How to cook candied fruits. How to cook candied fruits. Candied lemon peels

Candied fruits are fruits or berries in sugar that can be used as a dessert or as a decoration for cakes, pie and other confectionery products. Unusual sweetness can be added when baking, to cream, dough or glaze.

Candied fruits have a very long history. The word is borrowed from the German language. The Germans call the sweet treat “zukkade”. In Russia, candied fruits became widely known only in the 18th century, when Catherine II issued a decree on the supply of an unusual delicacy to the court. At the same time, a dry jam store was opened for the first time in the city of Kyiv with many interesting culinary products, including candied pieces.

Nowadays you can buy delicious sweets everywhere. But if you don’t like factory-made candied fruits because of the dryness, coarse fiber and cloyingly sweet taste, prepare them yourself at home. They can be made from the following products:

• Citrus fruit;
• Pumpkin;
• Carrot;
• Watermelon and melon rinds;
• Quince;
• Beet;
• Apricots;
• Pears;
• Plum;
• Strawberry.

If you have little experience, choose firm fruits rather than juicy ones. Apricots, strawberries, and plums tend to overcook, so making excellent quality sweets from them is not so easy.

Recipes

Candied citrus fruits

This type of candied fruit is especially popular in winter due to its unsurpassed aroma. The taste of citrus sweets is spicy and sweet, with a pleasant sourness. The cooking recipe is very economical, because fruit peels are most often thrown away. So, you will need:

• 300 grams of grapefruit zest;
• 300 grams of orange zest;
• 300 grams of sugar;
• 100 grams of powdered sugar.

Preparation step by step:

1. Place the peel in cold water for a day.
2. Remove the peels from the water and cut into 1.5 cm slices.
3. Fill about half a pan with water and pour sugar into it.
4. When the sugar dissolves, add the citrus slices.
5. Cook candied fruits for 7 minutes.
6. Repeat cooking after 8 and 16 hours. You will have 3 brews in total.
7. Remove the slices and allow the syrup to drain. You can place the candied fruits in a colander.
8. Place paper on a baking sheet and place candied fruit on top.
9. Dry the slices in the oven for 5 hours at 50 degrees.
10. If the candied fruits are not dry enough, leave them overnight at room temperature.
11. Sprinkle the finished candied fruits with powdered sugar.

The peels of oranges and grapefruits are soaked in water to remove the bitterness. In addition, the crusts swell and become soft. When the crusts become transparent during cooking in syrup, this is a clear sign that they are ready. The finished candied pieces should be placed in a jar or other container and stored in the refrigerator.

Perhaps repeated cooking is the only drawback of traditional preparation of sweets. To get quick sweet pieces from citrus fruits, you need to pass lemon peels and oranges through a meat grinder. Then cover them with sugar and place them in a glass container for 3 days in the refrigerator. After this, you should cook the fruit in syrup until completely thickened. Syrup is one and a half glasses of sugar and a glass of water.

To prevent candied fruits from being overly sweet, do not forget to add 1 to 3 grams of citric acid at the end of cooking.

Candied tangerines are very fragrant. To prepare them you will need:

• 290 grams of sugar;
• 100 ml water;
• Mandarin peel 290 grams;
• A little lemon liqueur.

Thick-skinned tangerines are best suited for candied fruits. You can also use clementines. Start cooking by soaking the crusts in water for 6 hours. Then change the water and soak for another 6 hours. The crusts must be immersed in water at all times. To do this, cover them with a saucer and place something heavy on top. Cover the crusts again with fresh water and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove the candied fruits and dry them on a towel. Prepare the syrup. Proportion of water and sugar: 1.5:4. Combine sugar and water, add candied fruits and boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. A few minutes before the end of cooking, add lemon or orange liqueur. Remove the candied fruits and dry them. If you like it mildly sweet, it's ready to go. If you need the candied fruit to be firm, place it in the oven for a few hours. To dry, place them on special paper or non-stick sheet.

The process of preparing candied carrots takes several days. But the effort required is minimal. Prepare the following foods:

• 1.5 tbsp. water;
• 500 grams of peeled carrots;
• 500 grams of sugar;
• 1/4 tsp. citric acid;
• Powdered sugar for sprinkling.

