The Imperial Culinary Grading System (ICC Standard)
This system is used by the Ministry of Food to classify the quality, potency, and value of any ingredient.
Core Principle: The Purity-to-Impurity Ratio
The grade is determined by how much of the ingredient's "ideal essence" is present versus "imperfections" (contaminants, weak magical signature, poor processing).
The Grade Tiers:
Grade F (Failed / Inedible)
Purity: < 30%
Description: Rotten, contaminated, or dangerously unstable ingredients. Magically inert or chaotic. Using these is a violation of health codes. This is what gets a cook disqualified.
Example: Mold-infested grain, meat from a diseased animal.
Grade D (Common / Poor)
Purity: 30% - 50%
Description: The lowest acceptable grade. Edible but low quality. Often poorly processed, stale, or from the weakest sources. This is what the poorest populations might eat.
Example: Gristly, tough meat. Grain with a lot of chaff and husks. Weak, bitter herbs. Cloudy, impure salt.
Grade C (Standard / Commercial)
Purity: 50% - 70%
Description: The standard for everyday cooking in taverns and most households. Perfectly edible and functional but lacks distinction. Reliably safe.
Example: Standard flour, common vegetables from the market, farm-raised chicken, table salt.
Grade B (Fine / Select)
Purity: 70% - 85%
Description: High-quality ingredients sought by skilled cooks and good restaurants. Noticeably better flavor, texture, or magical potency. Involves better sourcing and processing.
Example: Aged meats, single-origin honeys, herbs picked at their peak, finely milled "00" flour, sea salt.
Grade A (Premium / Exceptional)
Purity: 85% - 95%
Description: The best of the best that money can normally buy. Used by elite restaurants and noble houses. Their quality is unmistakable. Sourcing and processing are meticulously controlled.
Example: Kobe-style beef from a specific magical breed, saffron from a single valley, vanilla beans cured to perfection, olive oil from the first cold press.
Grade S (Sublime / "Sovereign")
Purity: 95% - 100%
Description: Mythical, 近乎完美. These ingredients are often unique artifacts in their own right. Their purity is so high that they possess near perfect or ideal properties. Achieving this grade requires flawless conditions.