Who Is the World’s Strongest Appraiser? ~Living in Another World With Satisfying Meals~

Do You Like Pickled Plum Dishes?

“Wow, pickled plums!”

With sparkling eyes, Yuuri was peeking into the jar. Inside that jar was a large quantity of pickled plums. Yuuri, grinning with immense joy, caused Ali to look at him in disbelief. Though Ali had given them to him, he never expected Yuuri to be this happy.

“You actually eat pickled plums?”

“Huh? Yeah, I eat them all the time. We make them back in my hometown, too.”

“I see. Around here, not many people eat them. At our place, it’s just me and Jake.”

“Really? That’s a shame. They’re so delicious.”

Yuuri casually picked a small pickled plum and popped it into his mouth. It was a handmade pickled plum made by his grandmother in the countryside, full of salty and sour flavors. Even as his face puckered from the sourness, Yuuri smiled and said it was delicious, causing Ali to chuckle. Not many people eat pickled plums like that.

The reason Ali had the jar of pickled plums was that it had been sent from his family home. Ali’s family ran a plum farm, making a living from pickled plums, plum wine, and plum juice. Periodically, they would send jars of pickled plums to their son living independently in the capital. As for the plum wine, it was said that Brook almost entirely drank it by himself. The sweet-toothed man loved fruit wines, despite appearances.

“Well, there’s plenty, and they keep for a long time. Just leave them around here.”

“Um…”

“What?”

“Is it okay if I use these to cook various dishes?”

“…Cook various dishes with pickled plums?”

“Yes.”

Yuuri was dead serious. For Ali, pickled plums were something to eat with rice or drink with hot water. That was the general use for them. While plum wine had more demand, pickled plums were created to preserve the plums that couldn’t be made into wine. At least, that’s how it was at Ali’s family home. They sent the not-so-popular pickled plums to their son, knowing he would eat them. That’s all it was, but Yuuri, with a straight face, declared he would use them in cooking.

Yuuri’s outlandish ideas were nothing new, so Ali’s response was also decided.

“Well, do as you like.”

Thus, Yuuri joyfully began making pickled plum dishes, leading to a tasting event to gather everyone’s opinions. (By the way, these tasting events are held irregularly, depending on chef Yuuri’s mood.)

“”…………””

The members of Scarlet Lynx were silent as they stared at the array of mysterious dishes on the dining table. None of them seemed to understand what was happening. They recognized that the dishes were food, but they couldn’t grasp the concept of “pickled plum dishes” that Yuuri had mentioned.

Each dish was prepared in servings for two or three people, with tasting plates provided for those curious to try. The plan was to promote the dishes that received positive feedback to the regular menu.

Ali and Jake, who already liked pickled plums, had tried all the dishes beforehand and had secured their favorite servings, eating them in the corner of the kitchen.

“This is mushrooms with plum sauce.”

Yuuri began introducing the dishes with a smile.

Mushrooms with plum sauce involved sautéed shimeji and maitake mushrooms mixed with plum paste. The plum paste was finely chopped and mixed with a small amount of soy sauce. The mushrooms were lightly seasoned with salt and pepper when sautéed. This dish was more like a snack to accompany drinks than a main course.

“This is yam with plum sauce.”

The seasoning was almost the same as the previous dish, but it used julienned yam instead. The texture and flavor were different because of the yam. Being a traditional Japanese ingredient, yam paired well with pickled plums. Again, this dish was more of a drinking snack than a main course.

“This is cucumber with plum sauce.”

The seasoning was nearly identical to the previous two dishes, but a small amount of kelp broth was added when mixing the plum paste. Thinly sliced cucumbers were coated with the sauce. Unlike the others, this dish had a sprinkle of white sesame seeds, purely because it was something Yuuri had eaten before.

“This is viper meat cutlet with plum paste.”

This dish was originally made with chicken breast meat. Viper meat, which had a taste and texture similar to chicken breast, was chosen instead. Bite-sized pieces of meat were cut, stuffed with plum paste, wrapped in perilla leaves, and then breaded and fried. The only seasoning was the plum paste, but the homemade-style pickled plums were flavorful enough to make it work.

“This is plum pasta.”

Pasta mixed with a sauce made of plum paste, soy sauce, sake, and a little oil. That’s all there was to it. It was garnished with chopped seaweed and perilla leaves. To let everyone enjoy the taste of the ingredients, there were no additional components, but mushrooms, small fish, or light meats could be added for more flavor. In Japan, chicken would be used, but in this other world, it would probably be viper meat.

