Seedling Crisp

 

"Texture, sweetness, spicyness. Just the right amount of sticky, gooey, fluid." munchingly testing "Yes, yes. Quite nice. You have done a fine job with the crisp. The meat is tender, has the right mix of crisp flavour and its own. Six days in the making? Is that honey which I taste there? You've outdone yourself!"

— Restaurant tester to the chef

  Seedling Crisp is a Purple Bellpepper speciality, often used during barbecues - and therefore are an orcish favourite - and for everything you can put into a pan. Mostly meat, but you can also use it on corncobs, other bellpeppers (which might be a bit redundant), carrots, whatever you want to coat with the crisp and maybe infuse it a bit with that special flavour.   But beware: the Seedling Crisp is crafted from the seeds of the Purple Bellpepper as a basis, mixed with other spices, and sauce. As a crisp goes, this can be very fruity or very spicy. If crafted wrong, the best case would be a desastrous flavour. The worst case it is too spicy. Risks and dangers are described in the Purple Firekiss and the Purple Bellpepper.     The more known "basic" variant of the Seedling Crisp has a dark red, rich colour with the crunched seeds and a few bits of various peppers in it. It should have the consistency of thick, red, syrup in the end, with a glazed, shimmering, in the best case, even a transparent appearence.   In terms of flavour the crisp should taste like tomatoes, pepper, and the smokey bellpepper seeds. The scent of the basis variant is very unique, because it does smell like hot tomatoes, sunlight on grass, and if someone has lit up a chimney right next to you.   The Seedling Crisp itself can be stored in glasses for easy access and presentation. Some people use air-tight pottery to store it underground or in other cool places, so it can get thick and more like a paste.   One should not use it with bare hands or they will itch for days. And, thats the worst part, if the Seedling Crisp comes into contact with eyes or other body parts, be prepared for a burning sensation only real fire can administer.     The Seedling Crisp is a human-dwarven invention. The dwarves aren't capable of growing the Purple Bellpepper the way it needs, they need to import the seeds itself. Some dwarves visited the plantations and some restaurants (Ironkin, Stonekin and Copperkin in particular) and decided to try out a new way to marinate their mushrooms. So they asked a few chefs if they could participate in some kind of culinary research and development. Main reason for that was the rarity of the Red Blinder, because that mushroom was hella expensive.   Of course they were allowed to do that and after a few weeks of try and error they found a way to use the Purple Bellpepper beneficial to both sides. To be fair, the Purple Firekiss is still a thing, but people get warned. Even Dragonborns can get it, they are not immune.   So, as the Seedling Crisp was created, the dwarves took a copy of the recipe home to Bjarghjarta, Eirskjöldr and Járnskjaldur, to prepare their unsuspecting mushrooms.   The most common appliance for the Seedling Crisp is in barbecues, mainly for meat steaks or mushroom steaks. Basically one prepares an iron cast pan, heat it up to medium heat without oil, covers the steak or the mushroom in the Seedling Crisp (as thick as one might like) and sear it on medium heat until well done.   Scrape the Crisp off, crush the remaining seeds into a fine paste, usable as a dip for side dishes or for medical purposes. Yes, you read right, you can use the remains of the crisp as a paste for eating, so people can sweat out fevers and such. It puts a huge strain on the body, but it does help. Warm compresses are also a thing, but the usefulness is questionable at best.          

"Me knows that the Red Blinda is a very pricey 'shroom." munches "Dis crisp is good. Me like. Can ya make it more solid? Me wanna wrap it 'round that like a crust, ya know?"

— Dwarf to a chef

 

"Phiatris, Mother of Darkness, my goddess, help me withstand, it is a lot to beaaaaaaaah..."

— Follower of Phiatris got a bit too much Seedling Crisp

 

"You stored it in a clay jar?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"It solidified into some kind of Seedling Paste, if you want. Same consistency as wet sand."
"And how are you using it?"
"Oh, that depends. Mostly to wrap meat and vegetables in it, let the flavour sink into them. Gives it a very unique taste. Like you bite into an apple, have the apple flavour, then suddenly it gets hot and dark in your mouth."
"Oh, this is great. - Say, do you sell one of your jars?"
"Oh, sure, but it is pricy."
"Fine with me."
"Gotcha."

— Customer with a restaurant chef