How to cook delicious candied pumpkin: the easiest ways and the best recipes

Candied fruits and vegetables have been made from time immemorial. And modern technology allows you to quickly prepare tasty and healthy sweetness at home. It tastes like marmalade or oriental Turkish delight.

Even if your family does not like pumpkin dishes, these sweet "sweets" will be eaten with pleasure. There are many different technologies and recipes for making this homemade sweet. Consider the most common and time-tested recipes.

Preparation and primary processing of vegetables

For the production of candied fruits choose pumpkin of sweet varieties Accord or Aport. They have a light orange firm flesh. Starch pumpkin varieties when heat treated will be like croutons. For candied fruits, butternut squash is also ideal. It is not difficult to distinguish it from other varieties - the fruit of the plant resembles a guitar in its shape, and the pulp smells of nutmeg.

If you come across an odorless pumpkin, then a pinch of cinnamon with lemon or orange will easily correct the situation. The main thing is that the pulp of the fruit is firm. Otherwise, it will turn into a puree during cooking.

How to cook candied pumpkin

There are several cooking technologies. You can choose the most suitable method for yourself or try several at once.

In the oven

The easiest recipe for cooking is in the oven. These candied pumpkins are made quickly and effortlessly.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pumpkin;
• 1 orange;
• 1.2 kg of granulated sugar;
• 700 ml of water.

Preparation

1. Cut the pumpkin in two, remove the seeds, peel. Cut into medium sized pieces. Please note that during cooking, the slices will decrease in volume.
2. Now make sweet syrup. To do this, pour sugar into a saucepan, add water and mix well. Put on the stove, bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes to thicken the liquid a little.
3. Pour the pumpkin slices with syrup, bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes over low heat. Be sure to stir occasionally to prevent them from burning. Remove from heat and let the pumpkin cool.
4. Squeeze the juice out of the orange and strain it through a sieve. Then pour it into a pot of future candied fruits. And bring the liquid to a boil again. Cook for about 5 minutes. Then let it cool down. Repeat this procedure 3-4 times until the pumpkin pieces become transparent.
5. Place a piece of foil on a baking sheet and place the pumpkin slices on it. Put in an oven preheated to 100 degrees and dry for 4 hours.

In the dryer

The traditional way is time consuming. However, an electric dryer will significantly shorten the cooking time. At 50 degrees, the slices will cook for about 6 hours.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pumpkin;
• 250 g granulated sugar;
• 1 lemon.

Preparation

1. Cut the peeled pumpkin and lemon into thin slices. Put a layer of pumpkin in a saucepan, sprinkle with a little sugar, put lemon on top.
2. In this way, spread out several layers. Leave for one hour to let the food juice.
3. Place the saucepan on the stove and bring the contents to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then leave to cool completely.
4. Then discard in a colander to drain all the liquid.
5. Distribute the pumpkin pieces on trays and dry for 6 hours at 50 degrees.

Read also:

What is pumpkin honey.

Let's preserve the taste and benefits: how to freeze zucchini fresh for the winter.

How to recognize a beet allergy and quickly get rid of its symptoms.

In the microwave

You can also cook candied fruits in the microwave. This is one of the modern ways.

Ingredients:

• pumpkin - 200 g;
• sugar - 235 g (75 g - for the first stage. 160 g - for candied fruits);
• water - 50 ml;
• cinnamon - 1 pc;
• vanilla - 1/4 pc.

Preparation

1. Peel the pumpkin and cut into small pieces. Add 3 tbsp. l. sugar (75 g). Close the lid and refrigerate overnight. Drain the juice released by the morning.
2. Pour 160 g of sugar with boiling water and microwave for 90 seconds at 900 watts. Stir every 30 seconds until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then add pumpkin, cinnamon stick and a piece of vanilla to the hot syrup. Let cool completely.
3. Then put it back in the microwave on the microwave + convection mode, 600 W for 5 minutes. Let cool.
4. And the third time put on the microwave + convection mode, 600 W for another 10 minutes. Cool completely and remove the cinnamon stick. Dry in a dryer or oven.

In the sun

If it is a sunny and dry season now, and you are in the country, then the sun can easily compensate for the lack of kitchen appliances. You can dry the pumpkin slices on baking sheets or planks outside.

