Candied fruit, indeed, has a very interesting history of origin. Since ancient times, the recipe for their preparation was known to every eastern woman.
In countries with a hot climate, when there were no refrigerators, they could not hope for snow and frost, and every family had to keep a crop of sweet, exotic fruits.
Most likely, it was in the East that it was first noticed that sugar is an excellent preservative. Indeed, it is there, under the sultry tropical sun, that they most often like to use the word “sweet” or “sweet,” and it was the tropical zone that nature endowed with incredible generous fruit abundance, which in our temperate and northern regions can still be seen only in pictures.
But the middle strip of Russia is always famous for its rich harvests of apples. Everyone makes candied fruits from what they have, and apples are no worse, and some features of local fruits even allow you to make unusual candied fruits from apples at home.
Perhaps it is no accident that in the 14th century a recipe for "dry jam" was popular in Kiev. These were difficult times for Kievan Rus, with endless raids of the Mongol-Tatars, when the scorched fields and gardens forced to think about the harsh winter and food supplies. Although Russian cuisine willingly absorbed the culinary traditions of neighboring nations, Mongolian cuisine, despite the long period of nomad domination on Russian lands, almost left no trace of its influence, with the exception of drying food, as a way of preservation. Maybe these nomads, having raided Asia, brought the recipe for “dry jam” from the East, and maybe, having folded the first Russian oven, our ancestors accidentally dried an apple in it and opened the recipe for “dry jam”, knowing nothing about sweet candied fruits and far-off tropical countries, where sweet "gems" lie on piles on trays in eastern bazaars and are now impossible to pass without buying them.
Only there is one “but”! Where candied fruits are on the shelves all year round, in great abundance, they are much cheaper than in a supermarket, opposite the house where the price of dried fruits really resembles the price of gems.
Recipes of "dry jam" are almost rarely remembered by anyone, and "balabushki" - candied fruits, popular in the nineteenth century, and named after the merchant who established their production, suddenly disappeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. Therefore, the only option is candied fruit from apples at home, and not only from apples - from all fruits that can be coated with sugar syrup, and it is not difficult to make syrup - cook it yourself.
Candied apples at home - the basic technological principles
If you “turn on” fantasy, then from ordinary apples you can make squares and balls, flowers and starfish, rose petals and green leaves - that's it! Indeed, with such candied fruits it will be possible to decorate even a royal dessert, or imperial. This is - by the way. Catherine II ordered by a separate decree to deliver her delicious delicacies from candied fruit to the table.
In addition to aesthetics, candied fruit has one more goal - the preservation of valuable vitamins and minerals with this method of preservation.
When drying apples, in addition to water, still part of the vitamins will disappear, for example, vitamin C, which begins to oxidize when the fruit is sliced. To prevent this from happening, sliced apples should be immediately placed in acidified water. Use a solution of citric acid for this, which, in addition to protecting chopped fruits from the damaging effects of oxygen on vitamin C, will help speed up the drying of the slices.
So that candied fruits do not become a shapeless and ugly mass, use non-overripe fruits. They taste sour, but sugar syrup will have what it takes. In addition, by a lucky coincidence, unripe fruits always contain more pectin, which binds water molecules, gel the juice, and apples contain more pectin than other fruits.
Pectin - an enzyme necessary for digestion. Therefore, in the manufacture of candied fruit it can and should be added to "bind" the juice. Fortunately, acquiring it is not a problem. It is sold in the spice departments at every reputable supermarket. The confectionery industry uses burnt alum in the manufacture of candied fruits. They are also sold in the pharmacy or in the spice departments. Both one and the other must be used in accordance with the instructions on the package. Add these substances to the syrup during the last cooking.
Sliced apples, after aging in an acidic solution, which will additionally harden them and prevent boiling, are dipped first in hot water with the addition of alum or pectin for 10-15 minutes, and then, after cooling, in boiling syrup, and boiled for 5-6 minutes . After that, you need to get the apples with a slotted spoon, let them cool slightly and roll in sugar. Then they are laid out on a wire rack in one layer and heated in the oven until sugar dissolves. The temperature for drying in the oven is not more than 40 ° C. The oven is turned off, and the candied fruit remains inside until it cools.
Next you need to cook a thick syrup. Depending on the number of fruits, the amount of syrup begins to be prepared from the minimum, in equal amounts of water and sugar, to the sample "drop by drop". Do not forget that at each subsequent stage of cooking apples in syrup, juice from apples will be released into it, and therefore the ratio of liquid to sugar will each time change in the direction of increasing liquid. But the syrup should remain very thick, so you need to check it every time, and, if necessary, add sugar and boil it again. At the end of the last cooking, molasses is added to it (also according to the instructions on the package); if molasses is not available, you can add a few drops of lemon juice or, dissolved in water, citric acid. The syrup form a glossy candied surface.
Prepared candied fruits are dipped in syrup, boiled at a strong boil for 5-6 minutes and laid out on a wire rack mounted on a drip tray for syrup. Then the syrup from the pallet can be collected again in the pan, reheated it again, and boiled candied fruit again. This operation must be repeated until candied fruit is transparent. For convenience, the lattice can be installed directly on the pan so that the syrup flows directly into it if you can pick up the dishes and the lattice of a suitable size. After each boil, candied fruits must be dried on a wire rack for at least 10-12 hours. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that dust and insects do not land on them if drying is not in the oven.
The last drying of candied fruits can last up to 7 days - they should not stick together in a jar. You can speed up the process by placing them in the oven, but not heating it very much so that the sugar does not begin to melt. If drying indoors, it is necessary that the humidity is minimal. During storage, the container should be airtight, and the air temperature did not exceed 20-25 ° C.
