Candied Fruit: How to Make It at Home and Where to Buy It

What are the candieds?

Candied or fruit candied are the result of a method of preservation of foods, usually fruit, by using a sugar syrup, for the purpose this method is called canditure.
During the process of candiment, the content of fruit water is repressed while gradually increasing the sugar content to the 70%.
During this process, the nutritional values of the fruit used are almost lost even if some vitamins remain.
Depending on the type of procedure, the aromas can disappear or concentrate.

The procedure can be done in hot or cold, the solution that preserves the aromatic components of the fruits used is the cold one.
It is usually used beet sugar, but all types of sugar can be used.
There is also the candied fruit of value obtained by the candiment in honey or preserved in the cooked must for example the saba or sapa of Emilia-Romagna.

Types of candied fruit

There are various types of candied fruit including:
• Whole fruit (cherry, sliced citrus fruits, pear, chestnut, kumquat, hawthorn, apricot, peach, mango, papaya, plum);
• Fruit pulp (sweet, melon);
• Citrus peel (Cerro, Orange, Lemon);
• Radici ( ginger);
• Stele ( angelic);
• Flowers, especially decorative ( borage, mimosa, pink, purple);

The origins

The term “candite” comes from the Arabic “qandat”, transcription in Sanskrit of “khandakah”, that is sugar.
The Arabs can be considered the pioneers of the canditure as we know it, beginning to sing citrus fruits and roses for their banquets.

During the Arab domination period of South Europe, the method of singing begins to expand in the West.

The candied fruit initially used and considered as spices, in Italy became a fundamental ingredient for famous desserts such as the Milanese panettone or the desserts of the Sicilian tradition such as cassata and cannoli.
As the Arabs said before, I can be considered pioneers, but if we go to dig even deeper we already find ancient civilizations using the method of preserving food through sugar, for example the ancient cultures of China and Mesopotamia used for their syrup preservation of palm and honey.
The Romans used honey even managed to preserve the fish in honey.

Use

It is usually used for both to make us for the decorate the cakes.

How to make candied fruit

The process of preparation of candied fruit is divided in a tendency 2 categories: artisanal procedure and industrial procedure, but we will also see a third method to prepare your own candied fruit in the house.

Handicraft procedure

The fruit that must be Candied will be immersed in a tank full of sugar syrup.

Because of an osmosis process, liquids will be moved, allowing the sugar solution to infiltrate the fruit and liquids present in it to leave, this process can last from one day to a week.

At this point the remaining syrup is now diluted by the liquids of the fruit and is extracted and heated to evaporate the acquired liquids.

After obtaining the desired concentration, syrup is poured again on fruit to perform the jug phase (from the Arabic julab, “ rose water) and is repeated until the sugar concentration in candieds has stabilized.

Now candied can be consumed or preserved in the canditure syrup.

Industrial policy

The industrial process in principle is very similar to the artisanal one, but here are used autoclaves of “canditura”, that is, of the containers with hermetically closing. Here inside the fruit is inserted together with the syrup, kept low pressure and heated to the desired temperatures until having the final concentration desired.

Homemade candied fruit

Let’s get some citrus fruit (500(g), possibly not treated and organicSo let’s wash them and cut the peel off. boiling in the 2 liters of water and 100 g of sugar for about 2 minutes, at this point we dip the scurvy in hot syrup.
After leaving them in maceration for about 6 hours drain the peel and use them for your decorations.
With this method of “canditura” the fruit is kept for a few days in the refrigerator.

How to preserve candied fruit

Thanks to the sugar, which has an action fruit protection, your candied fruit will not go wrong in a short time.

A poor preservation can however cause changes in texture and taste.

With the right shortcomings you can keep the candied fruit for a year or more. However the flavor can begin to change after a year.

– Keep the candied fruit in an airtight container, make sure that the container is properly closed. This will keep the air and moisture out, preserving the taste and texture of the candied fruit.
– Store the hermetic container with candied fruit in a dark, cool and dry place. Some solutions can be the belief of your kitchen or the cellar.

Candied fruit where to buy it?

As you could guess, prepare the candied fruits in the house is feasible but it is not a quick solution.

You can find the professional quality candied fruit for pastries in our online shop, created and preserved in order to maintain all aromas and flavors 

fruit.