章節 242: She Makes Crumpets
Robin frowned in thought as she looked at the ingredients set out before her. Milk, yeast, sugar, butter, flour, baking soda, and vegetable oil: this was all that was necessary to make crumpets. The ingredients themselves were good. However, Robin had forgotten something important. The different measurement scale.
Most of the recipes were recorded according to the American measurement system which measured things by volume such as cups, quarts, gallons, and pints. However, crumpets were an English recipe. they measured their food based upon weight.
Usually she just made do at home with a weight scale. But she had forgotten there was no such thing here. Even if there were such a thing, there was no guarantee that it would use the same scale of measurement. Robin felt a mild headache forming between her brow.
If there wasn't one, then she could just make one. However, what should she use as the basis for what 'one gram' is here? She closed her eyes in thought. A sugar cube was approximately one teaspoon. One teaspoon of regular granulated sugar was approximately 4 grams, so to get one gram...Robin frowned.
"Hey, Ponzu, do you know about grams?" Robin asked.
"Grams? What is that? Some kind of food?" Ponzu asked eagerly.
Robin sighed. "No. It's a method of measurement using weight as the basis. How do you usually measure your food's weight?"
Ponzu blinked. "Well, we usually use the pound as a form of measurement."
"I know that, but how do you measure things less than a pound?" Robin asked impatiently.
"I think we do things the same way you do? half a pound, quarter of a pound, and so on...right?" Ponzu replied.
"I was afraid of that." Robin pinched the skin between her eyebrows, with a sigh. "The recipe that I am going to use is from a different country than mine, one with a different form of measurement."
"Huh?" Ponzu looked confused. "A pound is a pound. What other form of measurement could there be?"
"Grams." Robin replied. "Grams, and Liters to be precise. They separate dry and liquid measurement that way."
"How much is a liter?" Ponzu asked.
"About 4 cups." Robin replied. "That's why the usual form of measurement is broken up into 1000 smaller pieces called milliliters."
"So, how much is a milliliter, then?" Ponzu asked.
"Well, if the liquid in question is water, then it's the about the same as a gram." Robin shrugged. "Different liquids have different weights depending on how dense they are, so that's only an approximation."
"I...see...." Ponzu seemed to be thinking about something. "So, how are we going to measure out the ingredients, then?"
"Mmn. That's the real question. I hadn't considered it before now." Robin sighed. "There isn't some sort of magic scale that we could use, is there?"
"...Well, there are magic scales, but...none for grams or liters, that's for sure." Ponzu replied.
"I thought as much..." Robin sighed.
"Oh, but, if it's from your world, then we just might find one." Ponzu said. "At that appraisal place in Rag'nok. Didn't they have all sorts of odd things over there from your world?"
All of a sudden, the conversation was interrupted by a voice from behind them.
"What sort of thing were you looking for?"
Robin turned her head. "Ah, Quinn! It's nothing much, just...the crumpet recipe is based upon the gram measurement, and I forgot that I usually use a scale to measure that sort of thing. I don't suppose that's something you picked up on your travels? I could really use one, otherwise I'll have to approximate it."
"As a matter of fact, I do have one." Quinn nodded. "I had once out of desperation hoped to teach myself how to cook, but a scale without the corresponding recipes is practically useless." He shrugged, and waved his hand over an empty section of the counter.
A shiny silver scale appeared. It was the kind that had a small solar panel in it to power the display. Robin's expression eased up.
"Thanks. You helped me out here." Robin smiled.
"You're making crumpets, right? In this case, helping you is helping myself get crumpets that much earlier." Quinn replied.
"Well, when you put it that way." Robin shrugged jokingly. She turned her attention towards measuring out the ingredients. But before she started, she paused, and looked back.
"Um, did you perhaps want to watch us make it?" Robin asked awkwardly. Quinn stood there against the wall, staring unblinkingly at the process.
"Pay me no mind." Quinn said, his eyes on the ingredients. Robin rolled her eyes. Hey, who would have guessed that Quinn liked crumpets so much?
She measured out the five ingredients, placing each ingredient in it's own dish upon the counter. Then she went over the list one last time.
"Let's see...400 ml warm milk, 1 tablespoon dried yeast, 1 teaspoon caster sugar, 300 g strong white flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and some vegetable oil for greasing...yup! Looks like we're all ready! Watch carefully, Ponzu." Robin finally got to work.
"Dissolve the yeast into the milk along with the sugar, and add 100 mils of water, stirring gently. We're not trying to get rid of the bubbles, we're actually encouraging them to form this time." Robin made sure that it was properly dissolved before setting it aside for about fifteen minutes.
"Then, we sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl." Robin shook the sifting pan, watching the white powder accumulate in the bowl. Once it was done, Robin used a spoon to dig out a bowl-like depression in the center.
"What's that for?" Ponzu asked.
"That is where the wet ingredients are going when we mix the two together." Robin said, before going to check on the milk mixture. Froth had accumulated on top, signifying that it was ready to go.
The milk mixture was poured into the bowl depression. And Robin started whisking in circles from the inside to out, slowly incorporating the dry ingredients until what remained was one homogenous batter with the consistency of whipping cream.
"If it clumps, or starts to look sticky, then you can add a bit of water to help get the right consistency." Robin instructed as she poured oil into the heated pan. For lack of crumpet molds, Robin used barrier magic to hold the batter in place when she spooned it in. Four spoonfuls per crumpet. That's all that was needed.
"Ah, the all-purpose barrier magic." Robin chuckled. "How I am glad that it exists..."
They cooked for five minutes on each side, which was just long enough for the little air bubbles to surface. The crumpets were fried until the bubbles burst, and dried out into tiny air pockets. This is what gave them their spongy, absorbent texture.
Robin made a huge pile of them. She was sure of one thing about these crumpets. Which was, once they were served, there would be a crumpet craze.
Actually, already there was a sizeable amount missing from the plate. Robin rolled her eyes. She knew immediately who had taken them. She glanced back at Quinn.
"Really? Must you keep snacking like this? Half the ones I made are already disappeared into your stomach." Robin complained.
"I really only intended to have one..." Quinn replied, also surprised at his inability to keep away from the crumpets.
"And that's why I've ignored it for this long, but no longer. Take any more and you can only watch the others eat while you just sit there. I also might decide not to make them ever again." Robin warned, waving a batter covered spoon at him. "Understood?"
"... Perfectly." Quinn sobered up, deciding to leave the kitchen before his unruly hands snatched another crumpet. Right before the kitchen door closed behind him, he turned back to look longingly at his beloved food.
"Foodies. The whole lot of you!" Robin sighed.
"Doesn't that also make you one, Teacher?" Ponzu asked.
"With my kind of constitution, I can't get fat. You, on the other hand, are either beefing up, or filling out." Robin joked at Ponzu's appearance.
He was no longer the skinny twig of a lad that had followed. His cheeks had filled out, and his arms had bulked up in muscle. Not fat, not skinny...Ponzu had hit his final growth spurt it seemed.
"Er...I do seem to have grown a bit, heheh." Ponzu grinned sheepishly. "It's because all the food you've introduced is so good, it's almost like magic."
Robin shook her head bemused. "Before you chalk it up to magic, just consider the ingredients. If there isn't any magic in them to start with, there won't be magic in them to end with. Unless, of course, you can add magic in the middle. Otherwise, it's just regular food."
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