Chapter 24 Sugar-roasted Chestnuts
"Mom, just help me pick the chestnuts. Pick them by size. Pick out chestnuts of about five pounds in size." Qianhuan assigned the task to Liu first.
"Okay." Liu put the chestnuts on the stove and started picking them.
"Dad, come and help pick chestnuts." Liang Laoer sat on the stool, ready to help eagerly.
"Dad, don't pick the chestnuts anymore. I have another task for you. Once mom has picked the chestnuts, you can use a kitchen knife to cut a small slit in the chestnut. Just make it the same length as mine."
Qianhuan picked up a kitchen knife and cut a small hole in the chestnut shell to demonstrate to Liang Laoer.
"What's the point of cutting a hole in the chestnut shell?" Liang Laoer asked in confusion.
"Yes, Qianhuan, why do you need to cut these chestnuts with a knife?" Liu was also puzzled.
"If you don't make a cut, the chestnuts will burst due to the heat when they are fried. Besides, making a small cut will make it easier to peel the chestnuts when eating them," Qianhuan explained.
"Okay, your mother will pick the chestnuts, and your father will cut the slits in them."
Liang Laoer took the kitchen knife and began to imitate Qianhuan, making a small cut on each of the selected chestnuts.
Liang Laoer is indeed someone who can make some handicrafts. He can even cut chestnuts neatly, with the cuts being almost the same size.
Qianhuan went to the kitchen and lit a fire. She first wanted to make syrup.
She poured some water into the pot, and after the water boiled, she poured the maltose into the water, stirred until the sugar melted, and cooked it over low heat for a while until the sugar had become the consistency she wanted, then she put it into a bowl.
"Dad, Mom, this is called syrup, which is needed when frying chestnuts. It's about this consistency and can be packed. This is very simple, I think you all know how to make it." She explained to her parents while scooping up the syrup.
The young couple nodded repeatedly, indicating that they had learned it.
Next, she started to fry the sand. She poured the processed sand into the pot, about ten pounds, and added a spoonful of cooking oil. She asked Liu to help stir-fry the sand.
She went to the kitchen to add fire to heat up the sand. When she put her hand into the pot, she felt the sand getting hot. She estimated that the temperature was about 50 degrees Celsius, so she poured all five pounds of prepared chestnuts into the pot.
"Mom, please keep stirring, otherwise the chestnuts will burn easily."
After the chestnuts are put into the pot, they should be turned over constantly to ensure that they are heated evenly and to avoid partial fruitiness or burntness.
"Okay, I got it, mom." Liu wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued to stir-fry.
Liu was used to doing rough labor and was quite strong, but even so, the constant stir-frying still made her arms feel sore.
"Qianhuan, go to the main room and bring a stool over and place it next to the stove. I'll replace your mother in stir-frying."
Liang Laoer realized that frying chestnuts was a job that required a lot of strength. He couldn't bear to see Liu working so hard, so he asked to do it himself.
Qianhuan stuffed a few pieces of firewood into the stove, then got up and went to the main room to move a stool.
Liang Laoer sat in front of the stove, stirring the food with a large spatula. The chestnuts and sand were sizzling in the pot. Men are stronger after all, so it was much easier with Liang Laoer's help.
After a while, a strong sweet fragrance wafted out, and the whole kitchen was filled with the fragrance of chestnuts.
"What a nice smell..." Liu was the first to exclaim, the smell was really too nice.
When the chestnuts were about 3% to % ripe, Qianhuan started to add syrup to the pot. She added the syrup in about three batches.
The aroma of chestnuts with syrup became stronger. Liang Laoer and Liu couldn't help swallowing their saliva. They felt that the wood smoke under the pot seemed to be fragrant.
Qianhuan threw a few more chestnuts into the stove. She couldn't help but stand up to check the condition of the chestnuts in the pot.
After being fried, the chestnuts with small cuts on them had cracked slightly, revealing the yellow flesh inside.
The surface of the chestnut shell has become shiny, forming a layer of transparent sugar film, and it is filled with a caramelized aroma!
She picked up a chestnut with chopsticks, let it cool, and then gently peeled it. The outer shell immediately cracked, and the thin inner skin had long been separated from the flesh. Qianhuan knew that the chestnuts were now ready to be cooked.
She quickly took out some firewood and changed the high fire to a low fire.
"Dad, Mom, the chestnuts are already fried and ready to be served. Let's quickly pick them out and put them in the bamboo basket."
At Qianhuan's command, Liu took a wooden spatula for cooking and Liang Laoer took a large iron spatula and began to pick chestnuts from the sand.
After all the chestnuts were picked out from the sand, Qianhuan poured the sand back onto the bamboo fence, intending to pack it up after it cooled down and reuse it next time.
Without waiting for the chestnuts to cool down, Liu couldn't wait to take out one, peel it and put it into her mouth.
She kept shouting, "It's hot, so hot," while chewing non-stop.
"So fragrant and sweet. Oh my god, sugar-roasted chestnuts are so delicious. Her father, you should peel one and try it."
Without waiting for Liang Laoer's reaction, Liu picked up the second chestnut and started peeling it.
Seeing Liu like this, Liang Laoer also picked up a chestnut, peeled it and put it in his mouth to taste.
"It's really delicious. It's not only pink and fragrant, but also sweet."
"Dad, Mom, do you think these sugar-roasted chestnuts can be sold if we take them out to sell?"
Qianhuan said, how could the food not be delicious if it was also the Emperor Qianlong's favorite? She also peeled several of them herself and ate them.
"Yes." The couple said in unison.
"Then how much do you think the chestnuts should be sold for per pound?"
Qianhuan asked while eating. Even though she already had a basic idea of the price in her mind, she still wanted to hear her parents' opinions.
"Five cents a pound should be about right."
Liu thought that chestnuts were not rare in the mountains. One cent could buy two pounds of raw chestnuts. Her own sugar-roasted chestnuts coated with syrup should be sold for about five cents per pound.
"It shouldn't be a problem to sell it for six or seven cents in town." Liang Laoer also expressed his opinion.
"I don't plan to sell it in town. I plan to sell it in the county town. There are many rich people in the county town. I plan to sell it for 10 cents per pound." Qianhuan stated her desired price.
"Ten cents? Isn't that too expensive? What if everyone thinks it's too expensive and refuses to buy it?"
Liu obviously disagreed, as ordinary people could not afford a meal with only ten cents.
"Mom, my sugar-roasted chestnuts are a fresh delicacy, and the method of making them is unique. Poor people who can't afford them will still think they are too expensive even if I only sell them for five cents per pound. But rich people who usually eat cakes will still buy them even if they cost one or two taels of silver per pound." Qianhuan analyzed the situation to her parents.
"Although our chestnuts come from our own trees and don't cost any money, we still have to spend money to buy them back if they're sold out. And we need to go to the mountains to pick up firewood. Each chestnut needs to be cleaned, sorted out according to size, and cut one by one. All of this requires manpower and time. We also need to pay for travel expenses every day to set up a stall in the county town and take a oxcart to and from there. So when you calculate it all, 10 cents a pound is really not expensive." She continued her analysis.
"Chunxiang, what my daughter said makes sense. Let's listen to her." Liang Laoer agreed with his daughter's pricing.
"Okay, then I'll listen to you." Liu also nodded in agreement.