Step-by-step recipes for making candied apples from apples at home for the winter
The best and most useful way to prolong the summer and feel a part of it in a cloudy autumn or frosty morning is to enjoy fruit and berry delicacies prepared in advance in the summer. Candied apples can be an excellent solution to this problem. How to prepare a delicacy quickly, simply and tasty?
Features of cooking candied apple for the winter
They are in the origin story. Since this culinary delicacy was created in hot countries, where there are no hard frosts that can keep fruits fresh at least until the middle of winter, the peculiarities of cooking are associated with the traditions of these countries.
- First, do not spare sugar on candied fruits. This is not a dietary meal, although it contains a lot of vitamins.
- Second, choose a quality source product. Below are selection guidelines to help resolve this issue.
Finally, try different recipes and choose your own, which seems the most delicious, bright.
Selection and preparation of apples
Among the huge number of apple varieties, it is advisable to choose fruits with dense pulp. This is due to the fact that too juicy fruits contain a large amount of liquid, which will take a lot of time to evaporate / dry / remove.
This will allow the hostess to save time and cook more candied fruits in the same period.
The main question that worries most housewives is - which apples to prefer - from the home garden or purchased, from the store? Here follows a clear choice in favor of your own product. Fruits that are grown in the region where they are consumed tend to have excellent flavor characteristics. Their aroma is much stronger than imported fruits. Finally, apples in the store can always be bought, even in winter, and therefore there is no exclusivity in them.
You also need to choose fruits without visible external damage. It is better not to use crumpled, dark, punctured, pecked fruits for these purposes.
As for ripeness, it is advisable to choose slightly unripe fruits. They have more pectin, and they taste better, with a slight sourness. In combination with sugar, the taste will be simply amazing.
Candied apple recipes at home
So, apples should be washed thoroughly. It is advisable to use a soft brush for this. With its help, even an invisible film of dust on the peel is wiped off. This is especially true of cases when purchased fruits were nevertheless taken for candied fruits. They need to be washed more thoroughly, and not just under running water, but with soap.The fact is that you need to get rid of the thinnest film of wax applied by the manufacturer to improve the preservative properties and long-distance transportation.
After washing, the fruit should be thoroughly dried with a paper towel. The apples are now cored. The easiest way is to work with a special knife. It will allow you to make a neat cut, as a result of which the candied fruit slices will be even and straight. It remains to cut the apples into slices. The peel can be left on or peeled - it's a matter of taste.
To make the candied fruits beautiful, unusual in shape, it is better to cut them into figures. For example, it is very easy to pre-trim the apple so that parts of the side segments are removed. When you cut such an apple, you get an asterisk. Another non-standard shape is a square, which is much easier to execute.
It is required to prepare the composition:
- 700 ml of water;
- 400 g sugar;
- ¼ h. L. citric acid (or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice).
This amount is for 600 g of apples. Water is poured into the container, sugar and citric acid are added and put on fire. After boiling, you need to boil the syrup for about 5 minutes. Now you should reduce the power of the fire to a minimum and fill in the apple slices. Cook them over low heat for 5 minutes. Now the mass needs to be removed from the heat and cooled for about 3 hours. This procedure (cooking and cooling) must be done 3-4 more times. This will make the apple slices transparent and elastic at the same time.
At the end of the last stage of solidification, it is necessary to put the fruit in a colander and let the syrup drain. Only remains dry candied apple lobules. This can be done at home, it will take several days for this drying.
Quick recipe
Candied fruits can be made with less time. A quick recipe suggests a smaller form of candied fruit. Ideally, the apples should be cut into small cubes. A thicker syrup is needed here:
- 1 liter of water;
- 1 cup of sugar.
For this amount, take 1 kg of apples. In order for the syrup to be more fully saturated with the apple flavor, you must first boil the apple skins in it and boil over low heat for just a couple of minutes. Now the liquid is filtered, and cut fruit slices are poured into it. It takes 5 minutes to cook this mass.
