Lady of the Lord From the East - Chapter 140

Monosodium glutamate, or glutamic acid, was first extracted and isolated from the gluten of wheat by the Germans, but it was the Japanese who found that this kind of thing could be used as a seasoning to enhance the taste. In 1908, Ikeda chrysanthemum was found in the evaporated kelp soup. A crystal that tastes very delicious. After half a year of research, he discovered the existence of monosodium glutamate, applied for a patent and began to sell it. So far, this seasoning appeared in history.

Monosodium glutamate can be purified from many foods, such as wheat gluten, starch, beet molasses, etc., and can also be synthesized by chemical methods. Of course, the easiest way is to use kelp to purify, but ten kilograms of kelp can only get 0.2 grams of monosodium glutamate. Therefore, the monosodium glutamate of later generations is mostly purified or synthesized by other substances, but these production methods require special equipment, which is naturally impossible under the current conditions, so the MSG that Wei Wei thought of, naturally it is not the real MSG. .

Rather, what she wants is food with a freshening effect.

As a former netizen, Wei Wei has gained all kinds of knowledge on the Internet. She has always known that MSG is a condiment that is always considered to be harmful to the human body. Many people do not eat MSG, while some like MSG. People with fragrant effects will try to make MSG that is consciously nutritious and safe – of course, whether it is really safe or not is a matter of opinion. After all, the so-called monosodium glutamate will be harmful to the human body, mainly due to the toxicity of Weiwei produced by improper cooking methods – so She flipped through her encyclopedia, and she found a lot of ways to make MSG, and the methods to get them were very simple, no tools needed, just raw materials and sealed glass jars.

As for the real MSG, she should ask a few alchemists to help extract it.

Just do what she thinks, send the information about MSG and raw materials that can extract glutamic acid to the research institute, ask interested alchemists to study it, she turns around and starts to read the information, ready to get some MSG substitutes first .

In the end, I decided to try the three kinds of raw materials with excellent Titian effect: mushrooms, seaweed, and dried shrimps. Although these three foods themselves do not contain glutamic acid, their freshness-enhancing effects are not inferior to MSG. , and it is more natural and harmless, even if it is directly added to the food, it can make the food delicious, so it is suitable as a substitute.

And the way to obtain these three raw materials is also simple.

The fish resources in the Mediterranean are not rich, but seaweed, algae that is distributed in most sea areas, can also be found in the Mediterranean, and there is a habit of eating seaweed in the coastal areas, but the names are different in different places. Wei Wei only needs to describe it. The appearance of seaweed, someone quickly found enough seaweed for her, and the same is true for shrimp.

Although shiitake mushrooms had not been artificially grown at this time—she took this down into her notes, and since she thought of it, she would try to artificially grow shiitake mushrooms to add another industry to Sardinson—all fungi are pure natural ingredients. Naturally produced, it usually only appears after the rain, so people go into the forest to pick it back, whether it can be found or not depends on luck.

But since it was asked by the Countess, as long as the news is released, there will always be someone willing to pick it up and present it to her.

Sure enough, soon after the news was released from the castle, some territorial residents brought the mushrooms picked in the forest in the early morning, although the type was not the shiitake mushrooms she wanted, but the white mushrooms (also known as “world mushrooms”). called foreign mushroom), but the effect is the same.

The production method of seaweed monosodium glutamate is very simple, and it can even be said that no process is required at all. The dried seaweed can be directly ground into powder to replace the monosodium glutamate seasoning, while mushrooms are added with washing and drying steps, and shrimp skins are more rinsed. And the process of soaking, but in the end it is dried and ground into powder.

Except for the lack of a pulverizer, the powder can only be slowly ground by hand with a small stone mill, and the other steps are basically effortless.

Of course, it’s not up to Wei Wei, the hostess, to do things like grinding. As long as you tell the kitchen, many people are rushing to serve her.

In the end, Wei Wei got three bottles of powder that was close to the color of the raw material. Because it was a trial work, the initial finished product was not made too much. The “MSG” in the small glass bottle with cork was only about 50 grams per bottle, of course. , for seasonings, it’s already a lot.

Using these three seasonings with slightly different flavors, Wei Wei made three different instant noodles.

The noodles of instant noodles are made by her using a noodle machine. I have to say that the strength of the working people is strong. This kind of hand-operated noodle machine is not made by Wei Wei, but by several workers in the pasta factory. The first thing that comes to mind is that the machine is made of iron, and its structure is very similar to the pasta machine used in later generations. It consists of a small **** like a slide, several rollers and knife grooves, and there is a hand-operated rocker on the side. Pour into the slope, let it roll down naturally into the roller, then use the rocker to press the flour into flakes, repeat several times, you can get a thin and even dough, and finally guide the dough into the knife groove, continue to rock the rocker , the noodles are the same size.

