More On Glacé Fruits
GINGER and MORE
We kicked off the subject previously with glacé pineapple chunks. Those we keep in a jar with the heavy syrup and use over ice cream and yogurt desserts. Or, just as a quick treat for this hard working kitty.
With the glacé ginger, after the requisite number of days marinating in ever increasingly heavy sugar syrup, we drained the little pungent morsels and tossed them in cane sugar. Now we have a nice large jar for eating like candy and for ginger snap cookies and adding to mama's fruit cake. Online we even saw a mention of ginger mashed potatoes. Make that sweet potatoes for this Cat.
Check online and you will see that crystallized ginger is a high ticket item. You would do well economically and quality-wise to make your own.
A bonus from the ginger treatment is that we got almost a quart of heavy sweet ginger syrup. Just 2 tablespoons for a large 12 ounce glass filled with seltzer and you have a very refreshing beverage. Perhaps a basis for a custom cocktail; thinking a flavorful rum might be a good partnering.
Next stop on the glacé trail will be apricots. We're watching the markets to be there when the first of the crop shows up. We can see it now. A quick dip in boiling water, remove skins, cut in half. Proceed as per recipe.
After that, cherries!
And, after those obvious firsts, maybe pears, figs, angelica (probably the most rare and exotic since it is not something you stop in at the A&P to pick up; you need a garden or a friendly farmer), citron, kumquats, plums, and prunes.
Note: Depending on the type of fruit, the more tender the less simmering in syrup at the beginning stage. After that, just to bring the syrup itself to the boil then place the fruit back to marinate.
Glacé Fruits Recipe
Ingredients:
1 pound of fruit
4-1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of corn syrup
Instructions:
Prepare the fruit: Pit cherries and prick them with a pin to allow the syrup to penetrate the skin; peel core and quarter or slice apples, apricots, plums, pears, peaches; peel and core pineapple and cut it into rings or cubes; slice citrus fruits thinly (no need to peel them).
Place the fruit in the bottom of a saucepan, cover with water, and simmer gently until almost tender. Cook the fruit in batches, if necessary. Lift the fruit out with a slotted spoon and place in a shallow dish. Pour out all but 1 cup of the cooking water (or add enough to make 1 cup), add 1/2 cup of sugar and the corn syrup. Heat it to dissolve the sugar, bring to a boil, and pour over the fruit to cover. Leave it overnight.
Next day, pour the syrup into a pan, add a half-cup of sugar, heat to dissolve, bring to a boil, pour over the fruit and leave overnight. Repeat again for the next five days. On the next day, pour the syrup into a pan, add the half-cup of sugar, and boil, then reduce the heat, add the fruit and cook gently for three minutes. Pour the fruit and syrup into the dish and leave it to soak for two days. Repeat once more. At this point, the syrup should look like runny honey. Leave the fruit to soak for 10 days to three weeks and take a vacation!
At the end of the soaking period, remove the fruit from the syrup and arrange it on a wire rack over a tray. Dry in a warm place, in the oven at the lowest setting, or in a dehydrator until the surface no longer feels sticky.
If you haven’t done enough work by this point, you can also plunge each piece of fruit into boiling water for an instant and roll it in granulated sugar to coat the surface. Store in an airtight canister, tin, or jar in a cool, dark place.
