Chapter 35: Magic Seeds
DELIO, Cecilio’s father, insisted the trio stay with them, so Bertine and her servants gratefully accepted his offer. She had most definitely enjoyed the charcoal-roasted bumpfish, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the crushed seeds sprinkled on the fish. Which was why she asked Delio about the substance while helping with dinner preparations in the kitchen.
“Delio, which plant do those round white seeds come from?”
“Round, white… Ah, stingers. We call ’em stingers or pricklers ’round these parts since they sting your tongue when ya eat ’em. They grow plenty right over there. Ya got a liking for the smell and taste, right? Everyone grows ’em in their own gardens, so they can use ’em whenever they get a cravin’ for ’em. C’mon, I’ll show ya.”
He led Bertine out into the garden. Delio pointed to a tree at the edge of the garden. A slender vine-like plant twined around it and on the vines, she saw many small, round green berries clustered together in long, thin bunches.
“Pluck one off and try it.”
“Right then… Wow! It’s spicy! But refreshing at the same time!”
“We wait until the green ripens to red. Then we soak the red berries in water, peel the skin, and dry the seeds. That’s how we get the white stingers.”
“Are there other varieties besides white?”
“Black. We can get ’em that color by harvesting and drying them whole while they’re still green.”
“Is the flavor different too?”
“Yeah, the scent is much stronger on the black ones. We use ’em to remove the smell of meat and strengthen the flavor. The black seeds go well with boar and deer meat. In the end, it’s really up to personal preference, but I myself enjoy using a whole bucketload of the white ones on fish.”
Bertine trembled with excitement at the stunning discovery she’d just made. These seeds would dramatically increase the flavor profile of meat and fish one was used to eating. If she sold them, she had no doubt gourmands would leap at the chance to buy the product. No, not just gourmands, but everyone else too.
“Delio, these seeds would delight a great deal of people.”
“You sure ’bout that? Don’t tell me yer plannin’ on selling these too?”
“I am!”
He smiled wryly. She could tell from his skeptical expression that he didn’t believe her. Since the seeds were just a normal, familiar part of his life, he didn’t recognize their value. It was the same as the scarlet fabric. But Bertine’s intuition shouted at her: “This is delicious. People will love it. It will definitely sell!” She had a difficult time controlling her overflowing excitement.
“Then, why don’t I show you the different ways we use stingers?” he suggested. “You can sample it all and decide for yourself.”
“Thank you! I can’t wait!”
She followed Delio back into the kitchen, where he showed her bottles crammed to the brim with black and white stingers. Her heart fluttered at the sight. All of the bottles were corked, so she wondered restlessly if the stoppers were to prevent the seeds from going stale or as a defense against humidity.
Delio picked up one of the bottles and poured out a handful of black seeds into her palm. Bertine really couldn’t get enough of the wonderful scent. When she bit into one, she found both the taste and prickling more powerful than the white ones.
She realized the reason neither the Empire nor San Luenne ventured into this region. Citizens of both countries most likely assumed that there were no noteworthy products to be found here. Except the reality was entirely different because of the treasures hidden in plain sight all along, since time immemorial. And it was just her fantastic luck to learn this information.
That night, Dorothée helped Delio cook dinner, which turned out to be a veritable feast of meats and fish. They enjoyed eating everything, particularly the dishes sprinkled with stingers. This country truly is an undiscovered treasure trove, Bertine thought to herself.
✦ ✦ ✦
THE next day, Bertine and Dorothée immersed themselves in the process of jarring the local fish, including bumpfish. They shred the meat from the charcoal-roasted fish filets then dredged the pieces in crushed white stingers before packing them into jars. They screwed on the lids. After which, they placed the jars in a hot-water bath. Once the jars were sufficiently warmed up, they loosened the lids to let the steam escape, then quickly twisted the lids closed tight. Throughout their work, they frequently cooled their hands using cold well water because of the hot jars and lids.
“First, we’ll jar enough of the charcoal-roasted bumpfish for His Excellency and see if they smell fishy after enough time has passed,” Bertine said. “We can process the oil-fried and white-wine-simmered fish the same way we work with marmalades and jams, so I don’t anticipate problems there. Tomorrow, we’ll talk to everyone in the Callisto district about the jarring business.”