The following “CHEW THIS!” column originally appeared in “The Courier-Times” and / or “The Shelbyville News”. Check their websites for further information.

Tanghulu or Candied Fruit 

Blaise Doubman

I have never really been one for trends but this viral food trend had my attention for a number of reasons. First, the finished product looks so beautiful and glossy. Secondly, the crunch when you hear people biting into it is beyond satisfying. Thirdly, it is candied fruit and let us be honest, how bad could that be? There are several recipes for tanghulu floating across the internet and across social media and I believe the one I am sharing here today is the prefect one! 

Of course, when working with anything hot and candied please be careful! I would actually recommend sitting a bowl of ice water really close to your work station, just in case something should go wrong and you burn yourself. That way you can have instant access to relief. You may need to try this recipe a couple of times to get the right and desired effects but trust me when I say that the perfect final outcome is well worth the previous attempts! Simply delicious! 

Tanghulu

This item should be eaten right away. 

2 cups white granulated sugar

1/3 cup corn syrup

1/4 cup cold water

2 cups fruit of your choice, washed, cut and put on a skewer 

Combine the white granulated sugar, corn syrup and water into a medium shallow pot over medium high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. 

Once the sugar is dissolved, stop stirring. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Let the mixture boil anywhere from 15 top 25 minutes. What you are looking for here is the “hard crack” stage that some of you may be familiar with when candy making. 

Once at that stage, work quickly and dip the fruit once into the syrup and lay onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. This needs to be done carefully and quickly.

Quickly submerge the fruit skewers into an ice bath for about 2 minutes. 

Remove from the ice bath and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Allow to fully cool and set up for about 10 minutes and then serve it and enjoy! 

Ask and Answer: Have a recipe that you want to share? Email me and I would love to feature it!