow inside."

"Then, by changing environmental conditions, such as lowering the temperature, increasing humidity, and providing diffused light, the mycelium is stimulated to germinate rapidly, and fruiting bodies grow from the surface of the substrate..."

Professor Sprout listened intently, her eyes lighting up, clutching her mud-caked apron. Although no actual experiment had been conducted yet, her decades of experience in herbalism allowed her to immediately ascertain that Lucas was absolutely right—it was indeed an advanced cultivation method!

Good heavens, have Muggles really gotten this far ahead in this area?

So, under the astonished gazes of the young wizards, Professor Sprout and Lucas began to talk at length about Muggle cultivation techniques, completely forgetting that they were still in a classroom.

Lucas also explained how to stimulate mushroom growth by scratching the surface of the substrate bag, and how to judge growth status by observing the color of the mycelium... He also gave a general overview of substrate cultivation, hydroponics, and other technologies developed by Muggle World...

Now the roles were completely reversed; Lucas became the teacher, and Professor Sprout became the student, nodding in admiration and diligently taking notes with his quill pen.

"That's fantastic, Lucas! I can't wait to get started on this research!" Professor Sprout exclaimed. "This brand-new project could be called 'The Application of Muggle Growing Technology in the Wizarding World'... Lucas, you'll have to work with me on this project!"

"We might just get the Order of Merlin, Second Class!"

"Of course, the medals are not the point. If this problem can be solved successfully, and the production of magical plants like the glowing mushroom can be greatly increased, it will be a great thing for the entire magical world."

Hermione looked at Professor Sprout, who was beaming with excitement and seemed to have become ten years younger, and then at Lucas, who was having a lively conversation with her. A sense of defeat welled up in her heart.

My goodness, how can there be such outstanding peers!

No, I have to work harder too! I can't let Lucas outdo me! Applying Muggle technology to the wizarding world is a fantastic research direction, and it shouldn't be limited to herbalism... Let me think about it...

It was already evening when class ended, and Professor Sprout kept Lucas behind again.

"Lucas," her smile was brighter than a sunflower in a greenhouse, "Professor Dumbledore already told me to give you more training."

"I was originally planning to teach you some more advanced knowledge, but the Muggle techniques you just mentioned were truly amazing. This also proves that you have great potential in herbalism. Such talent cannot be wasted."

"So, from now on, every Tuesday after class, come here to find me after dinner. We'll conduct research together on the application of Muggle farming techniques in the magical world, and I'll also teach you more things."

"Hmm, is there a specific area you'd like to focus on learning?"

Lucas readily agreed, "That's fantastic, Professor. I need a comprehensive understanding of magical plants, especially which ones are edible, which ones are inedible, how to make the inedible ones edible, and how the edible ones taste."

""

Professor Sprout stared blankly.

Lucas continued his rambling: "After mastering all of this, my next step is to learn how to cultivate delicious magical plants, and those magical plants that can be processed into delicious ones... Professor, Professor?"

Professor Sprout's smile was a little stiff.

"Lucas, the allure of magical plants isn't about whether they're edible or not... Well, perhaps interest is the best teacher. Anyway, come with me first, I'll show you around greenhouses one through seven."

"But be careful, there are many dangerous magical plants inside. You must stay close to me and don't move around."

Lucas said it was fine, and a few minutes later...

"Professor, is this bright red dragon pepper edible?"

"No! It will melt your tongue!"

"Why don't we plug this crying onion's mouth, peel it layer by layer, and taste it?"

"No! Its irritating fumes will cause your skin to ulcerate."

"What about this? The bubble pod... It looks like a large pink pea, is it okay to eat one?"

"No! It will bloom right in your stomach! Those flowers will either grow upwards from your mouth or downwards from other eyes."

Looking at the enthusiastic Lucas, Professor Sprout rubbed his forehead, feeling that his teaching career was facing an unprecedented challenge.

That night, Lucas, having just finished receiving extra lessons from Professor Sprout, climbed into Hufflepuff's common room and saw Hermione waiting for him, holding up a parchment covered in writing, wanting to exchange it with him.

As agreed, Lucas taught her all his knowledge of fire spells.

The busyness lasted until late at night. Ernie was already fast asleep, while Lucas, having finished washing up, still felt quite energetic. Having already obtained the information about those historical events from Hermione, he opened his old diary and wrote: "Hello, the Bone Extraction Charm you taught me last time really worked!"

The diary was delighted: "See? I knew it would come in handy. I am a book of wisdom, a book of legacy!"

My master possesses power beyond your imagination. As long as you can continuously pass my tests, you will become just as strong.

""

"By the way, what did you use the Bone-Extinguishing Curse on? Was it an eight-eyed giant spider, a horse-shaped water monster, or a giant monster? Or perhaps a unicorn?"

Lucas was also delighted: "No, I used it to make a duck!"

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