Chapter Thirty-Fifth: Making Sweet Potato Dried Goods

  Lin He thought that the sweet potatoes they dug up earlier could be used to make sweet potato chips, and the remaining ones could be left for a few days before his father and older brother dug a cellar at home to store them. By then, many things at home would not spoil during winter as they could all be stored inside.

  The next day, Lin He brought his family to make sweet potato chips. Making sweet potato chips also depends on the weather, and today was a fine day with warm sunshine.

  Lin He first had someone take the sweet potatoes to the river to wash them clean, each one had to be carefully cleaned. After cleaning, Lin He planned to make two kinds, one with skin removed and one without. Lin He asked Huang Shi to bring Chen Er to peel a basket of sweet potatoes.

  Another basket was put into the pot and boiled with water, and Da Bao was asked to light the fire. The fire was burning vigorously, and Lin He remembered that Xiao Bao wanted to eat roasted sweet potatoes, so he threw a few sweet potatoes onto the stove. After a while, when the sweet potatoes in the pot were almost all cooked through, Lin He dug out the sweet potatoes from the stove, and the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes immediately wafted out, making everyone's mouth water. Lin He handed one to each person, and they all ate with relish.

  After finishing the meal, Lin He took out the white sugar from home. Originally, there was no white sugar at home. When buying things during house construction, Lin He spent some money to buy some white sugar back. At that time, white sugar was very expensive and not as good as the white sugar in her previous life, but it could still be used.

  Then pick them up one by one, put them in a clean place, and use a kitchen knife or other clean things to crush the sweet potatoes. Put white sugar in, then use a wooden stick to mix the sugar and sweet potatoes evenly. Finally, use a wooden board that was prepared earlier as a mold, so it will be in blocks on the mold. Just wait until it's dry, and you'll have dried sweet potato slices with skin.

  Another way to make sweet potato dry, this is a bit simpler, just peel the sweet potatoes and cook them until they are cooked through, no need to press, then cut them into small pieces, cut into small pieces, that's it.

  The two flavors are almost the same, just different in appearance. On this side, Dabao and Linhe had just finished making sweet potato chips, while on that side, Huangshi brought Linchen to peel the sweet potatoes. Dabao and Linhe made those sweet potatoes into dried sweet potatoes, then they were waiting to be sun-dried.

  The sweet potato slices that had been dried in the sun were crystal clear and lovely, making Little Treasure drool with desire. He asked Lin He when they could be eaten, but Lin He said they would have to wait a few more days until they were completely dry. With such sunny weather, it would take several days to dry them properly, and once they were dry, they would be easier to store and could be kept for a long time. If they weren't dried thoroughly, the sweet potato slices would become moldy.

  If it's dried for two days and slightly dry, as long as you pick up a piece that isn't rotten, it's still edible, but there's no chewiness to it. Lin He thinks that thoroughly dried sweet potato slices are delicious, but sweet potato dry shouldn't be dried too much, or else it'll be too hard and can't even be bitten into. Sweet potato dry is ready to eat when it's 80% dry, with a bit of chewiness and not too hard.

  Lin He put all the sweet potato slices at home in the yard, where several wooden boards were placed, and some dry grass was spread on the boards. The sweet potato slices were then placed on top of the dry grass. This way they would dry more easily.

  Lin He saw that the people at home were surprised by the dried sweet potatoes, and thought it was a bit strange. Didn't anyone in this era know how to make these things? It's really simple, and doesn't require any extra materials. Lin He thought about it, and felt that it was also reasonable.

  From a modern perspective, it is thought that way, but in ancient times, it was not the case. Many people today consider eating as a form of enjoyment, sometimes the dishes are made so exquisite, like a work of art, making one reluctant to pick up their chopsticks to eat. However, in ancient times, eating was merely for filling one's stomach, and during an era when even rice was scarce, who would have thought of turning staple food into snacks?

  And if the two boxes of sweet potatoes are made into food for her family to eat, they can be eaten for several days. If they are dried and become sweet potato dry goods, how much do you need to eat to feel full? And how many people are willing to buy the white sugar inside? If it weren't for her family's affection for her, who would let her go through so much trouble?

  Lin He thought that if she took these dried sweet potatoes to the street to sell, someone should buy them. She thought it was a good idea, so she let Da Bao take them to sell. In this era, there are fewer snacks, and some people should also buy them.

  Lin He told Huang Shi about her idea, and Huang Shi thought it was feasible. The sweet potatoes were from their own home and didn't cost anything, they just needed to spend money on sugar. If they couldn't sell them, it wouldn't be a waste of anything. After a few days, she would let Lin He and Da Bao take some to try out. Although they wouldn't make a lot of money, they could still earn some small change.

  Mainly, Lin He wanted to see how others in this era would react to these new and strange foods. If the reaction was good, Lin He thought that when she had enough money, she could open a food shop. In her past life, Lin He liked to research all sorts of food, especially sweets. Later, she could open a shop like this, and the profits should be quite considerable. Moreover, the recipes were in her own mind, so it would be difficult for others to imitate them exactly.

  But that's for later, let's take a look at this one first. Besides, there's still such a large piece of land with sweet potatoes at home, eating them every day makes people want to vomit. If these can be sold, the money earned can be used to buy other grains to eat, Lin He thought that her idea was feasible.

  Taking advantage of these few days to dry the sweet potatoes, Lin He decided to let Lin Er Niu and Da Bao dig a cellar at home. In ancient times, there was no refrigerator, and it couldn't be stored in the ground for too long. They were all piled up in the yard, which had two disadvantages: one was that they were not fresh, and the other was that they didn't know how much would be wasted in the end. With a cellar, things would be much better. This winter's sweet potatoes, cabbage, radishes, and some fruits and vegetables could all be stored inside to keep them fresh.

  Lin Er Niu heard Lin He mention this cellar and also felt very curious, carefully asked Lin He how to dig the cellar, roughly how big to dig, how deep to dig, what to do, asked very detailed.

  Lin He explained to him one by one, Lin Er Niu planned not to go to the fields for these few days either. Together with Da Bao at home, they would dig out the cellar. Actually, the principle of digging a cellar is very simple. First, choose a good location, as long as it's not sandy ground. Generally, houses are not built on sandy ground, so generally, any house can have a cellar dug.

  Lin He planned to dig the cellar in his own yard, finding a good spot and using a shovel-like object to slowly excavate the soil, the entrance of the cellar was about one meter or so in size, roughly four or five meters deep, then further down he used an ordinary shovel to expand it in all directions, and finally used bricks or wooden pillars to support it, to prevent collapse, and that's how it was basically completed.

  Lin He told this principle to Da Bao and Er Niu, and they spent four days digging out the cellar. When they went down, Lin He lit an oil lamp first to take a look, it was still okay, after putting everything in, just seal the entrance, especially when summer comes, it's the best time to store things.