Candied fruits are delicious on their own or can be added to recipes like fruit cakes, ice creams and traditional desserts. What a great way to preserve fresh produce when the season isn’t in season!
Candied fruit is an ideal way to add a sweet, tart or sour twist to desserts. Enjoy them alone or use them to jazz up cakes, cookies and pies alike.
Make delicious candied fruit by boiling thin slices of your desired fruits in a sugar syrup. This process creates an irresistibly crunchy candy shell from the fruits.
Candied Fruit Recipe
Sugar
Sugar is a clear, white liquid derived from various plants and found in foods and drinks. It consists of glucose, fructose and galactose – the building blocks for carbohydrates.
Sucrose, which is composed of two molecules of glucose and fructose bound together, is the primary component of table sugar. Other common types of sugar include honey, beet sugar and muscovado sugar.
This recipe calls for granulated sugar, but you may use powdered or dehydrated sugar as well. No matter which kind you use, be sure to add water and heat until your candy thermometer reads 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the temperature is reached, quickly dip and swirl skewered fruit into the syrup before it hardens and crystalizes. Be sure not to wait too long as this step will ensure maximum enjoyment from your experience!
Water
This delectable candied fruit recipe calls for sugar, water and corn syrup – the latter helping to make the coating thick and glossy.
Water helps ensure the candy hardens quickly, allowing for immediate consumption. This recipe can be made with various fruits such as strawberries or grapes.
It’s essential to use an accurate ratio of water and sugar when making this recipe. A proper water to sugar ratio will guarantee that your sugar hardens evenly.
Begin by bringing water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Whisk until thoroughly combined, then heat over medium-low until your candy thermometer reads 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), about 18-20 minutes.
Once the sugar syrup reaches this temperature, quickly dip each piece of fruit into the mixture and coat fully. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet for easy cleanup.
Corn Syrup
Corn syrup is a commonly used sweetener in many sweet recipes. This versatile liquid sweetener can be used to make everything from candies and caramel to frostings, baked goods, jams and jellies.
It’s primarily composed of glucose, a simple sugar that serves as the body’s primary fuel. While it’s an ingredient in many foods, some people may choose to avoid it for health reasons.
Fortunately, there are several substitutes that can be used in place of corn syrup. Tapioca syrup, for instance, can be easily converted one-to-one when used in recipes.
High-maltose corn syrup is a specialty product commonly used in jams and jellies. This sweet treat is produced through an enzymatic process that creates a saccharide blend with low levels of dextrose and high amounts of maltose sugars.
Table syrup offers less browning potential and is typically combined with sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup to achieve desired sweetness levels.
Fruit
Candied fruit is made by immersing sliced or whole fruits in a sugar syrup. The sugar helps preserve the fruits by dissolving water from them.
For optimal results, make sure your fruits are ripe and fully sweet before candying; this helps the sugar absorb better. Lemons, oranges, lemon peels, tangerines, citrons, apricots, peaches, plums and cherries make great candy ingredients.
Tanghulu, a Chinese snack of colourful candy-covered fruit served on a long bamboo skewer, has become increasingly popular around the world! This recipe will show you how to make this delectable street food!
How Long Do Candied Fruit Last?
In order to maintain the flavor and texture of candied fruits, they should be stored in a container that is tightly sealed.
Doing this prevents moisture or air from getting into the container and allows the fruits to remain preserved for approximately one year without any changes to flavor or texture.
When storing candied fruit, it is always best to do so in a glass container. This will protect them from vermin and allow you to see what’s inside the container.
How To Store Your Candied Strawberries
For storage of candied strawberries, place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
After they have cooled, remove from the oven and transfer to an airtight container. Store these treats in your refrigerator for up to one week at room temperature.
Tanghulu, or Chinese Candied Fruit Snacks
These crunchy snacks are a favorite street food in Northern China and made of juicy strawberries, grapes or tangerine wedges coated in sugar syrup. Once hardened, this sugar coating forms an irresistibly crunchy shell around the fruit.
Sugary syrup was traditionally created by boiling down water with granulated sugar, a method still employed today and used to preserve various fruits.
In addition to strawberries, candied fruits such as citrus peels, ginger, berries or cherries can all be candied for extra sweetness.
What is the Difference Between Candied and Glazed Fruit?
Both terms refer to fruit that has been preserved in sugar syrup. The process varies depending on the size and shape of the fruit, but generally speaking they are soaked in sugar and water for several days, weeks or months before being allowed to dry in either sunlight or an oven.
Crystallized or candied fruits are the result of an extended and laborious process. Fruits such as oranges and lemons may be candied whole, or smaller pieces like cherries or apricots; other fruits like pears, apples, plums, figs, kiwi fruit and dates can also be candied.
Glace or glazed fruits, also known as glaced fruits, are pieces of candied fruit that have been rolled in sugar syrup and then cooled to give them a glass-like appearance (also referred to as “glace”). While this glazing process can be done at home with proper equipment and care, it requires patience.
Glazed fruit can be enjoyed right out of the box, or it can be used to decorate cakes, tarts and other desserts. They’re also frequently added to sauces, ice creams and cocktails for flavoring purposes.
Maraschino cherries come in various colours, such as red or green. Typically flavored with almond extract or peppermint, these delicious treats can be found all year round; however, for special Christmas recipes like fruitcakes baked into trays of sweets.
They should be consumed in moderation, as they contain three times the amount of sugar as fresh cherries. Nonetheless, dried cherries make an excellent addition to cakes or fruitcake recipes.