“Finally, this is a soup made with plum seeds.”

This was a soup made using the leftover pickled plum seeds from the previous dishes. First, a kelp broth was prepared, then a large number of pickled plum seeds were added. Even though the flesh of the plums had been removed, some still remained on the seeds. These were simmered, and the soup was seasoned with salt, sake, and soy sauce. Leafy vegetables were then added, in this case, highly nutritious komatsuna. Since the leaves cook quickly, they were just tossed in.

“So, please taste the dishes.”

Yuuri said, bowing his head politely. The group, still silent, looked at the dishes. Despite the introductions, they weren’t fond of the sourness of pickled plums. They only recognized pickled plums as something to eat with rice or as a remedy diluted in hot water for sore throats, half medicine-like. Thus, they couldn’t equate the dishes in front of them with pickled plums. It was understandable.

However, someone muttered, “It looks delicious.”. Indeed, despite being strange, the dishes looked tasty. One person picked up a plate and approached, prompting the others to follow. Yuuri watched with a smile. Gradually, they all began to try the dishes.

“So, pickled plums can be used like this.”

Jake mused casually, holding the soup made from pickled plum seeds. Having tasted everything, Jake’s favorite was this soup. He originally liked hot water with pickled plums, and thus naturally gravitated towards the soup. Meanwhile, Ali was eating the mushrooms with plum sauce, grumbling about wanting some sake.

Bit by bit, the dishes were being consumed evenly. The sourness of the pickled plums was mitigated by mixing the plum paste with soy sauce. Moreover, the flavors dispersed when mixed into the dishes, making it different from eating a whole pickled plum. They were just used for seasoning.

The Scarlet Lynx members didn’t particularly hate pickled plums; they just found them too sour to eat directly. They all drank hot water with pickled plums, and they even drank plum wine and occasionally the plum juice that was sent. They just found the direct consumption of pickled plums too sour.

So, what happens when dishes are made to be more palatable with pickled plums, especially if cooked by Yuuri? The members of this clan had been conditioned to enjoy Yuuri’s cooking. If Yuuri made it, they believed it was delicious—a strong conditioning.

“Jake, what’s your guess?”

“I think the women will like the soup like me. It’s light and delicious.”

“I bet the cutlets will be popular. They’re fried and meaty, but the plum flavor makes them refreshing.”

“True, those cutlets are easy to eat despite being meat.”

Jake, who wasn’t particularly a meat lover, agreed with a smile. The pickled plum cutlets seemed to be consumed mainly by the apprentices, but even Tifaana and the other women, who weren’t keen on meat, were eating them. Clearly, they were easy to eat.

“Magg! If you eat it all by yourself, there won’t be any left for us!”

A loud voice shouted.

“…”

“Answer me! And put down the dish!”

“Refuse.”

“Heyyyyy!”

Looking over, they saw Magg silently and endlessly eating the cucumber with plum sauce, hugging the bowl. Argus was trying to take it away, but Magg wasn’t listening, seemingly finding even responding a bother.

“Did Magg like cucumbers and pickled plums that much?”

“Well, the dish used a bit of kelp broth to extend the plum paste.”

“That must be it.”

Magg was a believer in broth and umami. Since helping with Yuuri’s cooking, he had become a devotee of extracting umami from ingredients. Recognizing the taste of simple cucumbers and the kelp broth-infused plum paste, he had claimed the dish as his own.

Probably, everyone had tried all the dishes at least once. The fact that complaints like “I wanted another bite.”, were heard implied that Magg had shown some restraint. But hugging the dish and eating alone suggested otherwise.

“Yuuri, can this cutlet be made with other meat?”

“Yeah? I’ve never done it, but I think it can be done.”

“Then, can you make it with pork next time?”

“Kurresh likes pork and bison, huh…”

“Pork should be fine, right? Pork!”

By “fine”, he meant “within budget”. Yuuri nodded, although actually making it was another matter.

Kurresh, in his growing phase, happily continued eating the cutlets. Requesting pork suggested that viper meat wasn’t satisfying enough. Yuuri concluded it should be possible, recalling someone had made an adapted version with pork.

In the end, all the dishes were successfully consumed, and everyone agreed they were delicious. Thus, it was decided that these dishes would eventually become regular menu items.