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What could influence the course of history wasn’t just groundbreaking inventions like the steam engine.
From canned fruit, she had started thinking about more things—like cookies.
War standoffs and military defense required a huge amount of calories and nutrition, and canned food was a unique technology developed during the Napoleonic era to ensure comprehensive supplies for the navy.
While Italian workshops may not be able to make canned food yet, cookies were just as important.
They were smaller in size than bread, packed more calories, and had better moisture resistance.
If this type of food could be widely distributed, it would not only strengthen the food supply along the border but also provide the children with more snacks.
After changing their clothes, they went to meet the British ambassador, and then together, they went to the kitchen.
It was exactly like the scene from many years ago—when the prince and queen entered the kitchen, the servants, who had been chatting and laughing, stood up in shock. They weren’t sure where to place their hands as they awkwardly curtsied.
According to their status, they might never have the chance to meet these two nobles, destined to spend their lives toiling away in the kitchen.
Hedy smiled and gestured for them to continue resting. While discussing news about the ambassador with Leonardo, she also taught him how to make cookies.
In this era, similar products were popular in the streets and taverns, but they differed in shape and size from modern cookies.
What mattered more to her was the degree of compression of the ingredients and the proportions of the components.
Once these factors were determined, Florence and the surrounding cities could mass-produce this food and ship it to various ports.
As people’s diet and travel became more convenient, the country’s development would speed up significantly.
Leonardo hadn't done something so simple and relaxing with her in a long time. He even found himself nostalgic while kneading the dough.
Hedy, fiddling with the wheat stalks, casually drew two cat whiskers on his face with flour. "What are you thinking?"
"I was thinking... of the way you clumsily made pasta back then," he couldn't help but laugh. "At that time, I asked a certain maid—do you know how to make wine?"
"No..." She gave a knowing look, appearing as though she had just crawled out of a haystack.
"How about beer?"
"Neither..." She shook her head.
"It seems I can't hire you," he said seriously. "Otherwise, we'd both die of thirst."
She chuckled and reached out to teach him how to use a knife to cut the dough that had been shaped.
"I've had compressed cookies before," she placed her fingers on the back of his hand, the warmth of her palm still holding some dough. "They're amazing... You don't eat much, but they fill you up quickly."
"Because they absorb water, right?" He raised an eyebrow. "And you can add bits of vegetables or something similar, then compress them with the flour."
Hedy placed the cut cookies into the oven and said meaningfully, "You've become an excellent prince—and you'll be quite the cook as well."
"I've already learned how to bake pizza," he said with some pride. "And I can also make small burgers."
She smiled and kissed his lips, then, by the stove, showed him how to shape a little rabbit from the leftover dough.
"In our time..." Hedy whispered, "We would always make gingerbread at Christmas."
She began to tell stories about the candy house and the old witch, and Leonardo listened, utterly captivated.
The rich aroma of the cookies wafted through the warm air, the wheat fully baked into its earthy scent, making everyone feel hungry.
