Glace or candied fruit is made by removing 50-60% of the water from fruit and replacing it with sugar. The fruit is then dried. Fruits that glace well are apples, cherries, citrus peel, peaches, pears, pineapple and prunes. I have a traditional Hungarian [14-day] recipe, which makes ridiculously good glace fruits. But then… I found this and it only takes 5 days! The recipe comes from Deanna DeLong’s How To Dry Foods. Commercial glace cherries are one of the most hideous food product that tastes like nothing that it was made from. I highly recommend making these. The taste is vastly superior!
GLACE CHERRIES
Day 1:
2 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
2 cups prepared cherries
• Wash cherries and remove the pits.
• In a large Dutch pot combine water, sugar and corn syrup.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add the prepared fruit.
• Heat the mixture to a full rolling boil. It will register 180F on a candy thermometer.
• Remove from heat.
• Cool.
• Cover and let stand for 24 hours.
Day 2:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
2 cups prepared cherries
• Wash cherries and remove the pits.
• In a large Dutch pot combine water, sugar and corn syrup.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add the prepared fruit.
• Heat the mixture to a full rolling boil. It will register 180F on a candy thermometer.
• Remove from heat.
• Cool.
• Cover and let stand for 24 hours.
Day 2:
1-1/4 cups sugar
• With a slotted spoon remove fruit and set aside.
• Add 1-1/4 cups sugar to syrup in the saucepan.
• Bring to a full rolling boil.
• Remove from heat.
• With a large metal spoon, skim off foam from the surface of syrup and discard.
• Add back the fruit and bring to a full rolling boil again.
• Remove from heat.
• Cool.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 3:
• With a slotted spoon remove fruit and set aside.
• Add 1-1/4 cups sugar to syrup in the saucepan.
• Bring to a full rolling boil.
• Remove from heat.
• With a large metal spoon, skim off foam from the surface of syrup and discard.
• Add back the fruit and bring to a full rolling boil again.
• Remove from heat.
• Cool.
• Cover and let stand at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 3:
2 cups sugar
• Repeat the process of Day 2, but add 2 cups of sugar to remaining syrup after removing the fruit.
Day 4:
• Repeat the process of Day 2, but add 2 cups of sugar to remaining syrup after removing the fruit.
Day 4:
1 cup sugar
Repeat process of the second day, but add 1 cup sugar to remaining syrup after removing fruit.
Day5:
• Remove fruit from syrup and transfer to a colander.
• Rinse with cold water.
• Dry on parchment lined drying trays at 120-140F until fruit is leathery and has no pockets of moisture.
Repeat process of the second day, but add 1 cup sugar to remaining syrup after removing fruit.
Day5:
• Remove fruit from syrup and transfer to a colander.
• Rinse with cold water.
• Dry on parchment lined drying trays at 120-140F until fruit is leathery and has no pockets of moisture.
• Drying time of glace fruit is 25% faster than fresh fruit, because so much moisture has been replaced by sugar.
• The fruit flavoured syrup is delicious over pancakes. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam and pour hot syrup into hot sterilized canning jars and process.
