Totsuki Culinary Academy.
As far as the eye could see, there were tall buildings.
But there was a small, inconspicuous, and out-of-place house nestled on the mountainside.
Its area was probably less than 100 square meters, and although the space was small, one could feel the owner's meticulous arrangement, with almost every corner filled with aromatic plants.
From vibrant roses to elegant orchids, from upright green plants to trailing vines.
Every kind of herb.
They all grew vigorously, full of vitality!
The interior decoration was minimalist yet tasteful, with several art paintings hanging on the walls, adding a touch of artistic flair to the small space.
At the same time, the view from the window was excellent, offering a panoramic view of the other exquisite buildings on the mountain.
Yes, this was the little-known Spice Research Association:
Shiomi Research Group!
...
At this moment, Hayama Akira, who possessed a God's Sense of Smell, was busy preparing for the upcoming Autumn Elections.
He ground ginger and garlic into powder, then poured turmeric powder, chili powder, and unsweetened diluted yogurt into chicken, mixing it well.
The reason for adding yogurt was that it differed from Southeast Asian curry methods.
In traditional Indian cooking, curry does not use coconut milk; it uses yogurt!
Then, he stir-fried diced onions, followed by diced tomatoes.
He stir-fried until the onions were soft, then added the freshly ground turmeric powder, garlic powder, and spices, along with a pinch of salt, continuing to stir-fry.
During this process, he could continue to add oil to allow the spices to release their rich aroma and blend together.
He added curry powder, continued to stir-fry over medium-low heat, and then covered and simmered for 5 minutes.
He added chicken pieces, specifically chicken drumsticks, seasoned with salt, and stir-fried evenly so that the chicken wings were coated with spices, then continued to simmer for more than 5 minutes.
Once the chicken wings started to release their oil, he finally added water.
After simmering for another 3 minutes, it was ready.
...
"Jun, how much chance do you think this South Indian-style chicken curry has in the Autumn Elections?"
After finishing, Hayama Akira contentedly brought the chicken curry dish to the listless Professor Jun Shiomi and asked.
"How would I know?"
"It'll either win or lose, of course."
Jun Shiomi merely glanced at it, not even tasting it, and said.
"Uh, I shouldn't have asked you."
Seeing that she had no interest at all, Hayama Akira could only feel embarrassed.
Afterward, he tasted the chicken curry by himself while continuing to chat with Jun Shiomi: "How are the irises you've been working so hard to cultivate recently doing?"
"They're almost dead!"
"Recently, it's because of this that I've been so worried I often can't even eat."
Jun Shiomi said, somewhat despairingly.
"Dying?"
"Is it a soil problem?"
Hayama Akira paused, then seemed to think of something and asked again.
"Impossible, I mixed sandy soil, leaf mold, and garden soil in a 1:1:1 ratio, and added an appropriate amount of decomposed organic fertilizer to enhance soil fertility, so there's absolutely no problem with the soil!"
Jun Shiomi mumbled in response.
...
Irises, a legendary flower.
This plant was a symbol of the French monarchy throughout history.
From its purple blossoms to its green stems, it has always been a bright spot on spring hillsides and a focal point of many stories from ancient times to the present.
The French version of the book "Treasure" once described it thus:
A small plant with sword-shaped leaves, beloved for its ornamental flowers and alluring fragrance.
The iris fragrance comes from its roots, smelling somewhat like violets, with a powdery and earthy scent. It is said that only the French Iris and German Iris varieties can extract iris absolute!
Yes, Jun Shiomi's ultimate goal in wanting to cultivate irises was iris absolute.
Generally speaking.
Irises are planted in autumn and will only grow and bloom after a 3-year dormancy period.
Then, after manual harvesting, peeling, slicing, and drying, it takes approximately another 3 years for the main fragrance component of the iris root, irone, to form.
Finally, the dried slices must be ground into powder, and then iris butter is obtained through distillation, and iris absolute is obtained through solvent extraction.
Hmm!
It can be inferred that extracting iris absolute is not a simple matter.
And because rarity makes it precious, the price of true iris root absolute is indeed not cheap; it can be said to be the most expensive among natural plant essential oils.
According to Jun Shiomi's understanding, the current market price is about 50 million yen per kilogram.
...
During her student days.
Jun Shiomi was already able to make many delicious curry dishes.
In her first year of elementary school, she even passed Fumio's entrance exam for Polar Star Dormitory in one go.
This greatly shocked her fellow dorm mates, Gin Dojima, Joichiro Saiba, Nakamura Azami, and others, who firmly believed she was a powerful potential stock and the future hope of Polar Star Dormitory.
Of course, she lived up to expectations and successfully graduated from Totsuki!
And while many wondered where she would develop, Jun Shiomi chose to stay and work directly at Totsuki.
This move made her the youngest professor in Totsuki's history.
But being young does not mean she was inactive.
During her tenure as a Totsuki professor, every article she published on methods for cultivating spice plants and long-term preservation, extraction, refining, and other technologies, were the most important research achievements in the entire field of spices.
It is no exaggeration to say that in terms of spices, she can directly represent Japan's top-tier level, and she herself possesses supreme prestige and status!
"Oh, it's really a headache."
"I'm a master of spice authority, yet I'm stumped by such a flower."
Knocking on her head, Jun Shiomi couldn't help but murmur.
Beside her, seeing her like this, Hayama Akira sighed softly in his heart.
He possessed a sense of smell more sensitive than ordinary people, but his research and achievements in the field of spices were still far inferior to Jun Shiomi's.
Moreover, with the Autumn Elections approaching, as a participant, he also had to be busy developing new curry dishes.
Therefore, he felt helpless!
...
It is well known that there are currently about 7,000 types of spices in the world.
Among them, there are over 6,000 synthetic spices, about 500 natural spices, and tens of thousands of types of flavors composed of various spice blends.
With the rapid development of the global economy, people's demand for spices and flavors is also constantly increasing.
Under this trend, Jun Shiomi's recent research direction has been this iris flower.
However, she seemed to have encountered a problem!
"If I can extract iris oil, then I will have hope of refining an organic compound called irone."
"Then, trying to use some microorganisms to ferment and produce irone should greatly improve the production efficiency of irone. This would then have significant importance for promoting the industrial application of irone biosynthesis."
That's what she said.
But it was clear that Jun Shiomi, having encountered setbacks, was in an extremely low mood.
Afterward, she no longer paid attention to Hayama Akira, but instead quickly picked up the watering can nearby and watered some spice plants.
When her gaze lingered on the "lifeless" iris, she inevitably felt even more helpless!
...
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