Chapter 109: Adam Cooks 1

When the manor doors finally appeared before him, Adam slowed slightly.

Four o’clock.

He had left with the intention of doing some shopping for dinner.

He was returning with enough provisions to fill the storerooms of a small inn for several weeks.

And even then...

A good portion of what he had bought was intended only for experimentation.

Unknown fruits.

Unknown vegetables.

Herbs whose taste he didn’t yet know.

Products from monsters or plants he had never seen on Earth.

Fortunately, his inventory spared him from having to explain why he was returning to the manor with an entire caravan.

Adam crossed the threshold, greeted a few servants, and then headed straight for Isadora’s office.

One important question remained.

The journey.

He had bought what he thought he needed, but he still didn’t know if he should prepare anything else for the next day.

Arriving at the office door, he instinctively raised his hand.

Knock.

Knock.

"Come in."

Adam opened the door.

Isadora was sitting behind her desk, several documents spread out in front of her.

She looked up.

Then her gaze slowly shifted from him...

To the door.

Adam froze.

One second is all it takes.

"Ah."

Isadora raised a slight eyebrow.

He understood.

Elaria.

Shiora.

Vespera.

They had all asked him the exact same thing.

And now...

"Sorry. It’s just a habit."

Adam closed the door behind him.

"Next time, I’ll just walk right in."

Isadora’s seriousness vanished.

She burst into a soft laugh.

"It took you long enough."

"Everyone’s been telling me that since yesterday."

"Then you should start listening to them."

"It’s planned."

He approached the desk.

Isadora put down her pen.

"Did you need anything?"

"Yes. It’s for tomorrow. I wanted to know what I still need to prepare for the trip. Food, equipment, maps, transportation..."

"Nothing."

Adam stopped.

"Nothing?"

"Everything’s already ready."

"Everything?"

"Lyriana took care of the itinerary and the information you’ll need. Elaria arranged everything concerning your arrival. The servants packed several items of travel gear, and I had the rest checked."

Adam remained silent for a few seconds.

"I was planning to spend part of the afternoon preparing this."

"You can do something else."

He didn’t know whether to be relieved or slightly annoyed to discover that everyone had organized their trip without his involvement.

Finally...

Relief prevailed.

"In that case, I have a second question."

"I’m listening."

"Does anyone need the Bridal Chamber in the next few hours?"

Isadora checked the time.

"Why?"

"I want to prepare dinner."

She understood immediately.

Her gaze returned to the clock.

"There are about nine hours until the usual mealtime."

She thought for a moment.

"No one is planning to use it. Everyone else is busy."

Adam smiled.

"So I can close it?"

"Yes." Use it however you like.

Perfect.

Thanks to the Room’s time rule, he would have as much time as he needed inside, while only about eight hours would pass outside.

"I’ll probably use this time to prepare several things for tomorrow morning as well."

Isadora smiled slightly.

"I suspected as much."

Adam stepped back.

"Then I’ll let you get on with your work."

"Adam."

He stopped near the door.

Isadora pointed to it.

"Next time..."

Adam opened it without knocking.

"I understand."

This time, she laughed heartily.

Adam left the office and went to the Bridal Chamber.

As expected...

It was empty.

The others had all resumed their duties.

He entered.

Then he closed the door behind him.

A faint golden glow immediately illuminated its frame.

The time distortion activated.

Adam remained motionless for a few seconds.

"Good."

He opened his inventory.

Then he began to take out his purchases.

First, a few bags.

Then baskets.

Crates.

Fruit.

Vegetables.

Bags of flour.

Dairy products.

Meat.

Fish.

Spices.

Herbs.

Cocoa.

Coffee.

Vanilla.

Nuts.

Hazelnuts.

Almonds.

Pistachios.

Sugarcane.

The objects should have quickly filled the room.

But the Chamber reacted almost immediately.

A subtle light moved across the floor.

Then the items began to disappear.

Adam stopped.

"Ah."

The Chamber was simply putting them away.

The vegetables were sent to the refrigerated storage area.

The meats to a cold room.

The fish and seafood to another section.

The flours and dry goods were placed on large shelves.

The fruits were separated according to their ripeness.

The spices ended up in small, labeled containers.

Even ingredients Adam didn’t recognize were filed separately so he could easily find them.

When he then opened the kitchen door...

He remained motionless.

"...It wasn’t this big this morning."

Kitchen was now almost an understatement.

The space resembled a combination of a professional kitchen, a food processing facility, and a gigantic warehouse.

Long preparation tables occupied the center.

Several ovens were installed against the walls.

Cooking plates.

Cold storage areas.

Storage rooms.

Mixers.

Presses.

Crushers.

And further on...

Several transparent chambers separated from the rest of the kitchen.

The moment Adam entered, new information naturally appeared in his mind.

He understood their function without needing an interface.

The Chamber had analyzed his intentions.

It knew what he wanted to prepare.

And since he considered it a hobby rather than work...

She made it easier for him.

Adam looked at the first setup.

Sugarcane had already been placed there.

A mechanism pressed the stalks to extract the juice.

This was filtered, heated to remove some of the water, and then gradually concentrated into a thick syrup.

The final step was to cool the concentrate until crystals formed.

