Warm water can soften agar, making it easier to dissolve. Soaking also helped clean off dust and other particles from its surface.

After soaking the agar, he picked up a fruit knife and cut the watermelon in half, placing one half in front of himself and handing the other half to Shen Baobao, instructing her to follow along.

He first took a basin and placed a large sieve on top of it.

"Use a small spoon to scoop out the flesh and put it into the sieve. This step will..."

While Lin Xu was explaining, Shen Baobao took the small spoon meant for scooping watermelon, inserted it into the center of the watermelon, twisted it around, and then gently lifted, scooping out the sweetest part of the melon.

She forked it into her mouth with the spoon, chewing blissfully.

"Wow, this melon is so sweet! It even has a bit of a grainy texture."

Lin Xu: "..."

Chen Yan: "..."

We're making Watermelon Curd here, so why is she holding the watermelon and eating it?

Should I also move the TV over and find a popular anime for her to watch while she eats?

Lin Xu said, "Baobao, stop snacking. Let's finish making this first, otherwise we won't have enough for the Watermelon Curd."

"Oh..."

Both of them continued scooping out watermelon flesh with their spoons.

Chen Yan then brought the camera closer to start filming a close-up of the scooping.

While she was filming, Shen Baobao used her spoon to offer a bright red piece of watermelon flesh to Chen Yan's mouth.

"Yan Bao, try this. It's really sweet!"

Chen Yan: "..."

If she keeps snacking like this, we'll have to cut open another melon.

But since her cousin had offered it right to her mouth, it would be a waste not to eat. So, she bit into the watermelon as Shen Baobao smoothly pulled the spoon away, and the piece of watermelon entered her mouth.

Mm, it really is sweet.

It feels like there's no need to make Watermelon Curd; just scooping and eating it with a spoon is quite satisfying too.

After all the watermelon flesh was scooped out, Lin Xu noticed that Shen Baobao had about a third less flesh in her basin than he had in his.

Looks like these two cousins ate quite a bit!

"What do we do next?"

Shen Baobao burped contentedly, her eyes sparkling with excitement for making delicious food.

Mm, I'm full now! Time to start making Watermelon Curd with Xu Bao.

"Put on disposable gloves and crush the flesh through the sieve to turn it into fine granules. This will give it a better texture when eaten."

Many recipes online use juicers or blenders for this. Although easier, this method results in a very uniform texture, lacking the satisfying graininess of watermelon flesh.

In the past, this dessert was typically made with large, grainy-fleshed watermelons, as they produced an even better granular texture.

"Is it that simple?"

Shen Baobao hadn't expected it to be so straightforward. She immediately and happily put on gloves and, as if practicing the Iron Sand Palm technique, began to mash the watermelon flesh in front of her.

Lin Xu, on the other hand, took handfuls of the watermelon flesh.

First, he squeezed out the juice, then passed the remaining pulp through the sieve.

This way, the pulp would turn into fine, grainy granules.

Soon, the basin beneath the sieve contained about half its volume in watermelon juice, with tiny granules floating in it, looking quite tempting.

"Ah, I didn't realize I was such a hidden culinary talent! What's next? Hurry and teach me, please!"

Shen Baobao, emulating Lin Xu, took off her gloves, her face filled with a sense of accomplishment from making food.

Chen Yan, who was in charge of filming, frowned.

All she did was scoop out the watermelon and then mash it into juice with her hands. Even a three-year-old can do that. Why does she look so accomplished?

Anyone who didn't know better would think she'd just made Buddha Jumps Wall.

"Next, we need to simmer the agar. It's the Coagulant for the Watermelon Curd. If there's no agar, gelatin, White Jelly, or jelly powder can be used as substitutes; the effects are similar."

Having said that, Lin Xu took two stainless steel dessert pots out of the cupboard.

When simmering ingredients like agar, it's best to use pots dedicated to desserts or stainless steel pots. Try to avoid using iron woks or stir-fry pans.

This is because iron pots can leave black flecks, which aren't easily visible while simmering, and this could ultimately affect the dessert's appearance and quality.

He placed the pots on the stove, added a bowl of water to each, then put the softened agar in and turned on the heat to simmer it slowly.

Very soon, the water in the saucepans began to boil.

The agar inside also started to melt.

Shen Baobao watched this magical sight, her sense of accomplishment swelling even more.

Chen Yan, filming with the camera, watched with keen interest, wanting to try it herself.

But there's no rush. Once the video is shot, it'll be my turn, Chef Chen, to show what I've got! Then, I'll show you two lovebirds who the real culinary genius sidetracked by business is!

After simmering for four to five minutes and confirming the agar had completely dissolved, he poured the watermelon juice into his pot.

"Do we need to cook it further?"

Shen Baobao was curious, but she still followed Lin Xu's lead and poured her watermelon juice into her pot.

Lin Xu stirred the mixture in his pot a few times with a skimmer, then skimmed off the foam, explaining, "After simmering a bit, the pigments and juice from the watermelon will naturally separate. This gives the Watermelon Curd varied colors, making it look prettier."

Watermelon juice should not be boiled.

Once it's slightly warm, the heat can be turned off.

Pour the watermelon juice into molds, then place them in the refrigerator. Once the watermelon juice cools and solidifies, it will form a jelly-like Watermelon Curd—a true Divine Artifact for beating the summer heat.

After Shen Baobao finished her batch, she also poured it into molds.

"So now we just wait and eat?"

"No, we still need to simmer some Crystal Sugar Water. When the Watermelon Curd solidifies and you cut it into pieces to serve, drizzling some Crystal Sugar Water over it will make it even tastier."

The watermelon juice contained no sugar, so the Watermelon Curd itself wouldn't be sweet enough.

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