At first, the workers just tried to make a simple noodle machine. The original version was made of wood, which had many shortcomings, but after Wei Wei saw it, she immediately asked the inventors to give a bonus, and then asked them to Take this wooden noodle maker to the blacksmith, and hand it over to the blacksmith along with the modified drawings of the noodle maker she drew. It didn’t take long for the new iron noodle maker to come out fresh. Although the problem of rust was inevitable, it didn’t take long. When stainless steel is used, it can only be used and maintained.

The iron noodle machine made at the beginning was not big, but only 30 cm wide. Wei Wei took it back to the castle and used it in the kitchen. After that, the blacksmiths built a batch of noodle machines that were twice the size of the original version and sent them back. The pasta factory is also because of the pasta machine, the production of the pasta factory has been greatly improved, and the workers have also saved a lot of effort.

Of course, the noodles made by this noodle machine are straight, which is quite different from the instant noodles, but if you want to bend the noodles, it is just a matter of modifying the knife groove. This is not important and can be discussed later. .

The prepared noodles are put into a steamer to cook for a period of time, then put into a frying pan and deep-fried.

Then came the instant noodles. The instant noodles were made by Wei Wei in front of Felix’s face. He poured the boiling water directly into the bowl with the noodles, and then covered a larger plate as a lid. After a few minutes of opening, the golden-brown noodles are soaked, salt and “MSG” are added, and the seasoning melts by stirring, and she pushes one of the bowls in front of Felix.

“How about a taste?”

Felix only saw Wei Wei’s instant noodles, and didn’t know how long and how long it took her to make these noodles, so he didn’t have any doubts about the knowledge that the noodles after soaking for a few minutes were cooked, but out of concern for his wife. With confidence, he still picked up his fork and rolled a fork of noodles out of the bowl.

The noodles that were rolled up had distinct roots, and they didn’t look like they were pasted into dough as he imagined. When he ate them into his mouth, Felix’s eyes lit up. There is no umami, but the taste of the noodles is actually very good. It is slightly different from the pasta soup noodles that I usually eat. It is a little bit rotten, but it still maintains a smooth taste. There’s almost no taste, but it’s not bad either.

This made him quickly realize the benefits of this pasta.

There are not many noodles in each bowl, only two or three bites. When he rolls it like this, the noodles in the bowl are almost empty, leaving only the soup with grease, and a faint fragrance can be smelled, Felix. Si didn’t hesitate, and drank the rest of the soup. This time, he drank the taste of mushrooms in the soup.

After drinking the soup, he wiped his mouth and said: “This kind of food is very suitable for eating when marching and fighting, but the taste is a little weaker.”

“It’s suitable for eating when it’s inconvenient to go out and cook.” Wei Wei was also used to Felix’s frequent association of things with the soldiers and the army. After all, he was a knight, and he also won a lot of merits in his early years, even after inheriting the title. Without giving up training, it is inevitable that Felix has some military characteristics: “The point of instant noodles is the seasoning, I haven’t started to mix the appropriate seasoning, this is just the best, if nothing else, the taste of the soup should be very fresh. ?”

She ate the shrimp skin-flavored noodles herself. Of course, the focus was on the taste of the soup. She only added a little shrimp skin to it, and the effect of freshening was really good.

“This is called instant noodles? It’s really convenient.” Felix appreciated that the noodles can be soaked with just a little hot water, and the taste is not worse than the boiled noodles. If he is allowed to eat this when he is inconvenient to cook. , he was very happy.

He ate the remaining small portion of seaweed, and said, “Is there still this noodles? Let’s eat this today, the one with all the seasonings added.”

Seeing that he liked it, Wei Wei nodded in response: “I’ll make you a cooked one later, that one tastes better – now let’s get down to business, what do you think about us changing the pasta factory in Melk Town into an instant noodle factory? ? Just produce this kind of noodles and the matching seasoning packets. Although the coast on Melk is not suitable for boating, it should be possible to cultivate seaweed in some places. If we can produce it on a large scale, we will have another industry. .”

Laver has a market whether it is used as a seasoning or directly dried and sold, and artificial cultivation of laver has not yet started. If they can do it, it will be a revenue-generating technology.

“Of course, I can guarantee that even if you don’t use the seasoning, there will be a lot of people willing to buy this kind of instant noodles. It is really suitable for eating on the go, and it is much better than the hard pies.”

In fact, in Felix’s opinion, it doesn’t matter if there are no seasonings. People who often go out will bring some seasonings with them. Just soak the noodles in hot water, and then add some seasonings, you can have a delicious meal. A meal, no one would reject such a simple method.

