Candying Fruits

Preface:

1. First of all I would like to say that the candying process is not for the impatient …………. ;-))) You have to calculate about 5 days for it. However, the real working hours are very manageable, i.e. short. Long rest periods and success are rewarded ……
2. Regarding the mini oranges, it should be said that I own a small tree that bore a lot of fruit. They look like very small mandarins, are quite fruity and tart, have a very thin skin and a relatively large number of pips for their “size”. In terms of taste, they are similar to that of kumquats but also of bitter oranges (although the latter are of course larger). Due to the very thin, highly aromatic peel, they have a very intense taste after candying and can be used well for desserts, pastries or various dishes. Well-dried and hermetically sealed, they can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time or just in a cool place.
3. You can of course also candy normal-sized, untreated oranges, lemons, apples, pears, cherries, plums, grapes, pineapples, papya, ginger, etc. The citrus fruits (after thorough washing) with their peel in approx. 7 – 8 mm thin slices, apples and pears in not too thin wedges, cherries pitted, plums halved and pitted, grapes left whole, pineapple, papaya and ginger after peeling be cut into bite-sized.

So, here we go:

1. Wash mini oranges, cut in half crosswise and core. The weight of the fruit given above was that after the pitting !!! Please take this into account so that the mixing ratio of fruit, sugar and water is correct later.
2. Put the orange halves (the slices for normal oranges) in a larger saucepan, sprinkle 125 g of sugar over them (the remaining 50 g are needed for the other cooking stages), add water and bring to the boil while stirring. Then immediately reduce the heat 2/3 and let everything simmer gently for approx. 30 minutes without the lid. Stir it every now and then. Then remove the pot from the heat, let it cool down a bit and later put the lid on in the fridge overnight.
3. The next day – if there is a small time gap – pour the fruit through a sieve, collect the brew in a bowl, drain it well, then put the brew back in the pot and bring to the boil again with an additional 25 g of sugar . When it is blowing, put the fruit back in, reduce the heat like the first time and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. The fruits are already glassy and the brew slightly syrupy. After the 2nd cooking process, proceed as for the first and after the pan has cooled down, place it in the refrigerator again overnight.
4. On the third day you can no longer pour the fruit through a sieve, because everything is already quite tough. So you have to lift them out of the syrupy brew with a fork and let some more drain in a large sieve. Add the drained syrup to the syrup that is still in the pot and reheat everything with an additional 25 g of sugar. Now the mass is already very tough and forms “sedate” bubbles. Now put in the fruits for the last time, turn the heat really low and let everything simmer gently for another 15 – 20 minutes, stirring a little more frequently. The cooking time depends somewhat on the texture of the fruit. With large panes it can be 20 minutes.
5. After the last cooking process, the liquid is as good as used up and you have to lift the fruit out again and place it on a praline rack (if available. If this is not the case, however, and the syrup is still so liquid that you can If you can drain it, you have to drain it in a sieve for the last time.
6. Preheat the oven to 80 °. Place the fruit with the grid on the baking sheet and slide it into the oven on the 2nd rail from the bottom. If there is no praline rack at hand, spread the fruit out on the baking sheet lined with baking paper and put it in the oven. They should dry for 2 hours with the door slightly open. Subsequent drying time at room temperature for another 2 days. Then they are ready to be eaten or stored.
7. The number of people indicated above relates to a serving of 200 g of the finished product.