Cooking process:

1. Cut the carrots into cubes, place in a container and fill with water.
2. Bring the candied fruits to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Place the cubes on a slotted spoon and run cold water over them.
4. Combine water and sugar and place on the stove.
5. When the syrup boils, dip the carrots into it. Cook for 15 minutes and remove from the stove.
6. Leave the bars in the syrup for 10 hours.
7. Repeat the cooking procedure 2 more times with a break of 10 hours.
8. When the carrot pieces are sugared, the candied fruit is ready.
9. Add citric acid to them, boil again, and then drain the syrup.
10. Place the carrots on a baking sheet and sprinkle with lemon juice.
11. Dry candied fruits in the oven or simply indoors at room temperature.
12. Roll candied fruits in powdered sugar.

In order to give a sweet dish a pleasant aroma and slight sourness, show your imagination. You can sprinkle them not only with lemon juice, but also with orange or liqueur. Do not throw away the strained syrup, but dilute it with hot water, boil it and pour it into a jar. You can use it to make glaze or soak baked goods in it.

You can use an electric dryer to dry candied fruits. But if you are simply drying indoors, place the candied fruits in a sunny and well-ventilated place.

Making candied pumpkin is quite simple. You will get pleasant marmalades with a caramel aroma. The advantage of these pieces is that they will not have a pronounced pumpkin smell. So, you will need:

• 1 medium sized pumpkin;
• 5 tbsp. Sahara;
• 3 tbsp. water.

To make the glaze, take:

• 4 tbsp. milk;
• 3 tsp cocoa;
• 50-70 grams of butter;
• 8 tbsp. Sahara;
• honey on the tip of a knife.

Cooking diagram step by step:

1. Peel the pumpkin and cut into squares. Please note that the candied fruits will boil down 4 times.
2. Combine sugar and water and bring to a boil. Place the pumpkin in the syrup and leave for 6 hours.
3. Do the procedure at least 3-4 times.
4. Place the candied fruits and let the syrup drain.
5. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet and dry for 2-3 hours. The temperature should be as low as possible. You can even open the oven door slightly.
6. The candied pieces are ready when they become firmer.

To prepare the glaze, simply combine all ingredients and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. You should get a homogeneous mass. Dip the pieces into the glaze and place on foil to set. The glaze takes about 30 minutes to set.

Candied fruits are high-calorie desserts. Therefore, this delicacy should be consumed in moderation. In addition to its excellent taste properties, the advantage of candied fruits is that they can act as an excellent antidepressant.

Candied melon

Candied melon is a wonderful reminder of summer. Ingredients:

• 500 grams of melon pulp;
• 300 grams of granulated sugar;
• 100 ml water.

The melon must be firm. It may even be a little underripe, with a green rind. But unlike oranges and other citrus fruits, you only need the pulp. The variety “Collective Farmer” is suitable.

Cooking method:

1. cut the pulp into slices.
2. Make syrup from water and sugar.
3. Dip the melon into the syrup, boil and cook for 5-7 minutes. Cool.
4. Repeat the procedure until the liquid has completely evaporated.
5. Remove the slices from the syrup and let them drain.
6. Place the melon on an iron sheet and dry in the oven at 100°C for 1 hour. Sometimes it takes longer to dry.
7. Cool the pieces and roll them in powdered sugar.

Candied ginger

Real sweet candied fruits can be made from ginger. Their taste is specific. For cooking, it is important to purchase fresh ginger, not dried. All you need for candied fruits is 200 grams of ginger root, 500 ml of water, 125 ml of water and 200 grams of sugar.

The preparation process is as follows:

1. Cut the ginger root into cubes.
2. Pour water over ginger, cover and cook for 1 hour. During this time, the bitterness and pungency will go away.
3. For the syrup, add sugar to 125 ml of water and boil.
4. Place the boiled ginger in the syrup. If any pieces are not in the syrup, they will darken. Watch this carefully. Cook for an hour: the ginger should become transparent.
5. Remove the pieces from the syrup and place them on parchment paper.
6. Dry the ginger and roll in sugar.

