Candied or glazed fruits are essential for decorating desserts. You must have seen a variety of cakes, especially fruit or chocolate desserts, decorated with candied fruits that add vibrant hues and make them irresistible. The art of making glazed fruits has made the task of preservation quite easy.
Video Credit: Simple And Delish by Canan/ YouTube
Not only does the decoration look good, fruits taste sweeter, remain fresh, and flaunt glossy finish. You can also serve them to guests and leave them impressed. If you are planning to make candied fruits at home, here is a step-by-step guide to transform juicy fruits into chewy candies. Following the tips, you will be able to make delicious candies at home.
Select And Prepare Fruits
The first step is to select the right fruits. Firm and ripe fruits hold the shape well after being dipped in the sugar syrup. Some of the common choices include grapefruit, lemon, mango, apple, strawberry, etc. Next step is to prepare the fruits by washing and slicing them. Make sure to remove the peels of citrus fruits and make sure all the pieces are approximately of equal size.
Blanch The Fruits
Many people think that you directly dip fruits in the sugar syrup, but candied fruits aren’t made like that. You need to blanch the pieces in boiling water for at least a couple of minutes. Don’t keep them in water for too long because they will become soggy. After a hot bubble bath, dip the fruits in ice cold water. You need to repeat this process a couple of times to do away with any sort of bitterness in the fruits.
Prepare The Sugar Syrup
In a saucepan, mix water and sugar in equal amounts and bring the mixture to a boil. Don’t forget to maintain the flame at low or medium. High flame can burn the sugar. As soon as the mixture boils, turn the flame low. You can adjust the consistency of the syrup by adding more water.
Make Candied Fruits
To the simmering sugar syrup on low flame, add the blanched fruits. Cook them on a low flame to prevent a sudden rise in the temperature and burning of ingredients. After 20-30 minutes, you will notice that the fruits will turn tender and slightly translucent. If the pieces are thick and large, the process can take more time.
Dry Candied Fruits
The work does end with coating fruits with sugar syrup. You need to dry them as well to increase their shelf life. After removing the fruits from the flame, place them on a parchment paper or wire rack. This will remove excess sugar syrup and allow the fruits to dry completely. This process can take around 24 hours or even more.
Store Candied Fruits
To store candied fruits, you must prepare airtight glass containers. Even the smallest amount of moisture can ruin the batch. Moreover, if the container is not airtight, ants and other insects will destroy the batch. You can keep the container at room temperature or even in the refrigerator. This way, you can store fruits for several months.
Experiment With Flavours
While you are making sugar syrup, you can add spices or essence to add depth of flavours. You can first add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or star anise to water, after boiling them, remove the whole spices and add sugar. This way, you can make flavourful candied fruits. You can use the leftover sugar syrup to glaze baked goods or sweeten beverages.