So it doesn’t really matter if there are seasonings or not!

However, after eating the upgraded instant noodles made by Wei Wei, he obediently erased these thoughts from his mind.

The seasoning was modified by Wei Wei according to the seasoning package of instant noodles in later generations. It mainly includes oil, “monosodium glutamate”, salt, sugar (brown sugar) and several spices. In addition, there are no dehydrated vegetables and beef jerky, so she directly added fresh Vegetables and diced bacon jerky, the taste of boiled instant noodles is naturally different from those sold in later generations, but the aroma and taste are not much inferior.

The sea bowl usually used to hold soup, Felix ate all the noodles and soup by himself, and the others obviously liked the taste of instant noodles. Although they didn’t eat as much as him, they also ate more than usual. Not a lot.

The instant noodles were well received by everyone, and Wei Wei put the remodeling of the factory on the agenda. She was inconvenient to travel by herself, so Melk’s new factory director could only be notified to bring a batch of production backbones to study in the castle. The production method of instant noodles, temporarily because the knife groove of the noodle machine has not been improved, the noodles produced are still straight, but Wei Wei still asked them to make the noodles into a circle when teaching them. , circle it into a circle, otherwise the straight noodles will be too easy to break when fried in a pan.

Of course, the making of noodles doesn’t require special training, and it’s easy to see. She recruited them, mainly to teach them how to make seasonings. Considering the cost, Wei Wei eliminated several expensive spices from the recipe and replaced them with It has become other low-cost varieties. For the time being, a seasoning recipe with good taste and low cost was made with seaweed MSG. Wei Wei considered this recipe again and again. Although Felix said that these people can be trusted, but just now She was still somewhat skeptical about the pasta factory, so she kept the spice part of the recipe a secret. In the future, this part of the spice will be mixed and processed into powder from the meat sauce factory. Then send it to the noodle factory.

In this regard, the new director of Melk Noodle Factory and others have no opinion. They almost thought that the noodle factory was going to close and they would lose their good job. He was promoted, and there were many surprises. Now everyone is thanking the earl and his wife for their generosity and trust. Naturally, they don’t think about anything bad, they just want to work hard to repay their trust.

The people from Melk Noodle Factory learned how to make instant noodles, and got the shortened seasoning recipe. The work has started, but this time they did not make pasta, but changed it to instant noodles.

The artificial cultivation of seaweed is just an idea, so for the time being, all seasonings except salt need to be purchased through merchants. The new factory manager has negotiated with a good merchant himself, but due to the mistakes of the previous factory manager, it was almost closed. Factory, the new director was a little timid at first and didn’t dare to negotiate the contract himself, but sent the contract to the castle. Wei Wei and Felix watched it together, and after confirming that there was no problem, they sent it back to let him sign the contract himself.

It didn’t take long for businessmen who came to Sardinson to learn that there was now only one of the three pasta factories in Sardinson, and the two that no longer make pasta are in Melk. The one in the town started to produce a kind of noodles called “instant noodles”, which can be eaten after soaking in hot water for a few minutes. It is an extremely simple food, and it is paired with the seasonings from the factory. The noodles taste really good.

In addition, the seasonings are pre-packaged and packed in glass bottles, which can be stored for a long time. The amount of one bottle can also be eaten for a long time. Even if it is not paired with instant noodles, adding other foods can make the original taste of the food become better. It’s not very expensive, and anyone with a little spare money can afford it. It’s much more cost-effective than buying those expensive spices that you can cook yourself but can’t cook delicious food.

As a result, not only instant noodles, but also the condiments that came with them became hot-selling items, and even the latter received more orders than the former, and even ordinary residents in the county would come to buy a bottle, as if they were going to buy them back as The appearance of a condiment in the kitchen.

This time, Melk Noodle Factory has changed its face and stood up again, and the workers in the factory don’t have to worry that their jobs will be lost.

However, the pasta factory in Uke Town saw that the other two pasta factories had restarted production, but there was no movement on their side, so naturally they couldn’t sit still. They went out every day to inquire about news, but their new factory director did not Once they were elected – which was one of the reasons why everyone was worried that the factory would no longer be open – everyone went to the mayor’s house, hoping to hear some news from him.

But how did the mayor know this? His daughter-in-law and son worked in a pasta factory before and became a junior leader, but this time he was also implicated by the factory manager and lost his post. Anxious, if there is news, can you not tell me?

In the end, there was no way to be entangled. After that, the mayor of Uk gritted his teeth and rode to Sardinsonburg in a carriage to request to meet the earl.

Felix was busy, and when the housekeeper said that the other party was here to inquire about the pasta factory, he asked the mayor of Wu Ke to find Wei Wei.