In a multicooker

You can also prepare candied pumpkin pieces for subsequent drying and turning into delicious candied fruits using a multicooker. In this case, you only need:

• 600 g diced pumpkin without skin;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation

1. Put the pumpkin pulp cubes in the multicooker bowl, sprinkle with granulated sugar. Leave the vegetable on for a few hours or overnight to let the juice stand out.
2. Turn on the device in the "Fry" or "Bake" mode. The duration of the program should be 40 minutes. During this time, the pumpkin is not only fully cooked, but also preserves the integrity of the slices.
3. After the end of the multicooker, transfer the pumpkin to a sieve or colander. When the excess syrup drains, dry the candied fruits in the oven or electric dryer.

Candied pumpkin recipe options

Here are some more recipes for making homemade pumpkin sweets. Everyone will be able to choose for themselves to taste.

With sugar and spices

You can add spices using spices.

Ingredients:

• pumpkin - 1 kg;
• sugar - 1 kg;
• cinnamon - 1 stick;
• cloves - 2 pcs;
• vanilla - 1 pod.

Preparation

1. Peel and seed the pumpkin, wash and cut into cubes. Boil sugar syrup and 700 ml water. When it starts to boil, add the spices and pumpkin pieces. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes, then refrigerate.
2. The procedure should be repeated until the pumpkin pieces caramelize and become transparent (about 5-6 times).
3. Remove the candied fruits, drain the syrup, and place them on wax paper. Dry the candied pumpkin at room temperature or in the oven. Then roll in powdered sugar.

According to this recipe, candied pumpkin can be cooked in a slow cooker. Using the "Steam cooking" mode for caramelization.

Sugarless

A sweet snack can be easily caramelized with honey or fructose instead of sugar.

Ingredients:

• pumpkin - 400 g;
• water - 2 tbsp;
• honey - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• fructose - 2 tbsp. the spoon;
• ground cinnamon - 1 tbsp. the spoon.

Preparation

1. Before making candied pumpkin fruits, the vegetable cubes should be softened by boiling together with cinnamon over low heat. Then dry the soft vegetable pieces with a paper towel.
2. Pour 2 cups of water into a saucepan, add honey and fructose. Wait for the mixture to boil and then place the soft pumpkin in there. Boil future candied fruits in syrup for 15-20 minutes. Then remove the pan from the heat and let the pumpkin stand in it for another day.
3. After the time has elapsed, separate the pumpkin pieces from the syrup and dry for several days at room temperature on waxed paper, or at 40 degrees in a ventilated oven.

Ready candied fruits taste no different from those cooked in sugar.

With lemon

Ingredients that you need to make candied pumpkin with lemon:

• 2.5 kg of pulp;
• 500 ml of water;
• 720 g granulated sugar;
• 1 medium lemon

Preparation

1. Cut the pumpkin pulp peeled from the skin and seeds into equal pieces.
2. Wash the lemon well in hot water. Cut into equal slices together with the peel and remove the seeds from them.
3. Put a saucepan with water and granulated sugar on the fire and boil the syrup. Bring to a boil.
4. Put pumpkin and lemon in a boiling sweet solution and boil them after boiling for 5-10 minutes. Then cool it down. Repeat the process two more times, cooling completely each time.
5. Then transfer the pumpkin and lemon slices to a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil. Dry the candied fruit in the oven.

With orange

To make candied pumpkin with orange and cinnamon take:

• 700 g pumpkin pulp;
• 1 kg of sugar;
• 2 liters of purified drinking water;
• 1 cinnamon stick;
• 2 carnation buds.

Preparation

1. Cut the pumpkin pulp into medium-sized cubes. Bring the sugar and water to a boil over moderate heat. Then put the pumpkin in a container with syrup and boil for 5 minutes. Then remove the pieces with a slotted spoon on a sieve and cool completely.
2. In the syrup, where the base of future candied fruits was cooked, add cinnamon, cloves and an orange cut into slices along with the peel. Bring the mixture to a boil. Return the pumpkin to the pan, boil it again for 5 minutes and cool on a sieve, removing it from the pan with a slotted spoon. Repeat the process 4-6 times until they become translucent.
3. Transfer the workpiece to the desired degree of readiness on a baking sheet covered with parchment and dry in the oven.

