How to Make Candied Mixed Fruit

Each year as the holiday season approaches, grocery shelves fill up with containers of candied fruits. Although it's best known for its prominent role in Christmas fruitcakes, candied fruit can also be used to add a punch of tangy flavor to breads, muffins, puddings, cookies, salads and casseroles. Commercially-produced candied fruits can be expensive and are usually full of preservatives, chemicals, and artificial colors and flavors. Make your own mixed candied fruit at home. It's easy, it's healthy and it's absolutely delicious.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 cup figs
• 1/2 cup peaches
• 1/2 cup cherries
• 1/2 cup apricots
• 1/2 cup plums
• 1/2 cup pineapple
• Mixing bowl
• 6 cups white sugar
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• Large saucepan
• Candy thermometer
• Slotted spoon
• Large mixing bowl
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• Cookie sheet
• Airtight glass jar

Instructions

1. Chop 1/2 cup each fresh figs, peaches, cherries, apricots, plums and pineapple into small pieces. Remove all stems and pits.

2. Place the chopped fruit in a bowl and toss gently to mix. Set aside.

3. Combine 6 cups white sugar, 3 cups water and 1 cup light corn syrup in a large saucepan. Place over high heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches a boil.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Allow the sugar mixture to boil until it reaches the soft-ball stage (234 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit). Use your candy thermometer to test the temperature.

5. Spoon the chopped fruit into the boiling syrup. Reduce heat to low. Simmer the fruit in the syrup until the fruit turns translucent.

6. Remove the saucepan from the stove. Cover and allow the fruit to marinate in the syrup for at least 12 hours.

7. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Remove the fruit from the syrup with a slotted spoon and place it in a large mixing bowl.

9. Sprinkle 3/4 cup white sugar over the fruit. Toss gently to coat the fruit with the sugar.

10. Spread the fruit over a clean cookie sheet. Place it in your preheated oven and allow the fruit to dry until it feels firm to the touch.

11. Remove the fruit from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Store candied fruit at room temperature in an airtight glass jar for up to two weeks. After two weeks, move the container to your refrigerator for up to one month, or store in your freezer for up to six months.

Tips & Warnings

• Due to the variance in stove temperatures, it is more important to ensure the syrup is boiling and simmering at the proper times than adhering strictly to temperature settings.

• If you don't have a candy thermometer, do the cold water test to determine if your syrup has reached the soft-ball stage: Drop a tiny bit of boiling syrup into a shallow bowl of cold water. If the syrup is ready, you will be able to roll it into a ball while it's in the water, but the ball will flatten once removed.

• Feel free to substitute any type of fresh, dried or canned fruit in this recipe.

• Discard candied fruits if they appear moldy, slimy, discolored, taste rancid or emit a foul odor.

References

• CD Kitchen: Candied Cranberries
• CD Kitchen: Candied Fruit
• Epicurean.com: Candied Fruit

Resources

• Cooks.com: Candied Fruit Recipes
• All Recipes: Candied Fruit Recipes
• Taste of Home: Candied Fruit Facts