Now - some interesting recipes for beautiful and delicious candied apples from the home.
In the recipes there are options for cutting, coloring and flavoring dry workpieces, and the general technology for their preparation is described above, in great detail. The number of ingredients in recipes is not indicated, since it depends on the volume of apples and their juiciness. Additional ingredients (powders, glaze) are used to taste. When making candied fruit from apples at home, it is more important to follow the basic technological principles of preparation.
Recipe 1. Candied red apples at home "Poppy Petals"
Product Composition:
Apples (technical ripeness)
Cranberry juice
Sugar
Poppy, pastry
Cooking:
Cut the prepared apples first with 0.5 cm plates, and then cut out the hearts from the plates with a cookie cutter - this shape is similar to a poppy petal. Cut the cut "petals" immediately into cranberry juice and soak the apples in it until the flesh turns red. Cranberry juice can be replaced with juice of cherries, strawberries, beets - citric acid does not need to be added to acidic juice except beetroot.
Further, the preparation of candied apples is fully consistent with the general technology described above, and at the final stage, before drying, when the syrup is not completely dried, shake a little poppy seeds on the base of each “petal” and continue to dry the candied fruits. Later, when you decorate the cake, collect 4 pieces of petals and fasten with green balls made of mastic.
Using the same principle, you can make petals and leaves of a different shape and color. For convenience, when curly slicing apples, use large fruits.
Recipe 2. Candied apple at home in chocolate glaze
Composition:
Apple slicing (free form)
Sugar syrup
Citric acid solution
Pepsin or alum, burnt
Melted chocolate
Ground nuts
Cooking:
For candied fruits in chocolate glaze, cut the apples into cubes, with a side of 0.7-0.8 cm. Cook them as described above. When the candied fruit is completely dry, put the cubes on a plate lined with foil. Grease the surface of the foil. Put candied fruit in one layer, a short distance from each other. Pour melted chocolate icing and chop with nut crumbs. Place the dish in the freezer for several minutes until the chocolate has frozen. Put the cubes on a blank sheet of foil, also greased and lined on a dish, laying them with the chocolate side down. Pour the top over with chocolate again and place the dish in the freezer.
Candied candied fruits, store in a closed container in the refrigerator.
Recipe 3. Candied apples at home - "rings" with cinnamon (coconut)
Composition:
Alum, burnt
Syrup, sugar
Dense pulp apples
Citric acid solution
Food colors (optional)
Ground cinnamon (or coconut)
Cooking:
Wash the selected apples with a dense pulp and remove the core from them, then cut them into 0.5 cm thick plates across.
The entire subsequent cooking process is described in basic technological principles. If you wish, to decorate candied fruits, you can prepare several cups of a solution of citric acid, colored in different colors with food colors or juices of vegetables and berries (spinach, blueberries, carrots, beets).
During the last drying of candied fruits, if desired, the “rings” can be crushed with ground cinnamon or coconut flakes to give the candied fruit from apples at home an unusual aroma, and coconut flakes, in addition, will make the items beautiful, as if powdered with hoarfrost. Just do not combine cinnamon and coconut together - these additives are very fragrant and do not combine with each other.
Recipe 4. Candied apples at home in orange syrup
Composition:
Orange juice
Fresh zest
The apples
Sugar
Pectin
Citric acid (solution)
Cooking:
The whole process is repeated, similar to those described above, but the syrup is not prepared from water, but from fresh orange juice. The initial volume of syrup is 200 ml of juice, 300 g of sugar per 1 kg of sliced and peeled apples.
Remove the fresh orange zest from the fruit with the smallest grater. Add part of the zest to the syrup during the last cooking, and sprinkle the remaining zest with candied fruits during the last drying. Orange juice can be replaced with peach, quince, strawberry. Use any options you like.
Recipe 5. Candied apples at home - "barrels" with cherries
Composition:
The apples
Seedless dried cherries
Sugar syrup
Burnt alum
Water
Lemon acid
Cooking method:
Take the small apples. You can use scavenger, but without damage. Wash and core. Remove the seeds from the selected cherries. Boil apples with peel in boiling water, adding alum. Remove them with a slotted spoon and refrigerate. Boil prepared cherries in the same water. Transfer them to another dish. Until the last cooking in syrup, dip the fruits in it one at a time. Inside each apple, put 2-3 cherries in place of the core. Add the molasses to the syrup and boil the stuffed apple "barrels" together. After drying, as usual.
Recipe 6. Candied apples at home - bulk apples
Composition:
Sugar syrup
Whole apples
Liqueur (or cognac)
Vanilla
Cooking method:
Pour vanilla and sugar into a cup of liquor or brandy. Stir. Take a medical syringe with a thick needle, type “medicine” into it and chop each apple into the syrup.
Subsequent cooking steps are carried out in accordance with the candied fruit technology described above.
Tip: For candied fruit from whole apples, select dense apples of small size. Otherwise, you will have to cook large berries in syrup many times.
Candied apples at home - useful tips and tricks
Pies often burn during baking, because the filling (jam, jam, jam, fresh apples) flows onto a baking sheet. With candied fruits, this will never happen, and to enhance the aroma of apples, sprinkle the pieces with alcohol extract.
After curly slicing slices for candied apples, fruit trimmings remain at home. They can be used for cooking jam, making juices and mashed potatoes. There can be no unprofitable waste in home-based production.
Candied apples, intended for decorating cakes or other dishes, need to be sugared without peel to give a beautiful appearance to the products. But the peel contains pectin, which is necessary for gelation of the juice during the preparation process, as well as essential oil, which gives the apple flavor to candied fruit. Therefore, throw away the peeled skin when cooking separately into the pan so that you can easily remove it later.
