A couple weeks ago a friend gave me some kumquats
from her trees. She didn’t know
what to do with them and to be honest with you, neither did I… So they safely
lived in my refrigerator until a couple days ago. With Easter around the corner, I decided that I would make
some sort of a dessert or candy to share on Sunday.
An old recipe for candied orange peels came to mind. What I remembered was they were
delicious but time consuming… I
didn’t cut any corners though and thought these would be a good experiment and
also a labor of love! In the
recipe that follows, I candied the kumquats but also decided to dry them. For the ones that I made, I dried them
in a very low oven for 6 hours. I
think it was a little too long. 2
hours were not enough but 4 hours would have been perfect. Unfortunately I was not home in time
and my little orange jewels got a little bit chewy... Nonetheless they are delicious (I’ve already had a few
pieces…) and they just leave you with a nice zesty citrus after thought very
characteristic to the kumquats.
I hope you get to share something sweet with your family
and friends this weekend. Happy
Easter and Happy Passover!
Chocolate Dipped Candied Kumquats
Makes about 130 pieces
8 cups kumquats
4 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup white chocolate, chopped
Wash
the kumquats and cut into half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and place in a large bowl. Cover with water by 2 inches. Refrigerate overnight.
The
next day, drain the kumquats. In a
large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add the kumquats and boil for 1 minute. Drain and repeat this process with
fresh water.
In the same now empty saucepan,
bring the sugar and 1 cup of water to a boil while stirring occasionally. When the sugar is dissolved, add the
kumquats and simmer until translucent, about 35 to 45 minutes.
Drain
the kumquats with a slotted spoon onto a wire rack set over a baking
sheet. Drain for a few
minutes. Transfer the rack with
the kumquats onto another baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven to dry for about 4
hours on the lowest setting.
Let
sit until cool.
Place
the chocolates into 2 separate bowls.
Reserve a few pieces of each.
Melt the chocolates for about 15 minutes in the oven on its lowest
setting. Stir until smooth, adding
the reserve pieces.
Remove
the rack from the baking sheet.
Half dip the candied kumquats into the dark or white chocolate and place
on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Set aside to dry and firm up.
Transfer into an airtight container, layered with wax paper. Refrigerate up to a month. Serve at room temperature.
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