On Earth, between preparation, concentration, crystallization, and drying, a traditional process could easily take several hours and sometimes a good part of a day, depending on the quantity.

Here...

Adam consulted the information provided by the Chamber.

About two hours.

"Fast."

Then he understood why.

The area containing the machines didn’t operate on the same timescale as the rest of the Chamber.

Adam approached the transparent wall.

"You can even speed up certain areas separately?"

An intuitive answer came to him.

Not in words.

More like an understanding.

As long as an activity fell within the permitted functions of the House—rest, leisure, relaxation, or a personal pursuit—it could facilitate the necessary processes.

Even when they involved time.

Fermentation.

Drying.

Resting dough.

Maturation.

Smoking.

Cooling.

Adam smiled slowly.

"Okay... this is getting ridiculous."

He immediately thought of everything he could make.

Cheeses.

Cured meats.

Fermented pasta.

Pickles.

Sauces.

Vinegars.

Bread.

Smoked products.

But he pushed this mental list aside.

"Later."

He already had far too much to do today.

He did, however, consider asking the girls to order large quantities of ingredients later.

Then he moved on to the second chamber.

Cocoa.

Adam stood motionless in front of the glass.

The chamber had already begun.

Cocoa Processing

Under normal conditions, the beans extracted from the cacao fruit would have required a particularly long process.

First:

Fermentation: approximately 5 to 7 days.

This stage developed a large part of the future aromas.

Next:

Drying: approximately 7 to 14 days, depending on the humidity and the method.

Then:

Roasting: approximately 20 to 40 minutes.

The beans were then cooled.

Their husks were removed.

The inside was ground into a thick paste: cocoa mass.

From this, one could then separate or produce primarily:

*cocoa mass;

*cocoa butter;

*cocoa powder.

Adam watched the process with fascination.

Without time acceleration...

Some steps would have taken almost three weeks.

In the Chamber...

About four hours.

"Magnificent."

His future chocolate had suddenly become much more attainable.

Coffee followed a similar process.

Adam had mainly bought whole fruits.

The famous coffee cherries.

The Chamber began by removing the pulp.

Then the beans were fermented.

Washed.

Dried.

Sorted.

And finally roasted.

Normally, including drying and preparation...

Several days would easily have been required.

With the Chamber...

A few hours.

Adam contemplated the beans as they gradually changed in appearance.

"Tomorrow morning might be interesting."

He then moved on to nuts.

There, the process was much simpler.

Cleaning.

Shelling.

Sorting.

Light roasting for certain varieties.

Then grinding when necessary.

Hazelnuts.

Pistachios.

Almonds.

Walnuts.

Adam tasted several once the first batches were prepared.

The differences with their terrestrial counterparts were minimal.

Perfect.

He could therefore adapt his recipes almost immediately.

While the machines were working...

Adam went to the large work surface.

This part...

He wanted to do it himself.

He rolled up his sleeves.

"Let’s begin."

First, the flours.

Adam had bought several types.

He compared them.

Texture.

Taste.

Water absorption.

He made small test batches of dough.

One flour was very similar to regular wheat flour.

Another was lighter.

A third had a slightly sweet taste.

Adam mentally labeled the best uses.

Bread.

Pastries.

Crepes.

Pizzas.

Cakes.

Then he moved on to the fruit.

He tasted each variety he planned to use.

Red apples.

Purple apples.

Almost black apples.

Strawberries.

Peaches.

Gray grapes.

Several local berries.

And the fruit resembling a small watermelon, whose flesh strangely combined strawberry and grape.

"That one..."

He took another piece.

Very good.

It would make an excellent macaron.

Perhaps even jam.

Adam set some aside.

Meanwhile, he also began preparing the meats.

Marinades

For the chicken to be roasted and stuffed:

*whole chicken;

*butter;

*garlic;

*salt;

*pepper;

*thyme;

*rosemary;

*lemon or other acidic local fruit;

*onions.

Adam mixed the herbs, spices, and butter before coating the chicken.

Normal marinating time:

2 to 6 hours, or even overnight for more flavor.

Thanks to the accelerated zones...

He could achieve the same result much faster.

For some red meats, he used:

*oil;

*garlic;

*pepper;

*herbs;

*a small amount of acid from a fruit;

*several spices.

Ordinary time:

1 to 4 hours depending on the cut.

For some fish:

*salt;

*pepper;

*lemon;

*garlic;

*parsley;

*a little oil.

Time:

Only 15 to 30 minutes, so as not to alter the flesh.

Adam checked everything.

Then he went back to examine the sugar.

The crystallization was progressing well.

He already had some concentrated syrup.

Enough to start some preparations.

So he moved on to jams.

Fruit Jams

The base was simple.

For each version:

*fruit;

*sugar;

*a little acidic juice;

*possibly vanilla or spices.

Adam prepared several pots.

Strawberry.

Peach.

Purple apple.

Local berries.

And finally, the famous strawberry-grape fruit.

The fruit was chopped.

Mixed with sugar.

Then heated gently.

Depending on the fruit, a jam generally required:

30 to 60 minutes of cooking, followed by cooling.

Adam stirred regularly to prevent sticking.

He tasted the first one.

"Not acidic enough."

"A little juice."

Another try.

"Better."

The jam made with the unknown fruit was particularly successful.

He immediately set aside several jars.