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Dessert

Crystalized Fruits

A preserved fruit dish made by repeatedly boiling syrup over fruit until crystallized.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Crystalized Fruits

Ingredients

Directions

Syrup and soak

  1. Drain the syrup from the stone jars.

  2. Reboil the syrup to 34-35°C (93-95°F).

  3. Pour the syrup over the fruits and let them sit for four days.

  4. Reboil the syrup to 36°C (97°F).

  5. Pour the syrup over the fruits again.

  6. After six days, drain the syrup.

Wash and dry

  1. Wash the fruits gently with a sponge and fresh water.

  2. Lay the fruits on wire trays with the best side up.

  3. Dry the fruits in a warm room (70-80°F).

  4. Ensure the fruits are thoroughly dried and do not stick to fingers.

Small fruits

  1. For small fruits, drain the syrup.

  2. Add water to the small fruits.

  3. Boil the mixture to reduce strength to about 10° Baume.

  4. Pour the hot syrup over the small fruits for no more than three minutes.

  5. Stir with a wooden spoon.

  6. Drain the small fruits.

  7. Place the small fruits on a sieve to dry for about 48 hours.

  8. Once dry, place the fruits in crystallization boxes.

  9. Layer as needed.

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

What each ingredient does

Candied fruits
Are the main component, absorbing the sugar syrup that preserves and sweetens them.
Syrup
Its sugar concentration is raised in stages, drawing water out of the fruit and sweetening it.

The step that matters

Reboiling the syrup to the set temperature. Syrup concentration is controlled by its boiling point, which rises with dissolved sugar. Too weak a syrup will not preserve the fruit or draw out enough water, and too strong a syrup can crystallize the fruit surface or make it tough.

“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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