Chapter 255 Processing Strawberry Jam
When Boss Ji passed by Su Tai, he took the initiative to greet her.
Su Tai returned the gift and asked: "Boss Ji is not going to sell strawberries this year?"
Boss Ji patiently explained: "To be honest, the strawberries this year are better than those on Nashan Mountain. Wild fruits are not that good. Such fruits cannot be sold at a high price. Your village chief is resigned to death and refuses to lower the price. If this continues, I am afraid that all the strawberries in your village will have to be sold again this year.
I’m only telling you this for the sake of our long-term cooperation. You’d better give me some advice. I’ll come back in a few days. If you’re willing to lower the price, I can still buy some goods.”
"Thank you." Su Tai watched Boss Ji leave before walking up.
When Shen Ying saw her, she sighed repeatedly and almost cried, "What should I do? The fruits haven't grown yet! Alas!"
Su Tai tried a few strawberries. , she couldn't swallow it, and others would definitely not buy it, so she fell into deep thought at the moment.
Huang Xinghua continued to weed with her head down.
After a while, Su Tai walked towards Shen Ying and muttered: "Village Chief, this year's situation is really special. We can't sit back and wait. What I mean is that the fruit cannot be sold at a high price, so we have to find a way to make it happen. It’s worth something.”
"Huh? Do you have any good ideas?" Shen Ying looked at Su Tai eagerly and pointed at her to think of something.
The corner of Su Tai's mouth twitched slightly, and when she met Shen Ying's pitiful eyes, she finally compromised, "I was thinking about making jam. This year, the fruit must not be sold out, so as not to damage our reputation. , but we can process strawberries into strawberry jam.
If the fruit is not sweet, we can add sugar and honey. The cooked strawberry jam will have the sweetness of strawberries and a beautiful color. It is easier to transport and can be sold to Lizhou.
But we have to order a batch of beautiful ceramic jars in advance so that the jam can be sold at a good price."
Shen Ying looked forward to it, fascinated, and excited. He couldn't even turn around and just kept echoing, "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you want. You can order the ceramic pots. These pots are very well made. I went to ask the old master nearby." This kind of pottery pot costs seventy or eighty yuan a piece, but I can’t find a cheaper pottery pot than yours.”
Su Tai nodded repeatedly, "That's okay. I'll go get the ceramic jars, but the place where the jam is processed must be in the village. My place is used to build pots and schools, so it's not suitable for processing strawberries."
Shen Ying Expressing understanding, "Then go to the village courtyard and build a big shed in the courtyard. It is convenient to get water there and is suitable for work."
Su Tai was also thinking of that place and reminded: "Village Chief If you need someone to set up a tent, it's best to put a large wooden board directly above the pot to prevent dirt from falling into the pot and affecting our jam.
In addition, you can use well water to clean the strawberries, but not to cook them. It is best to use spring water, the kind of clean mountain spring water without impurities. I will prepare the sugar needed for cooking. We have a lot of sugar at home, and we have familiar merchants, so it can be cheaper."
Shen Ying smiled. He grinned from ear to ear and said, "Sorry to trouble you, I'll go get the arrangements first while you order the ceramic jars."
After Su Tai returned home, she immediately went to the Huo Shikong Brick Kiln Factory. She was now almost a VIP of the brick kiln factory.
The boss saw her coming and immediately stepped forward to entertain her.
Su Tai immediately told him her needs, "Boss, I want this kind of oval white porcelain jar that can hold one pound. It's best to make it azure and misty colors, and add a few strawberries on it. ."
She spoke carefully about her ideas.
The boss uses the computer to create drawings until Su Tai is satisfied.
The ceramic jars are more exquisite and cost ten yuan each.
Su Tai temporarily ordered 10,000 pieces, and then went to the food court.
The non-staple food store in the food street can wholesale rock sugar for five yuan per pound, and buy some white vinegar, and that’s it.
She arranged things properly, and the village chief also called the villagers to work.
Building a shed and setting up a stove is a simple task that can be done in one day, including the roof problem that Su Tai emphasized. She originally thought that the village chief would let people lay the roof with wooden planks, but she didn't expect that the village chief would let people make burlap to cover it.
The cloth not only prevents dirt from falling into the pot, it is also very light and does not worry about crushing the shed.
The thickened water tank used to cook strawberries can produce two to three hundred kilograms of jam.
With these things, making jam is obviously much easier.
Two days later, the first batch of white porcelain jars Su Tai requested arrived.
The villagers were all stunned when they saw the exquisite jar, and none of them dared to touch it.
“My dear, for such a beautiful jar, how much does this jam have to cost?”
He asked everyone’s inner question.
Su Tai looked at them funny and said slowly: "A pound of strawberries can make almost seven taels of jam, and a white porcelain jar can hold a pound of jam. What I mean is that our jam cannot be sold cheaply. A jar of three hundred coins, what do you think?”
The villagers nodded nervously. If nothing else, they definitely wanted three hundred coins for this jar.
With these jars, the villagers also gained confidence in strawberry jam and began to pick the first batch of strawberries.
Since the village agreed to pay a flat fee for cooking, the weight of the strawberries sent by each household must be recorded.
At this time, the children studying in the school came in handy. They were all arranged by the village chief to live in the courtyard. As long as someone sent strawberries over, they would register and let the other party draw a pledge.
The delivered strawberries are given to the little girls and aunts in the village. They are responsible for cleaning and removing the stems of the strawberries, and then dice the strawberries and give them to the men in the village.
They cooked it according to the method of Su Tai.
In fact, making strawberry jam is not difficult. The key is to keep stirring the heat and not stop.
Once the bottom is mushy, a large pot of strawberry jam will be ruined.
These are the treasures of the villagers. Everyone wants to arrange four or five people to take turns stirring in each big tank, but they don’t dare to be distracted at all.
When the strawberry jam is almost ready, the village woman puts the delicate white porcelain jar into a pot for distillation and sterilization. Finally, the strawberry jam is canned, and then the jar is connected to the jar for secondary cooking, sterilization, and cooling. The last thing is the finished product.
When the first batch of strawberry jam was made, Shen Ying took the lead in opening a jar and let the villagers taste it one by one.
Su Tai brought out the big steamed buns prepared in advance and said loudly: "Let's dip the steamed buns and try to see how they taste."
The villagers hurried forward to take one each, for fear that they would be left behind.
The steamed buns dipped in jam taste full of strawberry aroma and the fragrance of wheat. The taste is really fascinating. Not to mention the children can’t stop eating, even the adults can’t bear to eat it. stop.
Ms. Xu shouted excitedly, "Village chief, it's done! I think the price of such a delicious strawberry jam, three hundred yuan a jar, is too little!"
Su Tai suddenly said, "Second Aunt, we must give some profit to the merchants we acquire, otherwise no one will come to us to purchase goods!"
"Hahahaha." Everyone laughed.
After the first batch of strawberry jam was delivered to the warehouse, the villagers continued to work.