Marrons Glacés

marrons glacés a French confection made from whole chestnuts, peeled and steeped for several days in sugar solutions of increasing concentration until the sugar penetrates to the centres of the nuts, thus preserving them.

The principle is similar to that employed in the manufacture of candied fruit, in which more sugar is added to the syrup daily. In the manufacture of candied chestnuts, the concentration of the syrup is very carefully controlled by temperature. The syrup, with the chestnuts, is gently heated each day to boiling point. Then the chestnuts are removed and the syrup allowed to boil to a higher temperature to increase the concentration very slightly (see sugar boiling) before the chestnuts are replaced in it. The entire process takes about a week and is completed by giving the candied chestnuts a final coating of sugar syrup which dries to a smooth clear gloss.