Pumpkin candied fruits

In the autumn nature continues to pamper your gifts. We enjoy seasonal fruits and berries, using them both in fresh and processed form. But such a berry as a pumpkin, unfortunately, is not a frequent guest on our tables. Many people know that for a long time, porridge was prepared from it, baked in an oven. In our time, these recipes have been preserved, but there is another more modern dish of pumpkin, which definitely will appeal to adults and children - candied fruits.

These are candied pieces of fruit and berries that are served as a dessert. Most often they are made from fruits with a fleshy flesh and a pronounced taste, for example, from exotic lemons, oranges, kiwi, mango or a familiar cranberry berry. However, from the pumpkin, which grows in many regions of Russia, delicious homemade candied fruits are also produced.

What is good about pumpkin candies

Plus of this fruitin that it does not have strong allergens, so it can be eaten from an early age. But in the composition there are many vitamins and minerals, which are partially preserved due to the short heat treatment.

This is also an excellent replacement for sweets, after all, having prepared the sweetness yourself, we will know the composition of the ingredients used.

The downside is that it is a sweet product containing a large amount of sugar. Therefore, candied fruits can be contraindicated to people who are on a diet, who suffer from diabetes and all those who can not eat sweets.

Selection and preparation of

products The most important thing in the preparation of pumpkin candies is to choose the pumpkin itself. This is what you should pay attention to.

1. Maturity. The berry should be ripe. This is evidenced by a dry stalk, a bright and smooth peel of pumpkin. In this case, it will have a pleasant taste and a certain softness, as well as a greater amount of substances beneficial to the body.
2. Grade. A lot of pumpkin varieties( fodder, decorative, table), which differ from each other not only in form and external color, but also in taste, have been derived. For candied fruits is better to choose a more sweet variety with muscat taste, for example, varieties "Prikubanskaya" or "Pearl".
3. No rotten or corrupted places.

How to cook candied fruit

After choosing a suitable pumpkin, it should be peeled. Often the skin is very hard and dense, and it can be very difficult to remove. There is a little secret: you need to take a clean whole fruit, stab it in some places with a knife, wrap it in foil and place it in a warm oven for a few minutes, then remove the foil, allow it to cool slightly and cut the peel. Under the foil, it will slightly decompose, and this will facilitate the work.

After removing the peel, you need to remove seeds and fibers. It is easier to make a spoon, scraping the inside.

Now you can start cutting the pulp. If the pieces are made to be the same in thickness and size, then they will gradually absorb the syrup and dry.

There are two options for further action: pouring the sliced ​​pumpkin with cooked syrup( water and sugar), or filling with the sugar of the prepared pumpkin and waiting for the juice to separate for several hours.

The syrup is prepared as standard - in the boiling water the usual white sugar is thoroughly dissolved, the proportions are according to the prescription. Since the pumpkin has a peculiar taste, you can add citrus, spices to mask this taste. If the pumpkin is liked in its pure form, then just syrup can be used. However, the addition of vanilla, cinnamon and even clove inflorescence will give an unusual extra flavor.

You can cook candied fruits not only in an ordinary pan, but also in a multivark. For this purpose, the "frying", "baking" mode and time of 40 minutes are set on the electric appliance. Preliminarily, the prepared pumpkin and sugar are placed in the bowl. After the end of the cooking cycle, the pieces are removed and, after draining the syrup, laid out for further drying.

Drying is a very important step. From its correct execution depends on how hard the candied fruit will be and how long they can be stored. Drying can be done in the oven or at room temperature in the air. If dried in the oven, then first it needs to be heated to 100 degrees, put the spread candied fruits on a baking sheet( it's better to lay the parchment or special silicone mat) and dry at 50 degrees for about 4-5 hours with the door ajar( so the excess moisture will evaporate).Drying in the room takes longer, but the dried candied fruits in this way will not work.

Ready candied fruits for beauty and greater sweetness are rolled in sugar powder, in which you can add cinnamon.

Cooking recipes

Pumpkin candied with citrus fruits

Ingredients:

• oranges or lemons - 0,5 kg,
• sugar - 2 kg,
• pumpkin( peeled) - 1,5 kg.

How to cook:

1. With pure oranges( lemons), peel off, arbitrarily cut and put into a bowl with a thick bottom along with pieces of pumpkin.
2. Pour all the sugar and leave until the juice is highlighted.
3. Dissolve the sugar in the secreted juice and bring the syrup to a boil, set aside.
4. When the liquid has cooled to 50 degrees, boil again for 5 minutes, while removing the foam.
5. These actions must be repeated until a syrup having a viscous consistency is obtained.
6. Put the candied fruit in a colander or strainer to make it syrup.
7. Can be dried by spreading on the surface of the table, or you can use the oven. To do this, it is better to cover the baking sheet with baking paper or a rug of silicone, spread the candied fruits on them and dry them at 40 degrees until the sugar crystals appear on the surface.
8. After drying, the candied fruit is immediately removed from the paper.
9. When drying, it should be taken into account that while candied fruits are hot, they are softer, and when cooled they become harder.

With fructose or honey

You will need:

• flesh of pumpkin - 1 kg,
• water - half liter,
• 2 tbsp.fructose or honey,
• spices( cinnamon and vanilla) to taste.

Preparation:

1. Prepare syrup from fructose or honey, perhaps from two ingredients, add spices.
2. In the boiled syrup place the pieces of the prepared pumpkin and boil several times for 5 minutes, alternating with the cooling of the mass.
3. Then discard the pumpkin into a colander and drain the liquid.
4. Gently spread out to dry on either a baking sheet( for drying in the oven) or on another surface to dry in the air.

Without additional cooking of the syrup

Ingredients:

• pumpkin( peeled, sliced) - 1 kg,
• granulated sugar - 400 gr,
• lemon 1 pc.

Preparation:

1. Prepare a lemon - pour boiling water over the skin( the possible bitterness will leave) and cut into thin slices.
2. Transfer the citrus to a chopped pumpkin and cover everything with sugar.
3. Remove to a cool place for a few hours to pumpkin and lemon juice.
4. Then gently mix and put on a small fire until boiling.
5. After holding on the fire for 5 minutes and remove to the side until completely cooled.
6. Repeat the heating for 5 minutes and set aside.
7. Put the candied fruits( pumpkin and lemon) in a colander when the syrup drains and dries.

Pumpkin candied fruits can be added to tea, many like to use them with porridges or muesli, replacing sugar. It's very tasty to eat them simply instead of sweets.

The beauty of a pumpkin is that when properly stored it remains fresh until the spring, and therefore you can long pamper yourself and loved ones with candied fruits. But the finished sweetness can also be stored by placing it in tightly closed jars at room temperature. Having manifested a fantasy, you can make cooked at home figured candied pieces of berries and a beautiful decoration of the table.

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