Day 1. Candied Fruit

Candied Fruit Recipes

One of those little niceties that goes on top of ice cream or even mashed into it. These look lovely enough to go on and i cakes. I'd posted this project in earlier post, but I wanted to let it go solo here because of it's versatility.  I hope you can give it a try.

Candy Ginger and Cherries

There are quite a few recipes for making candy fruit, but this project will take 14 days. I like the results. I can choose if I want the fruit glazed or crystallized looking. Believe, when i tell you...It's well worth the effort. I'm going to walk you thru making candied fruit in a cluster of  days. So let's get candy making.

You'll need. 

• A calendar or journal to keep track of each days process. Personally, I like the journal type calendars, because I can take notes on how each fruit does through the candying process.
• A sanitized needle for pricking berry type fruits.
• 2  8 oz. canning jars with lids(depending on how many pounds of fruit you're candying)
• Or a glass baking sheet one with a top would work nicely, but it's not necessary.
• Medium sauce pan or skillet
• Almost 3 c. Sugar for the whole process
• Water to cover fruit at the start
• Small saucer or bowl to keep fruit submerged.
• A candy thermometer (help when gauging the hard boil)
• A few spoons and spatula

Use only firm, unblemished fruit in this process and always wash fruit before hand. It will be necessary to prick each cranberry before the first step with a sanitized needle otherwise they will burst open in the cooking process and become mushy.

Candied Blueberries

Day 1.

In a sauce pan place your washed and needle pricked berries. Cover with just enough water to cover and set on a medium heat. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes, not enough time to make the fruit mushy but enough time to break down the cell walls so your sugar will penetrate the berries easily over the next couple of weeks. Taking into consideration that you will cook these again in the near future. Remove the blueberries from the heat and strain setting the juice aside off the burner

For every one pound of fruit that you just cooked place 1 and 1/4 cup of liquid in a sauce pan. Heat to a boil and dissolve 3/4 cups of granular sugar. When completely dissolved pour this sugar mixture over the berries and set this aside.

*Note... if at all possible you should lay your fruit in a single layer on the baking sheet, for the sugar syrup. This allows the syrup to cover every piece of fruit.

If you're limited on kitchen space save the single layer technique for orange slices and fruit of that nature, but I used glass jars for blueberries and cherries. Since all fruits love to float this is the point where you weigh down your single layered fruit with a plate or a cookie sheet of a smaller size and your jarred fruits with a small bowl...I used parchment under the cup to push the fruit down even further. Leave your fruit to set at room temperature for 24 hours.

Fruit to try

Kiwi  only required half the process

Mango lovely and the syrup looks just like honey
Peach syrup taste way more heavenly than anything I've ever tasted on the grocery shelf. It just doesn't come close.
Blueberries Candy blueberries ... way better than grape jelly, which brings up the matter to candy grapes. I have to try it...

Golden Nugget...

Be sure to start your fruit at a gentle simmer...All fruit are not created equally and one fruit can become mushy quite quickly, than another would.  So gentleness and attentiveness is the key to achieving wonderful candies and syrup.

Our Next step is a cluster of days...so make sure to use your journal for notes as well as keeping up with what step and day your on.

Can you imagine your fruits on top of chocolate cup cakes or cakes? I have more projects like this one, so like and subscribe to Chocolate Mondays to receive more of this type of recipe, to your in box once a month...
happy chocolate Monday to all