Candied Fruit

Fruits are often candied by cooking them in concentrated sugar syrup until they become translucent. The technique, which is tricky as the concentration of the syrup must be carefully controlled, varies according to the ripeness of the fruit and the speed at which it simmers. The candying of whole fruits such as plums or kumquats, or of chestnuts (Fr. marrons glacés), requires skill, and several days of successive cooking in ever more concentrated syrups. The syrup must penetrate to the center, so that the fruit can be kept for several weeks at room temperature. Boxes of these fruits—with a glistening coating of sugar glaze—are traditional at Christmas.