Let's Start A Bakery!

Chapter 17

There were so many options of fruits to choose from, I ended up completely filling 3 whole metal pots with fruits, and struggled to carry them back into the kitchen.

I ended up dragging the pots along the floor and left them there in front of the counters because they were too heavy to pick up. I felt bad, scratching the bottom of the pots.

It's not like my family can't afford new ones though.

I washed the strawberries, blackberries ,and raspberries first, gently rinsing them in a small metal bowl and letting the water drain out.

I cut off the leaves of the strawberries and quartered them. After tossing all of the berries together into a pot, I turned the knobs on the stove, adjusting the heat emitted by the magic stones. I rolled a lemon on the counter, halved it, and squeezed the juice into the pot, being careful to not get any seeds inside. After allowing the berries to cook a little bit, I stirred them, seeing the juices gather at the bottom.

This smells so good, I thought to myself.

I grabbed a glass measuring cup and scooped out sugar from the bags in the cabinets and poured it onto the berries before taking a wooden spoon, mixing everything together and mashing the berries to get more juices out.

While the pot simmered in a lower heat, I started preparing other pots for other fruits. I washed plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, and all different kinds of citrus fruits. I sliced them all up, removing the seeds, pits, and rinds, placing them into their own pots and adding sugar. As they all started bubbling, I used the wooden spoon to check on the berry jam. I ran my finger down the back of the spoon to check if it was ready, and it was.

I turned the heat off for that pot, and prepared a few jars on the side with a funnel to pour the jam down. Lifting the pot up, I almost dropped it from how heavy it was. 

Need to find a ladle. Wish I was just a few years older, I guess my pathetic 7 year old arms can't lift anything heavier than 5 pounds.

I found a large metal ladle used for serving soups and started scooping the jam into the jars. I was careful, as the glass from the jars heated up very quickly, and I also made sure to scrape out every last bit of jam from the pot before rinsing it off in the sink.

The other jams cooked over the heat, and I made sure to go back and stir all of them every so often. I zested some limes, oranges, grapefruits, and lemons, and put those in the citrus jam for some more flavor and color.

As the jams slowly thickened up, I grabbed more empty jars from the cabinets and started to prepare them to be filled.

After my long nap, I didn't feel tired at all even though it was already very late at night. I continued working, filling up jars, washing pots, and wiping down the countertop. The jars cooled as I cleaned, making sure the kitchen was spotless, just like how I found it. I found a pad and a pencil in one of the cabinets, so I wrote a note to the kitchen staff.

"DO NOT TOUCH my jars. - Corvalia"

I placed that note right on top of my jams, which I left in one corner of the countertop so that it would be seen by anyone walking in.

I looked at my hard work over the past hour or two.

Maybe I went a little overboard with the amount of choices.

I made sure the door to the garden was locked before I left the kitchen again. When I closed the door behind me, the lights automatically shut off.

I need to learn magic asap. This stuff is so cool. I thought as I skipped down the hallway back to my room.

I'll start the bread in the morning tomorrow, after my classes. That way, it can rise through lunch, and then I'll bake it in the afternoon.