Free Web NovelChapter 543: Chapter 487: I Treated You as a Good Colleague, but You Poached Right in Front of Me! (Part 3)
As he spoke, he walked over to the syrup pot, only to find it completely empty, clean as new.
It was clear that the previously bad syrup had been disposed of.
Wu Meijuan awkwardly laughed and said, "Chef Huang, um, the previous syrup all turned bitter, so I dumped it all..."
At this point, there’s nothing left to do but to start over!
He casually replied, "No worries, we’ll just make it again later! Just concerned about time being a bit tight, I can’t guide each child individually, so I’ll have to do it myself to make the syrup right. Later, the kids can coat the hawthorn in syrup. Of course, I’ll explain each step slowly to them..."
"Special situations require special treatment, so let’s do as you say, Chef Huang!" Cai Jingxian nodded.
"Alright, let’s do it."
Huang Jun walked to the stove, skillfully poured water into the pot, and then added the granulated sugar.
He explained to the children, "For beginners making syrup, it’s recommended to use a non-stick pot, and the ratio of water to sugar doesn’t need to be too precise."
"If unsure about the ratio, you can fill a bowl with granulated sugar and level it off. One full bowl is enough, and the water is also the same level, achieving a 1:1 ratio."
As he spoke, he stirred the sugar and water evenly with a spoon.
Once everything was ready...
He turned on the induction cooker and set it to medium heat, continuing to explain, "The heat control for syrup-making is crucial; it shouldn’t be too high or too low. Medium heat is the most suitable."
"Once the heat is on, don’t stir it again. Many people fail at making syrup due to excessive stirring."
"The granulated sugar in the pot will go through three stages: first boiling, then gradually thickening, and finally, when it starts to turn yellow, it means the syrup is almost done."
"The whole process takes about 7 to 15 minutes."
Cai Jingxian and the three other teachers listened to his explanation, with expressions of realizing that hearing all this from him was more beneficial than watching countless online cooking videos, and that indeed, professional tasks should be handled by professionals.
The children were fixated on the changes in the pot, as the temperature rose, the original granulated sugar slowly dissolved, revealing a pot of slightly golden syrup.
Occasionally, a few small bubbles emerged from the surface of the syrup, accompanied by a gentle "pop" sound.
Huang Jun continued his operation while explaining in detail, "When the syrup starts to change color, we can prepare a bowl of cold water to test the hardness of the syrup."
"Dip a little syrup with chopsticks, then quickly place it in the cold water."
"If the syrup is runny when lifted or sticks to your teeth when eaten, it means it hasn’t been cooked long enough."
"If the syrup quickly hardens and is crunchy when bitten, then it indicates that the syrup is done."
To give the children a more intuitive understanding, he began to demonstrate.
He picked up a bowl of cooled boiled water, dipped the chopsticks in the pot, then placed them in the bowl, and lifted them.
The syrup formed long, thin threads on the chopsticks.
"This situation means the syrup hasn’t been cooked enough and needs more time."
After a while...
He dipped the chopsticks into the pot again, placed them back into the cooled water, and when he lifted them, the syrup had completely solidified on the chopsticks.
"Kids, come, have a taste..."
He signaled to Cheng Xinrui to bite into the syrup on the chopsticks.
"Mmm, mmm~"
Cheng Xinrui nodded obediently, biting into the tip of the chopsticks, and with a "crack," the syrup shattered between her teeth.
"Wow, that’s amazing!"
Hearing this, the children couldn’t help but exclaim and were eager to try, showing a desire to be the "guinea pig."
Huang Jun continued, "This shows that the syrup is ready; at this point, we need to quickly turn down the heat to the lowest setting."
While saying this, he quickly adjusted the induction cooker, reducing the heat to the lowest level.
He said earnestly, "This step of coating the syrup is crucial, you can’t just dunk the fruit in the syrup. Doing so not only risks burning the fruit but also creates too thick a layer of sugar coating, affecting the final taste and appearance."
Wu Meijuan’s face lit up with understanding, "No wonder the sugar coating on my candied haws was so thick before; it turns out the technique was wrong!"
Huang Jun picked up a skewer of hawthorns and demonstrated while explaining, "The correct way is to gently rotate the skewer of hawthorns on the surface of the syrup like this, coating it with a thin layer of sugar bubbles. One turn is enough, don’t overdo it. The finished candied haws are placed on parchment paper and cooled for ten minutes."
"Gulp~"
Looking at the candied haws on the parchment paper, the children spontaneously did a "swallowing motion."
Huang Jun smiled and said, "Who wants to try coating the hawthorns with syrup?"
"Me, I’ll do it..."
The children eagerly raised their hands, each eager to try.
Without favoritism, Huang Jun allowed each child to have a turn.
He guided them one by one, helping them quickly rotate the hawthorn skewers in the syrup and then lift them to let the excess syrup drip off, forming an even sugar coating.
Seeing their results, the children were all overjoyed, comparing whose was better.
Concerned about the kindergarten class (4), Huang Jun couldn’t resist going to check on them.
He saw that Yang Yuxi and her classmates were strictly following the steps he had previously explained, and the steamed spinach cake was brightly colored and soft in texture, finally putting his mind at ease.
After ensuring everything was going smoothly, Huang Jun instructed Yang Yuxi and her classmates to continue steaming the remaining spinach cakes, and then he prepared to return to class (2) to continue helping with the syrup-making.
Along the way, other teachers stopped him to ask for cooking advice.
At this moment, he felt like a brick, moving wherever he was needed...
Luckily, these issues were not major, and with his timely intervention and remedies, all small episodes were resolved smoothly.
Subsequently, Huang Jun returned to class (2), carrying a sense of accomplishment to continue his "syrup-making" guidance journey.
To add a special touch to the children’s candied haws, he sprinkled some white sesame seeds into the syrup, which not only enhanced the flavor but also added layers to the texture.
Of course.
It also won the love of both the children and teachers!
As time went on...
All the candied haws were completed within the specified time.
Under the guidance of the three teachers, the children carefully packaged the cooled candied haws, preparing to start their "stall" mode...
