candied fruit

I thought this was going to be a thread about Richard Simmons.

[link to www.kochenrussisch.de]

can´t embed pic, but looks (and tastes) awesome! go for it!

(but i prefer them coated in chocolate)

I've had the candied pineapple. Good.

Thanks for picture - I see there pineapple and cherries as well.

I could coat them in melted chocolate, it sounds good - I had the idea to try to use them in a cake or pudding.

I like fruit cake, but they tend to be too sweet. Making your own candied fruit sounds pretty cool.

Let us know how they turn out.

I've canned fruits...jelly, jam, butter etc

Next I'm planning on candling citrus rind. Always looking to preserve vitamin c.

Did it before and ate them all before I had enough to can.

Id be willing to share recipes if you are.

Also, I used to make tons of mini sweet breads with fruit and nuts. Freezes well and makes really neat Xmas gifts.

i'm kind of experimenting, so I'll see if it turns out ok before I give you a no-good recipe, but sure, if its ok, I'll share.I'm planning on trying it in the next few days.(looking online for help as well), but also going to try flavoring the sugar water with cloves, nutmeg, etc.

Flavoring sugars (and oils) is awesome iF you have enough of use for that it's,. E.g. Basil and garlic in olive oil is great if you drizzle it on pizzas and salads often enough. Like pApa johns garlic butter USED to be good.
Vanilla sugar is fine, adds a bit extra kick, but you can buy vanilla sugar (Oerkter brand - sp?) but I find that it just takes up too much space in the cabinet for something that can just be preplanned for the need.

I do tons of canning, my speciality is meats and soups because of inflated costs, the need for a filling meal, AND I plan to share with others in need.

It helps when you are hunkie (eastern European whose parents were in Stalinist Russia and nazi Germany and learned how to survive) and a son who is a gourmet. Speaking of, my son and I have the next project of smoking meats. Can't wait.

Fruit cake....usually too heavy or too much spice. Need to find the perfect balance. BEST fruitcake is a whiskey or bourbon fruit cake.

can we start a recipe thread?

Whether it is for survival, or saving money on Christmas gifts, or stretching that last dollar, or if SHIF?

It's easier to buy it already made.
It will cost you a small fortune.
I pineapple and mango, and those are easy to find.

Don't discard your citrus rind!!",

Whatever you do with the juice and juice and pulp but the rindis good too.
Lots of recipes call for orange/lemon zest.

You can peel the rind, take off as much of the white pith (that is where the bitterness is) and dry the rind in a dehydrator or the oven as used when a recipe calls for it. When dried like this it can be crumbled or pulverized for the recipe.

Another is to....boil the full rind, spill out the water as it is bitter, boil the rind again (keep doing this until it is not bitter) spilling out the water. When it is citrus, but not bitter, boil the rind with Sugar water on low heat so sugar absorbs into the rind. strain the rind.....use the sugar water for tea or citrus water....and let the rind dry. You can always shake the rind in a Baggie with sugar.

Excellent source of vitamin c without the chemicals.

You can also add your dried sugar rind Into teas.

interesting and useful to know, especially about the tea.

Oh that was in the mud somewhere south in a bowl but not knee deep ?

I would just use them on top as decorations, not inside.
when you do the candying the right way, it is so hard it will maybe break someones tooth when he bites in there unexpectedly.
but as decorations it is really nice !

melted chocolate is the easiest way, what i like best is fresh (not from the can!) pineapple with dark chocolate (70% cacao!) and some chili flakes on it.

grapes are easy to coat in chocolate (look at the little skulls here on my halloween cake)

IMAGE ( [link to img542.imageshack.us] )

aaahhhhh good warning for the teeth.

I've done the orange rind and it was really good.

I don't think I put it in the oven though, just left on the counter to dry.