Candied fruits purchased in stores are produced using dyes, flavors, and gelatin. Some substances may be hazardous to health. The composition of fruits prepared at home is completely natural. They preserve organic acids, essential oils, and vitamins. And only because of the high sugar content you need to know when to eat this sweetness in moderation.

Candied fruits, these multi-colored pieces of aromatic pulp of vegetables, fruits and berries, boiled in thick sugar syrup, are dietary substitutes for sweets, and are also used for baking and making desserts.

Candied fruits are considered low-calorie and healthy sweets that can be included in the diet without compromising your figure. In addition, they are very useful because they contain fiber, vitamins, minerals and trace elements in concentrated form.

How to cook candied fruits correctly

Some novice cooks ask the question of what candied fruits can be made from - and in this area you can show all your creative potential. The “raw material” for candied fruits is any fruit, from apples and pears to cucumbers and beets, as well as the peel of orange, melon and watermelon. So, let's learn how to properly make candied fruits at home so that they turn out beautiful, fragrant, soft on the outside and springy on the inside.

Pre-treatment of fruits

Berries, fruits and vegetables are thoroughly washed, cleared of seeds and cut into small slices - the thinner the pieces of pulp, the better they are soaked in syrup and the easier it is to dry. If you don’t know how to prepare candied orange, candied and lemon peels, keep in mind that these products need to be soaked in cold water for about three days, changing the water twice a day to remove the bitterness.

Preparation of syrup

For 300 ml of water, take 1200 g of sugar and boil the syrup for 10 minutes. The quality of candied fruit depends on the consistency of the syrup - for example, thick and too strong syrup makes pieces of fruit too soft and deprives them of the elastic core, which is valued in candied fruit. Liquid syrup prevents the fruit from becoming sugary, so candied fruits can quickly spoil.

Blanching the fruit

Before making candied fruits from pears, pumpkins, apples and carrots, they must be boiled in boiling water. Peaches and apricots are boiled for 3 minutes, apples, quince and pear - 5 minutes, citrus peels - 7 minutes, carrots and pumpkin - 10 minutes. Melon and watermelon do not need to be blanched, since only vegetables and fruits with dense pulp are pre-cooked.

Boiling fruits

Place the fruit pieces in the syrup, bring to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes and leave for 12 hours, repeating this cycle three times. For different berries, vegetables and fruits, the duration of processing may vary - it all depends on the degree of their softness and juiciness. How to make candied watermelon and candied melon if the fruit is very ripe? Do not reduce the time for cooking fruits in sugar syrup, even if they seem juicy enough to you - they will only benefit from this.

Drying candied fruits

Place the fruit pieces on a sieve or colander to allow the syrup to drain (within 6 hours), then transfer the candied fruits to a wooden board and leave for 3-4 days, turning them over periodically to dry evenly. Some housewives finish the candied slices in the oven, but the best candied fruits are made in the fresh air under a slight draft.

Ready candied fruits can be sprinkled with sugar, powdered sugar and vanilla, and it is better to store them in a tightly closed glass jar - this way they retain their softness and freshness for a long time. Candied fruits are also good as a filling for baked goods -,. It is no coincidence that candied fruits are called the second wind of summer, and you will see this when you drink tea with aromatic candied pieces of strawberries, cherries and apples in winter. A breath of sunshine in the cold of winter – isn’t it magic?

Today I will tell you how to prepare candied fruits at home. You and I will be preparing an excellent delicacy - delicious candied fruits.

Did you know that the first mention of candied fruits dates back to the 14th century, and this delicacy was called “Kiev dry jam”. These sweets were to the taste of Empress Catherine II; in 1777 she even issued a decree on the supply of candied fruits to the royal court.

Years passed, the tasty and exquisite delicacy began to be considered an overseas curiosity and called candied fruits.

Kiev dry jam and our favorite candied fruits are pieces of fruit boiled in sugar syrup. When the fruits have boiled, they are dried and sprinkled with fine sugar.

