The Rise of the European Emperor

In fact, bananas were sent back with the rubber. Of course, not fresh rubber, but dried bananas. There are no refrigerated ships these days, and it is difficult to bring fresh bananas back. It's not that it can't be done, but the cost is too high.

Adding the method of making ice with saltpeter, it is not a problem to store a batch of bananas. However, in this way, the cost of transporting bananas from Cuba back to the mainland of Beihai will skyrocket...

Canned bananas are not difficult to get, but Marin has eaten canned bananas and feels bad. In his eyes, pineapple, a sour fruit, is the most suitable for canning.

As for bananas, Marin is more used to another way of eating - dried bananas...

The production of dried bananas is very simple, just peel the ripe bananas and slice them directly. Then, bake and dehydrate directly. If the weather is fine, you can also take it out and expose it to the sun. After all, the temperature in that corner of Cuba is high, and sometimes the effect of exposure to the sun is no less than baking. But it must be heated in the early stage, because it dehydrates quickly. If the dehydration is slow, bananas are easy to deteriorate.

Then, the bag can be taken out to pack the dried bananas. It is best to vacuum pack to avoid mildew. Of course, the heat-sealing method "invented" by Marin is now popular in Cuba. That is to say, after the finished dried bananas are packed in oil paper bags, they are placed on a high-temperature drying table for high-temperature sterilization. Then, take the opportunity to seal it with glue. In this way, the effect is almost the same as that of cans. Even if the remaining air is sealed together in the oil paper bag, because the air in the oil paper bag is still hot when it is sealed, it is impossible for bacteria to survive. Dried bananas packaged in this way can be stored for more than one year as long as they are not opened.

In this era, long-preserved food is the best food. Because the traffic in this era is too backward. It can take months to get food from point A to point B. If something breaks in three to five days, it can't be transported to the destination in good condition.

Especially for sailors on great voyages, it is impossible to purchase new food within a few days. At sea, it is often impossible to purchase new food for several months, and can only eat stored food. And bagged dried bananas, which can be stored for more than one year, are naturally the best choice. Moreover, dried bananas have a sweet taste and belong to the first-class snacks.

However, its cost is quite low. Especially in tropical regions like Cuba, it is very suitable for the growth of bananas. Now it's just the beginning, and in the future, there may be banana trees everywhere. That way, the cost of bananas would be very cheap. As far as Marin knows, in many poor African countries in later generations, ordinary people usually rely on eating bananas to make a living. They couldn't afford other food, but bananas were plentiful, and outside their huts, they were everywhere in the woods. Sometimes, the orangutans rush to pick bananas and eat them. But the conditions of the African tropical rainforest are so good that bananas are plentiful, so there is no need for people and orangutans to fight for bananas. Everyone, you pick yours, I pick mine, and you will be full...Of course, it is West Africa, with a tropical rainforest climate. If you switch to the East African prairie, there will be no such good things... Therefore, most of the famines in later generations will happen in East Africa, and I haven’t heard much about it in West Africa. People have tropical rainforests. As long as they don’t get eaten by wild animals, there are bananas and wild fruits in them. Ah, so much. And if a strong man can starve to death in the tropical rainforest area, this man is hopeless, so let him die sooner...

The process of making bananas into dried bananas is also very simple and the cost is not high. Bananas are ready-made, just pick them. There is no cost in the drying process, just go to the forest to collect some firewood. As for oil paper bags, other countries may find them expensive. Marin has a modern paper mill in Canada, and oil paper bags are still very cheap.

In the future, when the scale of banana trees in Cuba expands, Marin plans to use bagged dried bananas as the standard food for sailors. At the same time, there must be regular supplies in the army. This thing is low in cost, delicious, and durable, and belongs to the top-grade military rations.

However, Cuban bananas have not been mass-produced at present, and there is only one banana plantation, and the dried bananas produced in bags can only be supplied in limited quantities. Since it is limited, it is naturally for the noble class.

So, at night, Marin summoned the nobles of Aurich,

A dried banana tasting session was held. Everyone ate dried bananas, drank draft beer, and bragged about it, but they were also happy. Because they are all aristocrats, not the rough guys who like to drink strong alcohol in the army, drink some draft beer, and Marin is not drunk anymore...

After the tasting meeting, all the nobles present gave the dried bananas a favorable comment. Everyone thinks that dried bananas are no less than fried peanuts when drinking, and hope to have more in the future. Marin naturally did not refuse, anyway, the cost of this thing is also low.

...

However, it seems that the dried bananas of later generations are different from this one...the difference is that the dried bananas of later generations are more golden in color and look more attractive...while the dried bananas that Marin ate were a little hairy Black, and many black spots...

Marin searched his memory and finally found the reason - it turned out that there was a sulfur fumigation process in the production of dried bananas in later generations. This link can make the food brighter, which is the golden yellow in Marin's memory. Moreover, sulfur dioxide gas from sulfur fumigation is poisonous, and the process is also a process of killing viruses...

However, Marin knew very well that although the dried bananas looked better after processing in this way, the poisonous sulfur gas also penetrated into the dried bananas during fumigation. Although the amount is small, such dried bananas should not be eaten too much, especially not for children.

On the contrary, the dried bananas that Marin asked his subordinates to make during the sulfur-free fumigation process, although the price is a little different, are much healthier, and they can be safely eaten by children such as Caesar and Robert.

In the next few days, Robert, Ma Yun and Ma Li (born to Felice), who were several years old, regarded dried bananas as their staple food and refused to eat. Only Caesar seems to be mature, not gluttonous, but treats dried bananas as snacks such as afternoon tea.

...

Speaking of this afternoon tea, it was also made by Marin. Marin opened up the trade route of the Ming Dynasty and brought back a large amount of tea bricks. Then, the next step is to promote and sell tea.

However, if Europeans did not have the habit of drinking tea, tea would not be able to open up the market. Although it is also popular among European monarchs to drink tea, it is not regular, and they do not drink it every day. After all, tea is not cheap now. Generally, only when distinguished guests come, or when you are in a good mood, will you drink a cup of milk tea. So, after much deliberation, Marin decided to learn from the style of the British of later generations - to have an afternoon tea...

That is, at three or four o'clock in the afternoon, Marin will call all the officials who work in the front yard of the palace to drink milk tea, eat some biscuits, pastries and so on in the gazebo in the front yard of the palace.

Afternoon tea and drinking tea occasionally are two concepts. Drinking tea occasionally means that the consumption of tea is very limited. Maybe, just a few times a month. But drinking afternoon tea is different. It is a habit, and you have to do it every day. If all nobles develop the habit of drinking afternoon tea, the sales of tea...

In this way, under the leadership of Marin, the habit of drinking afternoon tea became popular among the noble circles of Beihai Kingdom. As for tea, there are a lot of tea bricks in Marin's warehouse, which can be stored for ten years. Brother, do you want a piece? Just a few gold coins...