“Our wife is in charge of the pasta factory now. When you meet someone later, pay attention to the rules and don’t scare the wife and the young master casually.” Butler Patton, who helped him lead the way, said with a serious face, now in his eyes No one in the entire castle was more expensive than little Anthony, and even Wei Wei, who had a higher position in his heart, quietly climbed to the front of Felix.

So whenever a stranger asks to see Wei Wei, he has to warn him, lest the other party scare the young master Antonio who is inseparable with Wei Wei.

In his opinion, the mayor of Wu Ke has a fat head, big ears, bald head, and a frowning face. He is not amiable at all, but he is likely to frighten the young master, so he repeatedly warned him several times along the way.

The mayor of Wu Ke is also a figure in Wu Kezhen. Everyone usually compliments him when he goes out, but he naturally does not have that dignity when he arrives in the castle. Butler Barton is not angry with him, but he is more and more afraid. Because he felt that Butler Patton’s attitude towards him reflected the Lord Count’s view of him, and this view might not be so friendly.

Lord Earl won’t anger him because of the pasta factory?

After all, the previous factory manager was his relative, and the other party got this position because of his relationship – not only because the other party gave a generous gift, but also because the town mayor’s own son was too young to convince the public, and the other party agreed to become the factory director Later, his son was promoted, so that he could leave the position of factory manager to him in the future, so the mayor agreed to help the other party and used his prestige in the town to persuade everyone to choose him as the factory manager.

Could it be that the earl knew about this, so he let the housekeeper treat him so coldly?

The more he thought about it, the more frightened the mayor of Wu Ke became, and the cold sweat kept breaking out. When he saw Wei Wei, his legs softened and he almost knelt down.

Wei Wei didn’t know that he had a ghost in his heart. Hearing the housekeeper tell the other party’s identity, he just thought that the other person was tired from walking all the way, and politely asked him to sit down and talk.

“What are you looking for me for?”

The housekeeper only sent someone to say that the mayor of Uke Town was coming, and Felix had other guests who were not available to entertain, so he brought people to her, but he didn’t know what the other party was doing.

From the castle gate to Wei Wei, the mayor of Uk had already scared him all the way. At this moment Wei Wei’s gentle smile turned into a sneer in his eyes. He wiped his sweat and stammered to explain Intention.

“Is it about the pasta factory?” Wei Wei was stunned. Although the pasta factory is in Uke Town, it should have nothing to do with the mayor, right?

Seeing that he was sweating non-stop, Wei Wei asked the maid beside him to pour him a cup of herbal tea. This herbal tea is ready as soon as it arrives in the summer castle. Everyone will drink some when they are thirsty, so they can get it anytime. .

The mayor drank a cup of warm herbal tea, and finally became less nervous, and spoke quickly: “The people in the town couldn’t find the person in charge, so they all asked me to come here, and my son, daughter-in-law, Working in a pasta factory…”

So he is also worried about the work of his son and daughter-in-law.

Wei Wei nodded knowingly: “Actually, we are already preparing to reopen the factory, but the factory in Wuke Town will no longer be preparing to produce pasta, so the equipment inside needs to be replaced, and the raw materials are not yet mature, so Originally I planned to notify you some time later, since you came here first, please help me to inform them so that they don’t have to worry about work problems, and when the equipment is replaced, the factory will notify them to go back to work.”

The mayor of Uke felt that the news might not satisfy the townspeople, so he asked bravely, “Countess, do you mean that we have to change to produce instant noodles like Melk?”

The three pasta factories were temporarily closed for the same reason. Of course, he paid attention to the situation of the other two, and this time it was also because Melk resumed production. The people in Uke Town were in a hurry, so he not only knew about instant noodles, but also I bought it specially to eat it.

I have to say, the taste is really good, better than the noodles cooked by his wife, even if she adds some seasoning to the soup she usually stews with poor cooking skills, the taste is also surprising.

Wei Wei shook her head: “It’s not instant noodles, I’m going to let them do other things.”

Mayor Wu Ke is a person who is very good at looking at colors. Before, he thought that Wei Wei was sneering because he was frightening himself. After a few words, he found that the other party was actually very good at talking, so he dared to ask: “Madam, can you tell me a little bit? The content, otherwise I can’t explain it when I go back.”

Thinking of the townspeople who had some opinions on him because of the factory manager’s affairs, they ran to his house every day recently, and their temper was getting worse and worse, the town mayor couldn’t help shrinking his head.

Seeing his pitiful and anxious look, Wei Wei had to reveal something: “It’s the tomatoes that were planted on the edge of Uke Town before. We’re going to turn the pasta factory in Uke Town into a tomato sauce factory.”