This is an excellent delicacy for children; in addition, candied fruits are used to decorate confectionery products and are used in cooking as a filling for shortbread, biscuit, and yeast dough.

You can prepare candied fruits yourself from fruits and berries; you can use almost all types of fruits for cooking.

You can prepare this delicacy from melon, carrots, rhubarb, rowan, even watermelon and orange peels.

The main thing is that the fruits chosen for cooking have dense pulp, and then they are boiled well. It is necessary to ensure that the fruits do not become overcooked during cooking and become transparent.

Store ready-made candied fruits in low wooden boxes or glass jars. When storing candied fruits in boxes, they are covered with parchment. The storage area should be cool.

A simple way to prepare candied fruits

To prepare candied fruits:

• Let's take 1 kilogram of berries or fruits. Moreover, fruits and berries can be any kind; you can take 1 kilogram of watermelon or orange peels.
• We also need sugar for cooking - 900 grams and 1 liter of water.

Let's start preparing candied fruits:

1. We wash the fruits or berries we have chosen well, dry them and remove seeds from them, if any.
2. Make syrup from sugar and water, dip the prepared fruits into it and boil for 10 minutes.
3. When the fruits are cooked, you need to throw them in a colander to drain the excess syrup.
4. Then place the pieces of fruit, berries or crusts on a baking sheet in one layer.
5. Dry the candied fruits in the oven at a temperature of 35 - 40 degrees, the oven door should be slightly open.
6. When you see that the fruits are well dried, remove them from the oven and sprinkle with fine sugar. Excess sugar must be removed.
7. Place the finished candied fruits on parchment paper and then in glass jars or wooden boxes. The finished treat should be stored in a cool place.

The yield of finished dry jam is approximately 3.5 kilograms of candied fruit from 5 kilograms of fruit.

To prepare the delicacy, take:

• pumpkin - 1 kilogram, sugar - 850 grams,
• citric acid - 5 grams,
• cinnamon or lemon zest to taste.

Let's start preparing candied pumpkin:

1. Cut the pumpkin pulp into small cubes.
2. Sprinkle the chopped pumpkin pieces with 200 grams of sugar and place in a cool place until the juice appears.
3. Then, when the juice appears in the chopped pumpkin with sugar, put it on low heat. Bring the pumpkin to a boil without stirring, making sure it doesn’t burn.
4. When it just boils, remove from heat, cool and drain the juice.
5. Pour a glass of juice into the remaining sugar, add citric acid and cook the syrup.
6. Pour hot syrup over cooled pumpkin pieces and cook over low heat until tender.
7. The pumpkin pieces should be translucent when ready and the syrup should be very thick, like honey.
8. Then we put our candied fruits in a colander and dry them in the oven.

When dry, roll the finished candied fruits in fine sugar, powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar; you can also roll in chopped candied fruits.

Store the finished treat in a cool place in glass jars.

Pour the juice remaining from preparing the candied fruits hot into sterilized jars and roll up. It can be used to prepare jelly or compotes.

So we learned how to cook a delicious delicacy - candied fruits.

Enjoy your meal!

Basically, candied fruits go well as a decoration for confectionery products - cakes, pastries, pies, rolls. Sometimes they are used instead of filling.

Candied fruits come from the East. Due to the hot climate, residents had to look for new ways to store food. So they tried to first boil exotic fruits in sugar syrup and then dry them thoroughly. The treat we are accustomed to today was considered a real luxury at that time. Only wealthy people could afford candied fruits. Subsequently, merchants learned about the benefits of trading candied fruits and began to supply them to Europe. Only after many years did local producers learn how to make candied fruits. In Russia, the production of candied fruits began in the 14th century - they made something similar to “dry jam”. After 1917, candied fruits disappeared from view for some time, the old recipe was forgotten, but then the delicacy returned to the tables of Russians.

For the preparation of candied fruits, apples, pears, cherries, plums, citrus fruits (along with the peel) and other fruits, as well as ginger, are widely used.