After that, the mass is removed from the heat and allowed to cool. It takes 5 hours. After that, the candied fruits are thrown onto a sieve, allowing the syrup to drain. Now they need to be dried. To do this, the candied pieces are laid out on parchment and placed in an oven, the door of which must be slightly opened to allow the moisture to evaporate. Each run (a layer of candied fruits) must be dried at a temperature of 50 degrees for an hour.
Without cooking
Housewives and gardeners always try to reduce the time spent on cooking their favorite dishes. The previous quick recipe allows it. But many are looking for a recipe without boiling apples. So this cannot be, because it will no longer be candied fruits. Candied fruits are only juicy fruits cooked in sugar syrup.
In the dryer
This recipe will require:
- 100 ml of water;
- 500-600 g of apples;
- 300 ml of honey.
An electric dryer is also required for the recipe. Each peeled apple should be cut into 6-8 pieces. To prepare the syrup, heat the water to 40 degrees, and then dissolve the honey in it. A small amount of it needs to be left, it will still come in handy.
The apples are placed in an enamel pan, poured with syrup and mixed thoroughly so that the composition completely covers the fruit slices. This mass must be put in a warm place for 12 hours so that the pieces of fruit are infused and soaked in juice.
After 12 hours, the slices are removed with a slotted spoon and placed in the dryer. The juice from the upper tiers should not wet the slices in the tiers below. The remaining honey must be dripped into the middle of each wedge.They need to dry for 12-16 hours at a temperature of 40 degrees.
From heavenly apples
These fruits are so small that there is no need to additionally divide and cut them, they are used whole. The cooking recipe is as follows. The fruits are washed. After that, it is necessary to often prick each apple with a needle over the entire area. This will help the syrup to soak them better in the future. Now each fruit must be blanched, that is, dipped in hot water for a few seconds.
The syrup is prepared from the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of sugar;
- 250 ml of water.
This amount is for 1 kg of apples. Cook in syrup for 10 minutes over low heat, and then remove from the stove, cover with a towel and leave to infuse and cool for 6-8 hours. After that, the procedure is repeated one or two more times. You can add a couple of lemon wedges to the syrup to enhance the sour apple flavor.
It remains only to dry this delicacy. The easiest way to do this is in the oven.
In the oven
The cooking recipe is almost the same. Only the way of drying fruit slices changes. They need to be dried for 15-20 minutes at a temperature of 150 degrees. The oven door should be ajar to make the candied fruit more elastic and not damp.
Cinnamon
Candied fruits with spices are a real bliss for the olfactory and taste buds. Cinnamon goes especially well with an apple, because this spice is traditionally added to many dishes and pastries (strudel, charlotte).
You can use the classic recipe. In addition to it you will need:
- cinnamon - 1 tsp;
- sugar - 300 g;
- citric acid - 1 tsp.
These ingredients must be mixed. Sprinkle the candied apples on a baking sheet with the finished mixture before drying.
With cherry
Cherries add bitterness to candied fruits, so it is advisable to add a tablespoon of maple syrup to the classic recipe. The cherries are carefully washed and the seeds are removed from it. When cooking cherries, it is advisable to fall asleep last, literally for 2 minutes. Otherwise, the classic recipe for making candied apples from apples does not change.
In orange syrup
Apples with orange are a win-win combination that is very refreshing and invigorating. In fact, the recipe is no different from the usual one, except that you need to take orange juice instead of water. It is advisable to squeeze it yourself, and not use a store-bought store. To enhance the taste of the orange, add some fresh orange peel.
How to store candied fruits
The best place to store is a glass jar, but if you don't have one, you can also use tin dishes. The main thing is that it is as tightly closed as possible. Sweets that will be stored for a long time should not be exposed to sunlight. If you put parchment paper in the layers of candied apple fruits, storage will be better.