Ready candied fruits can be rolled in a mixture of powdered sugar and cinnamon powder.

With honey

For this version of candied pumpkin for 200 grams of finished product, prepare:

• 1 kg of pumpkin pulp;
• 200 g sugar;
• 100 g of bee honey;
• 1 lemon;
• powdered sugar for sprinkling.

Preparation

1. Cut the orange pulp into equal cubes, about 4 by 4 cm. Place them in a suitable container, sprinkle with sugar and leave overnight.
2. In the morning, strain out the pumpkin juice in a separate container. Put honey, washed and ground in a meat grinder with lemon peel in it.
3. Bring the honey pumpkin syrup to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Strain the hot syrup through a sieve and add to the pumpkin cubes. Boil the vegetable until the syrup thickens for an hour and a half.
4. Strain almost finished candied fruit through a sieve and dry until tender in an electric dryer or convection oven.
5. Dip the cooled ready-made candied orange vegetable pieces in powdered sugar.

From pumpkin peels

Ingredients:

• pumpkin peels - 1-1.2 kg;
• sugar - 1 kg;
• water - 700 gr.

Preparation

1. Pour the prepared crusts with sugar syrup (700 g of water for 1 kg of sugar) and place on the stove. After boiling, remove from heat and let cool. Repeat this procedure 4-5 times until the crusts become transparent.
2. Now fold the vegetable pieces onto a sieve to drain the excess syrup.
3. Then dry the candied fruits in the oven with the door open, or immediately mix with sugar and shake on a sieve to remove excess sugar.

In chocolate glaze

Sweet pumpkin sweets can be made by covering them with cocoa icing. For one medium fruit, prepare:

• 3 teaspoons of cocoa;
• 70 g butter;
• 8 Art. tablespoons of sugar;
• 4 tbsp. spoons of milk;
• 1 teaspoon of honey.

Preparation

1. Mix all ingredients and cook in a saucepan for 5 minutes.
2. Dip each candied fruit individually in a pan of icing, thus covering its surface with chocolate.
3. Place on foil and let the frosting set for 30 minutes.

Candied fruits themselves can be prepared in any way you like.

How to store ready-made candied fruits

You can store candied pumpkin seeds all winter in a hermetically sealed container - for example, in glass jars with tightly screwed lids. Or in syrup, like jam, then the stages of drying and rolling in powder should be omitted.

Also, bags made of thick fabric and paper are suitable for storage. But they must be tied well so that moisture and pests cannot get inside.

Where to apply

Candied pumpkin is delicious and just like that, and a bite with tea. You can decorate cakes with them, add them to baking dough along with raisins and dried fruits. It is good to soak biscuits with the syrup remaining during preparation or put it in drinks instead of sugar. It can also be used to make liquor. And if you save candied fruits in syrup, you get a beautiful amber jam.

Secrets of delicious candied pumpkin fruits

Every housewife wants homemade sweets to be bright and tasty. There are several secrets of making candied fruits:

1. To make the candied fruits dense and not fall apart, keep the pumpkin pieces in sugar syrup for about 10 hours before drying.
2. If you dry candied fruit in the oven, then leave the door ajar. And cut the pumpkin into thicker pieces, then when drying they will not become tough.
3. For syrup, choose a large lemon with a thin skin. Cut it into thin circles or slices.
4. We recommend boiling the pumpkin in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. And lay the ingredients in layers - a layer of pumpkin, a layer of lemon. Sprinkle each layer with sugar.
5. Remove hot candied fruits from the baking sheet immediately, otherwise they will stick.
6. Dip ready-made candied fruits in powdered sugar immediately. Then they will not stick together.

Conclusion

Cooking candied pumpkin fruits takes a long time and takes 2-3 days. However, the process is not tedious, since your participation will take no more than 20 minutes in total. Optionally, you can add cinnamon, cloves, lemon, orange to the pumpkin. The dessert turns out to be not only tasty, but also healthy, because it contains a large amount of vitamins and microelements.