The blog of cooking-ez.com
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
Do you like candied fruit? You might like to nibble a handful or add it to a recipe, like a classic fruit cake or delicious Italian specialities like panettone or sicilian epiphany pie.
Last modified on: June 21th 2017
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
So, if you enjoy them and you want to make a recipe that asks for them, you will probably go to buy them in a supermarket. If you do, you may well find a temptingly priced tub or packet of gaudily coloured little cubes labelled "candied fruit" or "rainbow mix" that looks like this:
But there's a (big) problem here: these sweet little dice are anything but genuine candied fruit. At best they might be melon; at worst, turnip or swede that has had its flavour chemically neutralised before being dyed and sweetened. The real scandal is that they can be sold as "candied fruit". If you read the label – in very small print, of course – you will see that the first ingredient in the list is "Turnip"…
Industrial cakes and desserts "with candied fruit” contain tons of this stuff, and they usually taste pretty dreadful. The only flavour in these coloured bits is their sweetness.
True candied fruits, worthy of the name, can be any of a whole variety of real fruit left to soak up sugar in a lengthy process: oranges, lemons, angelica, other citrus fruit, cherries, strawberries, etc. Recipes shouldn't just say "add the dried fruit", but should specify (for example) "add the candied orange peel, cut into small dice". This is more expensive, obviously, but quality and flavour come at a price.
Let's not forget that in France, like in Italy and Greece, candied fruits are a real tradition and the skilled craft of preparing them is still alive and well, notably in Provence.
So, can you make your own candied fruit at home? Replying in the great tradition of French diplomacy, I would say, "well, yes and no". No, because it is a lengthy and complicated process which demands real artisan's skills. But, on the other hand, it is fairly easy to prepare the delightful little treats known as "orangettes", made from strips of orange peel (or you can use grapefruit). It takes rather a long time, but the results are well worth it. You can see how to do it here.
To sum up: if you want to use candied fruit in a recipe, leave the awful industrial diced turnip on the shelf. Dig a little deeper into your pocket and opt for high-quality artisanal candied fruit, which you can always dice yourself.
But there's a (big) problem here: these sweet little dice are anything but genuine candied fruit. At best they might be melon; at worst, turnip or swede that has had its flavour chemically neutralised before being dyed and sweetened. The real scandal is that they can be sold as "candied fruit". If you read the label – in very small print, of course – you will see that the first ingredient in the list is "Turnip"…
Industrial cakes and desserts "with candied fruit” contain tons of this stuff, and they usually taste pretty dreadful. The only flavour in these coloured bits is their sweetness.
True candied fruits, worthy of the name, can be any of a whole variety of real fruit left to soak up sugar in a lengthy process: oranges, lemons, angelica, other citrus fruit, cherries, strawberries, etc. Recipes shouldn't just say "add the dried fruit", but should specify (for example) "add the candied orange peel, cut into small dice". This is more expensive, obviously, but quality and flavour come at a price.
Let's not forget that in France, like in Italy and Greece, candied fruits are a real tradition and the skilled craft of preparing them is still alive and well, notably in Provence.
So, can you make your own candied fruit at home? Replying in the great tradition of French diplomacy, I would say, "well, yes and no". No, because it is a lengthy and complicated process which demands real artisan's skills. But, on the other hand, it is fairly easy to prepare the delightful little treats known as "orangettes", made from strips of orange peel (or you can use grapefruit). It takes rather a long time, but the results are well worth it. You can see how to do it here.
To sum up: if you want to use candied fruit in a recipe, leave the awful industrial diced turnip on the shelf. Dig a little deeper into your pocket and opt for high-quality artisanal candied fruit, which you can always dice yourself.
Lasts posts
Parmesan cheese crusts
If you use Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano) in your recipes, you may have already noticed: when you grate it, it becomes (very) difficult near the crust, especially if it is a slightly aged parmesan, as the cheese gets harder and harder. So we stop grating, leaving some crust on top, and a...9315 June 23th 2022
The gelling agent in a cream
If you start making a Bavarian cream for example, or any other that contains a gelling agent such as gelatin or agar-agar, you will sooner or later be confronted with the problem: How to properly incorporate this gelling agent into my cream? (and we will focus on gelatin).1,1134.9 June 18th 2022
The preservation of bread
Eating fresh bread is always a delight, the crust crumbles deliciously, you take full advantage of the taste of your bread (80% of this taste is in the crust), it is a fleeting moment to enjoy. Who hasn't already eaten the crouton or croutons of his baguette, on the way back from the bakery? ...1,6043 June 11th 2022
Beans in primeur
As I write this, it is the beginning of the short season for fresh beans. If you've never made them before and you're just starting out (and that's a great idea) you'll find that it's a bit time consuming to prepare, you have to shell them once, remove the beans, scald them to remove the skin (and...1,170 June 4th 2022
Celeriac soups and the 3rd ingredient
Do you like celeriac, a vegetable that is not always a big hit? If your answer is "no" or "not so much", it is perhaps that you have in mind the celery remoulade, the emblematic starter, with the eggs mimosa, of the bistrot kitchen. It's very good, well if you like it of course, but it's a bit...1,7034.6 May 21th 2022
Other pages you may also like
Egg yolks and caster sugar
We often come across recipes where we need to mix egg yolks with caster sugar. This would appear to be a very ordinary and simple thing to do but, be warned, these two ingredients can behave oddly together.53K 24.3 February 15th 2018
Butter doesn't make you fat, unless you eat too much of it.
Whenever I'm discussing cooking and recipes, there is one idea which comes up frequently, like this: "Oh no! But that's got butter in it" (I should add, for the sake of accuracy, that this is something I hear more frequently from women, who are almost all concerned with keeping their figure). ...32K4 March 26th 2012
Choosing a chopping board
It's a no-brainer, surely? If you want a chopping board, just find a piece of wood, and Bob's your uncle! You can happily chop away with a knife and not damage the table or worktop. But in reality, it's a bit more complicated than that. You need to be careful what you are buying, in particular the...40K4 May 8th 2012
The window-pane test in bread-making
The home bread-makers often ask themselves “Have I kneaded my dough long enough?” . A good question, as dough that is insufficiently kneaded will not rise properly or will fall flat when the top is slashed, which is very frustrating. To know when the dough is ready, one can rely on the length...75K 23.2 June 16th 2021
A few tips for effective kneading at home
When you have to knead dough for bread or some other recipe, you may well use a food processor or the type of machine known as a stand mixer. The best-known brands are Kenwood and KitchenAid. They are useful tools, but here are a few tips to help you get the best out of them.227K 23.4 June 23th 2021
Post your comment or question
Your 2 comments or questions on this page
- Hello Evie, in France you can check out : https://www.lesfleurons-apt.com/gb/16-catalog (they send by mail).Posted by jh june 22th 2017 at 08:53 (n° 2)
- Hello and can you point us in the proper direction as to where/what site is good to purchase candied fruit?Posted by Evie june 21th 2017 at 17:06 (n° 1)
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.