Chapter 17: Molecular Gastronomy!

"Alright, you guys have two hours starting now! Make sure you finish before time runs out! Now go!"

Dojima's announcement sent the students scrambling out to find their ingredients, their minds racing to decide what to cook.

Tsuna joined the others and went out to hunt for the ingredients.

Meanwhile, Alice remained behind, prompting Ryo to inquire, "Aren't you going out, young lady? I'm heading out now."

"Hmph do whatever you want, Ryo! You're disrupting my thought process!"

Alice pouted before scanning the ingredients on the shelves, her eyes flicking over the array of bottles and jars as she muttered, "Hmm, it seems they have quite a complete selection of secondary ingredients..."

Alongside the various kinds of vinegar, ketchup, and soy sauce, she spotted an assortment of oils, including olive oil and sesame oil.

Jars of different spices, such as paprika, oregano, and cumin, lined the shelves as well, along with containers of salt and pepper.

It turned out that their focus was truly on finding the main ingredients.

"I do need red wine, though," Alice muttered mischievously, her eyes gleaming, "Luckily, there's a wine cellar around here..."

As a Nakiri, she was familiar with the surroundings, giving her a significant advantage in this assignment.

"Fufu, I'll give it my all this time, Ito-kun," she hummed happily as she headed out.

Ryo had already left Alice behind to fetch his ingredients.

He was also going to take this assignment seriously, as he didn't want to lose to Alice either.

All three of them seemed to have an idea of what to cook, as they had already listed out all the ingredients they needed in their minds.

"Interesting... This is turning out to be very interesting indeed," Dojima chuckled to himself as he remained alone in the room.

"I have a good feeling about it. This generation..."

Glancing out of the window at the panicking students, he spotted Alice, Ryo, and then Tsuna, "...is going to surpass all the predecessors."

"Hey, get out of the way!!"

"What the hell? You're the one blocking my path, you jerk!"

"Damn it, cut it out! Just grab what you need and go your own way!"

Tsuna strolled through the lush greenery surrounding the resort, observing numerous students rushing about.

In tough times, selfishness tended to take over as emotions flared. He witnessed several fights breaking out and shook his head at the chaos.

Tsuna also noticed some unfamiliar faces among the students in his room earlier.

"So, some of the other classes are also scrambling for ingredients," he muttered, scanning the resort grounds.

Before long, Tsuna found himself standing in front of a henhouse.

He scanned the area, searching for a young chicken, and raised the sharp knife he had taken from the room earlier. His eyes gleamed as he spotted one and prepared to make his move.

However...

"Oh? Tsuna! What are you doing here?"

"Huh? Soma?"

A voice called out, and Tsuna turned to see Soma seemingly appear out of nowhere.

Blinking in surprise, he replied, "I'm here to gather my ingredients, of course..."

"Eh? Here?"

Soma appeared surprised as he glanced around before chuckling, "No way! Are you also after their eggs?"

"Eggs?" Tsuna shook his head, "No, I'm here to get chicken meat."

"I see. I thought we could team up if you wanted eggs as well. Hmm, now it's complicated." Soma rubbed his chin as he eyed the chicken hen guarding the eggs warily.

"Fufu, Ito-kun, it seems like you are still struggling to get what your ingredients..."

A voice suddenly rang out, and both of them turned to see Alice approaching with a smug expression on her face, holding a duck in one hand and a bottle of red wine in the other.

"If you apologize, I might consider helping out. What do you think, Ito-kun?"

"..."

Tsuna remained silent, his eyes flashing as he watched the young chicken draw closer.

Interpreting Tsuna's silence as her victory, Alice flashed him a triumphant smile. "Please don't disappoint me later since I won't be holding back..."

"Tsuna, do you know her?" Soma pointed at Alice, asking.

However, instead of replying, Tsuna suddenly flicked his arm.

Whoosh...!

The sharp knife in his hand sharply flew at one of the oblivious young chickens and swiftly sliced its head from its body.

"...!"

Alice and Soma couldn't help but open their mouths wide at the unbelievable sight before them as Tsuna casually took the chicken still twitching slightly, seemingly unaware it had already died.

He then turned to them, "Sorry, I didn't pay attention to what you guys said earlier. Come again?"

"Uh? Ah, yeah... umm, nothing..."

Soma and Alice responded unconsciously, blinking in shock at Tsuna.

Both of them gulped as Tsuna shook his head and waved his hand, "Alright, then. See you both later. I gotta skin this chicken as soon as possible..."

"..."

Alice also seemed to have just decided to come back to the room to finish her assignment right away.

"What in the world? How was that even possible?" She couldn't help but feel slightly afraid of Tsuna, considering it was not something an average cook could do.

But then, recalling how Tsuna had ignored her made her feel annoyed again as she pouted, "Hmph, he's just good at being flashy. Just wait and see, I'll show you how far apart our levels are!"

Back in the classroom,

Alice found Tsuna already started skinning the chicken on his countertop as she also walked to her own.

Looking at her ingredients on the table, Alice smiled as she was about to make Miso Duck Breast!

"It won't be your average Miso Duck Breast," she silently continued as she began to take out the duck breast she needed.

"I will enhance it using my specialty..."

A modern approach...

Or the scientific perspective of cuisine, primarily focusing on chemistry.

The composition, properties, and transformations of an ingredient are addressed and utilized in the preparation and appreciation of the consumed products.

That was her specialty...

The technique that made her stand out among her peers.

Molecular Gastronomy!

Thinking of a way to incorporate her technique into her Miso Duck Breast, Alice then began cooking the duck breast just right, making it juicy and flavorful.

Then, she whipped up a sauce using red wine, broth, balsamic vinegar, honey, and some strange powder called agar agar.

Molecular Gastronomy Technique: Gelation with Agar Agar!

Alice's eyes were determined as she truly tried her best. Despite her confidence in winning against Tsuna, she didn't want to lose against Ryo!

By incorporating agar agar as a gelling agent, she transformed the liquid sauce made with the red wine into a gel.

"And then this one..."

Molecular Gastronomy Technique: Reverse Spherification!

In this case, balsamic vinegar is mixed with calcium lactate to form the flavorful liquid center of the pearls.

When dropped into a bath of sodium alginate solution, a thin membrane forms around the liquid, creating small balsamic pearls.

These pearls add a burst of tangy sweetness and contribute to the dish's visual appeal, resembling caviar or even jewels!

Alice's eyes lit up as she prepared to finish her dish.

She narrowed her gaze at Tsuna's back, where he appeared busy at his countertop and muttered, "...Let's see if you can still make fun of me after this, Tsunayoshi Ito!"