According to the method of surface treatment, candied fruits are divided into two types: folded and glazed, candied or printed. Folding candied fruits are covered with a durable film of dried syrup, and the surface of candied or replicated fruits is a glassy crust. This happens due to the fact that after boiling they are thrown back, allowed to drain, and again dipped in high concentration sugar syrup. To obtain candied candied fruits, it must have a temperature of 35-40 degrees, and the fruit must be kept in it for about 10 minutes. Circulated candied fruits are a subspecies of candied candied fruits. With this method, the fruit is dipped in hot, saturated sugar syrup for several minutes, and then dried at a temperature of 50 degrees.

The average cost of store-bought candied fruits is from 100 rubles. per package 150 grams (data for Moscow as of July 2019). If you cook yourself, you can save more than half on groceries.

Cooking method:

Wash the apples, peel and core them, cut into semicircular slices or slices. Prepare syrup from sugar, water and citric acid, boil for 5 minutes. Add apples, boil for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat and leave for 3-4 hours. Repeat the procedure 4-5 times. Place the apples in a colander to drain the syrup. Dry in the oven at 50 °C for 4-5 hours. Ready-made candied fruits prepared at home can be rolled in sugar.

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Strawberry candied fruits.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg strawberries
• 250 g sugar
• 5 g citric acid
• powdered sugar

Cooking method:

For this recipe for homemade candied fruits, large strawberries need to be sprinkled with a mixture of 200 g of sugar and citric acid. When the berries release their juice, place them in one layer on a clean baking sheet and pour over the juice. Sprinkle the remaining sugar on top of the berries. Place the baking sheet in the oven preheated to 200°C. After the mixture boils, reduce the temperature in the oven to 1–80 °C. After 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet, roll each hot berry in powdered sugar, place on parchment in one layer and let dry. After a day, bring the syrup remaining on the baking sheet to a boil, dip each berry in it, place it on parchment and let it dry. Store candied berries at room temperature.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pears
• 1 kg sugar
• 600 ml water
• juice of 1 lemon

Cooking method:

For candied fruits at home, according to this recipe, large hard pears need to be cut into halves or slices, small fruits should be pierced in several places with a fork and blanched in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, then quickly cooled in cold water. Pour 1 kg of sugar into the water where the pears were blanched, stir and pour this syrup over the cooled pears for 3-4 hours. Then put on fire, bring to a boil, boil for 5-8 minutes and set aside for 8 hours. So, taking long breaks , boil the pears 3-4 times for 5-8 minutes until they become transparent. At the end of cooking, add lemon juice. Then place the pears in a colander, let the syrup drain and dry in the oven at 40°C.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg plums
• 1 kg sugar
• 500 ml water

Cooking method:

Before making candied fruits at home, plums need to be washed, cut in half, and pits removed. Prepare sugar syrup. Place the plum halves in the syrup, bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and leave until completely cool. Repeat the procedure 3-4 times. Then drain the plums in a colander and let the syrup drain. Place the prepared plums on a wire rack and dry in the oven at a temperature of 70-75 ° C for 5-6 hours. Sprinkle the dried plums with powdered sugar and store in a sealed container.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg melon pulp
• 1.2 kg sugar

Cooking method:

Cut the melon pulp into slices 2-4 cm thick, sprinkle with sugar and leave for 8 hours. Drain the resulting juice, boil it until thick, pour it over the melon slices and leave again for 8 hours. Repeat the procedure 3-4 times until the melon slices become transparent. Place them in a colander and let the syrup drain. Place the melon slices on a baking sheet and dry in the oven at 40°C. Sprinkle the candied fruits prepared according to this simple recipe with sugar and store in a glass container with a lid.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pumpkin
• 1 orange
• 800 g sugar
• 200 ml water

Cooking method:

Wash the pumpkin, remove the peel and seeds, cut into cubes or cubes, sprinkle with a small amount of sugar and leave until the juice releases. Drain off the released juice. Wash the orange, pour boiling water over it, cut into small pieces along with the peel, remove the seeds, add boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Add sugar, cook over low heat until it is completely dissolved. Pour boiling syrup over prepared pumpkin pieces and cool. Place the cooled mixture on low heat and cook until transparent. Remove the boiled pumpkin pieces from the syrup, dry in the oven over low heat, and roll in powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

