Ari

Chapter 56: Meat Preservation

It was only a month left before the springtime. My brother and Dillon heard the small talks of the tribesmen while gathering some fire woods from the nearest forest. They were talking about the food shortage and food spoilage of their tribe. According to them, some of their supplies had already gone bad and they are afraid that their females and cubs will suffer from hunger before the spring arrives.

Like other beastmen, a tiger beastman doesn't technically need to eat meat solely. However, their food preferences were the problem. They only like to eat meat.

A tiger beastman has a bigger appetite than a lion beastman. Both races have similarities on their taste pallet, but our lion tribe has long been used to eating vegetables and fruits as complimentary food during the harsh season.

A beastman can suffer from stress if they don't eat their main food preference for a long period of time, causing them to become physically weak and prone to illnesses. A male tiger beastman can tolerate up to one month of no meat intake, while females and cubs can only last for two weeks.

Dawon was obviously in a bind, even by seeing him at a distance as he goes back and forth and roam around the territory to check the severity of the situation. He had to figure out a way to solve the issue as soon as possible.

Since the day we baked the cake, Dawon started to join us every meal, because he was fascinated with the unique foods that we prepare. Even though he didn't like crops and vegetables, he said it was still edible.

"I've been curious for a while. It doesn't seem like you have too many supplies either, but you managed to survive half of the winter with just the strange foods you usually eat." Dawon asked while sitting with us during lunch.

"Ari has a vast knowledge with regards to food and herbs. She also knows how to hunt. We all learned it from her and Lowell." My brother answered proudly.

I almost choke on my food while I was eating quietly due to embarrassment.

"Mommy... Wansam wato? (Want some water?)" Gurion asked upon seeing me cough a little.

He carefully tried to fetch a cup of water from the jar and gave it to me. It almost spilled because his hands were still small, but I managed to support his hands and took the cup from him.

"Thanks, Gurion.. So cute.." I mumbled while smiling at him sweetly.

"By the way... Uh.. I've been thinking for a while now. Can you teach us how to gather and cook the food you usually eat?" Dawon asked shyly while fidgeting his fingers.

"Alright! But... I think you need to learn how to preserve meat supplies more than finding vegetables and fruits during winter. Even though winter can prolong the shelf life of a meat, if it was not handled properly and preservation procedures were not performed, food can still be prone to spoilage." I answered frankly.

He was baffled and confused about my words, but he decided to listen to my suggestion.

The next morning, my brother, Lowell and I accompanied Dawon on checking the current condition of the tribes food supply. On a normal winter season, meats that are placed in a well ventilated storage do not rot easily unless the temperature doesn't meet its freezing point.

A meat can freeze under negative four degrees Celsius and can start to accumulate bacteria at around negative one degree. However, we don't have any temperature measuring tool to determine how cold the winter was.

According to Dawon, it is a recurring issue to them every winter. So, in conclusion, the weather in the forest lion and wolf tribes is colder than this territory. It's quite unfortunate, however, there are ways to preserve meat better than relying on the weather.

Upon observation, most of the meat can still be saved with the proper preservation procedure, but some needs to be cooked as soon as possible.

When preserving meat, salt is the most commonly used preservative in my previous life. It can also be added to ice so that the ice doesn't melt easily in an enclosed container such as a clay pot. However, salt is rare since beastmen didn't know how to produce salt except if a cave full of salt is discovered.

"Do you have salt supplies in your tribe? We will be needing some salt for the preservation process." I asked Dawon.

"No, we do not use salt or other spices in our food because it is hard to obtain since we do not have any particular product we can trade it for." He answered honestly.

"Brother... Can we use our salt supply? Please..." I whispered to my brother, pleading for permission.

It was my brother and Lowell, who obtained the salt before we started the journey, so I need their approval before offering it to others.

"But... Ari... You know it's hard to find salt anywhere, right? I know that you're too kind, but isn't this kind of overboard? We obtained it for you and not for others." He whispered back to me in a scolding tone.

I frowned a little because I was guilty of offending my bother.

"Your brother is right, Ari. We don't want to cook bland food for you. You also use it when you're cleaning your teeth or when you have a sore throat. That is the reason why salt is essential for our journey. We won't allow you to sacrifice your needs for others. You are our priority." Lowell added as he tried to comfort me and convince me to change my mind.

"Lowell... How far is the nearest ocean?" I asked while thinking seriously.

"Around five miles away, but the way down is too steep and dangerous especially during winter..." He answered with a baffled face.

"Can we access it if the weather calmed down?" I added.

"Yes... Why?" He confusedly asked.

"Because we can extract salt in sea water." I answered excitedly.

My brother and Lowell were both surprised and they looked at each other in confusion.

Despite their obvious doubt, they still agreed and allowed me to share the salt that we have.

We had the meats sit in jars for hours with salt while we prepare a smoking house where we can slowly cook it using smoking method. Smoked meat and jerkies can last for months so it can last until springtime arrives.

I also tried to marinate some of the meat with wine, salt and other spices and had it sit overnight before cooking it the next day. The tribe was so thrilled upon trying the marinated meat. They were so ecstatic about the taste.