NOVEL NEXT 35: Story about Jam and Potions
The August harvest had come to a close.
Milie and the villagers swiftly harvested from the fields, while members of the Harud Trading Company packed the produce into their magic bags.
It was like watching a conveyor belt in action.
They thanked the villagers and, of course, shared some with the orphanage.
The portion stored for the village was taken to the storage warehouse.
After a brief rest, they planned to plant autumn vegetables.
Today, in the kitchen, Jeff, Martha, and I were experimenting with making jam.
I was in charge of preparing the fruits.
It’s an important job!
Would raspberries, blueberries, and apples be good?
As for lemons, I heard from Harud Trading Company that they are grown in the southern part of the kingdom and can be ordered. Even if I use ones from my botanical garden today, it seems I can manage with the ingredients.
Since lemon juice is used for making jam, the cost shouldn’t be too high, right?
Just to be sure, I asked Jeff if there were any substitutes.
“It’s fine to simmer apple peels and cores together,” he said.
Hmm.
Let’s try making it right away.
The process itself is simple.
After washing them well with water and patting them dry, remove the stems, cut them into appropriate sizes, add lemon juice, and simmer in a pot while skimming off the scum.
That’s how I made three types of jam.
And the three of us tasted them.
“Even without using sugar or honey, it’s sweet.”
“It has a refined, gentle taste.”
“Yeah, it’s delicious!”
Without the strong sweetness of sugar, you can really taste the ingredients.
I’m not a gourmet, though.
Raspberry was definitely the most delicious.
Next, we need to bottle and package them.
Since glass jars are out of the question, we decided to ask the pottery workshop in Camille Village.
They have skilled artisans who can paint fruit designs. How about drawing a red strawberry on a white background? It would really stand out, don’t you think?
Martha’s eyes sparkled in agreement.
No matter how old they get, women still like cute things, right?
I immediately discussed this with Burton, and we decided to have the pottery workshop make some samples.
It might be tough to apply the same painting multiple times, but they have a magic circle for “transferring” that allows them to duplicate the same image.
Only the artisan who created the design can use the magic circle, so it prevents forgery, I hear.
They even stamp the author’s mark with special ink, so even if it’s copied, it’s immediately identified as a fake.
Is there a concept of copyright protection here?
They really thought this through.
A week later, the samples arrived.
They were white jars with a rounded shape, adorned with illustrations of strawberries and leaves.
We still don’t have screw-cap jars, though.
But still, porcelain! How lovely!
“I’d want to display just these jars!”
“Indeed. After eating, you can wash them and use them for small items.”
Martha looked delighted as she held one.
“The design looks good, right? Then I’ll proceed with the order.”
Burton also seemed satisfied as he narrowed his eyes.
“How should we seal these jars and lids?”
If we leave them as they are, the lids will just pop open.
No one will buy them if they can’t tell they’re unopened, right?
“Master, have you ever seen the sealing of potions? I shall prepare it shortly. Similar to that sealing, we will apply special magic paper to seal them. It’s called sealing paper.”
I see.
Afterward, I was shown the sealing of the potions.
The dedicated potion jars had cork stoppers with sealed closures. On top of that, there was paper sealing the jar and cork.
The dedicated jars are something made by alchemists, I hear.
“The sealing paper starts off white, but gradually changes color over time. It turns yellow after three months from production, and red after five months. At the yellow stage, its effectiveness is reduced by two-thirds, and at the red stage, it’s reduced by one-third. Therefore, it’s considered better to use it before it changes color. Additionally, the price decreases with each stage of discoloration, so some choose to buy them deliberately.”
Even if it has changed color, it still retains some effectiveness, so novice adventurers and poor people apparently purchase them at low prices.
The jars and corks are specially processed, so even if the sealing paper is replaced midway, the results remain unchanged.
They’ve really taken thorough measures against counterfeiting.
By the way, potion jars are color-coded based on their effects.
Blue jars contain Healing Potions.
Green jars contain Mana Potions.
Red jars contain Antidote Potions.
Purple jars contain Purification Potions.
These are the basic four types, and there are several others for specific purposes, but special ones are apparently made to order individually.
There’s even something called a universal potion, ‘Elixir’!
It’s the romance of the magical world!
“The manufacturing method for the Elixir has been lost today. It’s so rare that it’s occasionally found in treasure chests in the lower levels of dungeons. Even royalty isn’t sure if they can possess it.”
Ah, I see.
The Elixir has become a legend and disappeared.
Burton’s explanations continued.
“The sealing paper indicates its quality level: deteriorated, standard, good, excellent, and superior.”
“So, does that mean the quality of the jam can be judged by using that sealing paper?”
Yes, it’s evaluated automatically?
“Yes, that’s correct. Therefore, the village workshop must aim for at least excellent quality products. Otherwise, they can’t be sold as premium goods, and we’ll end up in the red without being able to pass on the cost of the jars.”
Burton stated matter-of-factly as if it were nothing.
The container may be fine, but it’s no good if the contents don’t measure up.
As for the quality of the Radberries, it depends on the skill of the workshop that produces them.
We’ll need special training this winter!
Martha nodded earnestly with a serious expression.