• 2 kg tangerines
• 500 g sugar
• 250 ml water

Cooking method:

Before making homemade candied fruits, tangerines must be thoroughly washed and peeled. Pour water over the peel, leave for 6 hours, then drain the water, add fresh water, leave for another 6 hours. After the specified time, drain the water, add fresh water, bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain the boiling water, place the peels on a towel, pat dry, and cut into strips. Boil the syrup, lay out the strips of peel, bring to a boil. Cook over low heat for about 1 hour, until the syrup has almost evaporated. 5 minutes before the end of cooking, you can add a couple of tablespoons of lemon or orange liqueur. Dry the candied fruits in the oven at 40°C.

Look at the photos of candied fruits prepared according to these recipes:

Candied lemon peels.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg lemon peel
• 500 ml water
• 2.5 kg sugar

Cooking method:

To use this recipe for preparing candied fruits, you need to cut the lemon peel into thin strips, soak it in cold water for a day, changing it every 4 hours. Then pour boiling water over the peels, blanch for about 15 minutes, and drain in a colander. Add sugar to the water where they were boiled and prepare syrup. Place the peels into the boiling syrup and cook at low simmer for 15 minutes. Then remove from heat and leave until completely cool. Repeat the procedure 3-4 times. Place the crusts in a colander and let the syrup drain. Place the prepared crusts in one layer on a baking sheet and dry in the oven at 50 °C for 3 hours.

Candied pineapple.

Ingredients:

• 500 g pineapples
• 100 g brown sugar
• 10 g vanilla sugar
• 4-5 g cinnamon

Cooking method :

Before preparing such candied fruits at home, the prepared pineapple pulp must be cut into very small pieces, placed in a saucepan and simmered until the liquid evaporates. Add sugar, cinnamon, mix. When the mass thickens and becomes sticky, remove from heat and cool. Form small balls out of it and roll in powdered sugar. Store in a closed container.

Ingredients:

• 500 g carrots
• 400 g sugar
• 300 ml water
• vanilla
• powdered sugar

Cooking method:

Wash the carrots, peel, cut into small slices, add water, cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat. Strain the broth and use to make syrup. Pour 150-1 80 ml of broth into a saucepan, add sugar, vanilla, put on low heat and, stirring, bring to a boil. Place carrots in boiling syrup, cook over low heat until the slices are translucent, stirring occasionally. The syrup should almost completely boil away. Place the carrot slices in an even layer on a flat dish and leave to dry for a day or dry in the oven on low heat. Roll cooled homemade candied fruits in powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg green tomatoes
• 1 kg sugar
• 250 ml water
• 50 g orange zest

Cooking method:

Before making candied fruits according to this recipe, you need to chop the tomatoes, remove the seeds, and rinse them. Pour in water, bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes. After this, drain the water, pour cold water over the tomatoes, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Repeat the procedure 3 times. Then place the tomatoes in a colander and let the water drain. Prepare sugar syrup, add tomato slices and cook in 2 batches for 10-1 2 minutes with a break of 10-1 2 hours. During the last cooking, add orange zest. Remove the prepared slices from the syrup and dry at room temperature for 24 hours.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chokeberry
• 1 kg sugar
• 250 ml water
• citric acid and vanillin to taste

Cooking method:

To prepare such candied fruits at home, chokeberries need to be soaked in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water after 1-2 hours. Prepare sugar syrup, put the rowan in it and cook over medium heat until tender. At the end of cooking, add citric acid and vanillin. Remove the berries from the syrup, place on a sieve, and leave overnight. Then dry at room temperature for 24 hours and roll in sugar.

Ingredients:

• Persimmon

Cooking method:

For drying, select ripe but firm fruits. Before making homemade candied fruits, persimmons need to be peeled, cut into slices and dried in the sun. Properly dried persimmons develop a coating of sugar and have the appearance and taste of candied fruits. Dried persimmons should not be used for making compotes, as their astringency is restored when cooked.

Here you can see a selection of photos of candied fruits prepared at home according to the recipes on this page: