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Dessert

Candied Figs

Candied figs are figs cooked in a sugar syrup, then dried and dusted with powdered sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Fig and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,241 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Candied Figs

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and cook

  1. Prepare the figs as you would for canning.

  2. Make a thick syrup by combining sugar and water (if using sugar) or use corn syrup directly.

  3. Add the figs to the syrup and cook until they are clear.

  4. Remove the figs and drain them.

Dry the figs

  1. Spread the figs on plates.

  2. Dry the figs in the sun or in a drier.

  3. Protect the figs from insects.

  4. Turn the figs daily, pressing them flat.

Finish and pack

  1. Once well dried, dust the figs with powdered sugar.

  2. Pack the figs in boxes or jars.

  3. If preferred, layer the figs in granulated sugar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Fig + sugartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Figs
Provide the main body and texture, which firm up and concentrate as they cook and dry.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and draws water out of the figs, helping preserve them.
Corn syrup
Adds sweetness and helps keep the syrup smooth, a substitute for sugar in the syrup.

The step that matters

Cooking the figs in syrup until clear. The thick syrup draws water out of the fruit and replaces it with sugar, which makes the figs sweet and less likely to spoil. Stopping too early leaves the figs wet and prone to fermenting, so the syrup must be concentrated enough before the drying stage.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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