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

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

Even if your family doesn’t like pumpkin dishes, you will enjoy eating these sweet “candies.” There are many different technologies and recipes for preparing this homemade sweet. Let's look at the most common and time-tested recipes.

Preparation and primary processing of vegetables

For making candied fruits choose sweet varieties of pumpkin Accord or Aport. They have light orange dense flesh. Starchy varieties of pumpkins will be like crackers when heat treated. Butternut squash is also ideal for candied fruits. It is not difficult to distinguish it from other varieties - the fruit of the plant is shaped like a guitar, and the pulp smells of nutmeg.

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

How to make 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 to prepare is in the oven. These candied pumpkin slices are made quickly and effortlessly.

Ingredients:

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

Preparation

1. Cut the pumpkin into two parts, remove the seeds, and peel. Cut into medium sized pieces. Please note that the slices will decrease in volume during cooking.
2. Now make the sweet syrup. To do this, pour sugar into a saucepan, add water and mix well. Place on the stove, bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes until the liquid thickens a little.
3. Pour the syrup over the pumpkin pieces, 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 pumpkin cool.
4. Squeeze the juice from the orange and strain it through a sieve. Then pour it into the pan with the future candied fruits. And bring the liquid to a boil again. Cook for about 5 minutes. Then let it cool. 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 pieces on it. Place in an oven preheated to 100 degrees and dry for 4 hours.

In the dryer

The traditional method takes a lot of time. However, an electric dryer significantly reduces the cooking time. At a temperature of 50 degrees, the pieces 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. Place a layer of pumpkin in a saucepan, sprinkle with a little sugar, and place lemon on top.
2. Lay out several layers in this way. Leave for one hour to allow the juices to release.
3. Place the pan on the stove and bring the contents to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. After this, leave until completely cool.
4. Then drain in a colander to drain all the liquid.
5. Distribute the pumpkin pieces onto trays and dry for 6 hours at 50 degrees.

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In the microwave

You can also cook candied fruits in a microwave oven. This is one of the modern methods.

Ingredients:

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

Preparation

1. Peel the pumpkin and cut into small pieces. Add 3 tbsp. l. sugar (75 g). Cover with a lid and refrigerate overnight. Drain off the juice released in the morning.
2. Pour boiling water over 160 g of sugar and microwave for 90 seconds at 900 W. 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 in the microwave again on microwave + convection mode, 600 W for 5 minutes. Let cool.
4. And for the third time, set it to 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’s a sunny and dry time of year, and you’re at the dacha, then the sun can easily compensate for the lack of kitchen appliances. Pumpkin slices can be dried on baking sheets or boards directly on the street.

In a slow cooker

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

• 600 g diced pumpkin pulp without peel;
• 1 kg sugar.

Preparation

1. Place cubes of pumpkin pulp in a multicooker bowl, sprinkling with granulated sugar.Leave the vegetable for several hours or overnight to release the juice.
2. Turn on the device in the “Frying” or “Baking” mode. The duration of the program should be 40 minutes. During this time, the pumpkin will not only be completely cooked, but will also maintain the integrity of the slices.
3. After finishing the multicooker, transfer the pumpkin to a sieve or colander. When the excess syrup has drained, dry the candied fruits in the oven or electric dryer.

Recipe options for candied pumpkin

Here are a few more recipes for making homemade pumpkin sweets. Everyone can 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 from sugar and 700 ml of water. When it starts to boil, add spices and pumpkin pieces. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes, then cool.
2. The procedure should be repeated until the pumpkin pieces are caramelized and become transparent (about 5-6 times).
3. Remove the candied fruits, let the syrup drip off, and place them on wax paper. Dry the candied pumpkin at room temperature or in the oven. Then roll in powdered sugar.

Candied pumpkin according to this recipe can also be prepared in a slow cooker. Using the “Steam” mode for caramelization.

Sugarless

A sweet snack can easily be caramelized with honey or fructose, replacing sugar.

Ingredients:

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

Preparation

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

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

With lemon

Ingredients you will need to make candied pumpkin with lemon:

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

Preparation

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

With orange

To prepare candied pumpkin with orange and cinnamon, take:

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

Preparation

1. Cut the pumpkin pulp into medium-sized cubes. Bring sugar and water to a boil over moderate heat. Then place the pumpkin in the container with the syrup and boil for 5 minutes.Then remove the pieces onto a sieve with a slotted spoon and cool completely.
2. Add cinnamon, cloves and orange, cut into slices along with the peel, to the syrup where the base of the future candied fruits was cooked. 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. Place the prepared dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment and dry it 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 the finished product, prepare:

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

Preparation

1. Cut the orange pulp into equal cubes approximately 4 by 4 cm. Place them in a suitable container, sprinkle with sugar and leave overnight.
2. In the morning, strain the released pumpkin juice into a separate container. Place honey in it, washed and ground in a meat grinder along with the lemon peel.
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. Cook the vegetable until the syrup thickens for one and a half hours.
4. Strain the almost finished candied fruits through a sieve and dry until ready in an electric dryer or convection oven.
5. Roll the cooled, candied pieces of orange vegetable 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 per 1 kg of sugar) and place on the stove. Once boiling, remove from heat and let cool.Repeat this procedure 4-5 times until the crusts become transparent.
2. Now place the vegetable pieces on a sieve to drain excess syrup.
3. Next, 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 “candies” can be made by covering them with cocoa glaze. For one medium fruit, prepare:

• 3 teaspoons cocoa;
• 70 g butter;
• 8 tbsp. spoons 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 into the pan with the glaze, thereby covering its surface with chocolate.
3. Place on foil and leave for 30 minutes for the glaze to harden.

The candied fruits themselves can be prepared in any way you like.

How to store prepared candied fruits

You can store candied pumpkin 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.

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

Where to apply

Candied pumpkin is delicious either alone or as a snack 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 cooking or put it instead of sugar in drinks. It can also be used to make liqueur. And if you store candied fruits in syrup, you will get jam of a beautiful amber hue.

Secrets of delicious candied pumpkin

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

1. To ensure that the candied fruits are dense and do not fall apart, soak the pumpkin pieces in sugar syrup for about 10 hours before drying.
2. If you dry candied fruits in the oven, leave the door slightly open. Cut the pumpkin into thicker pieces, so they won’t become tough when dried.
3. For the syrup, choose a large lemon with a thin peel. It should be cut into thin circles or pieces.
4. It is recommended to cook the pumpkin in a saucepan with a thick bottom. And lay the ingredients in layers - a layer of pumpkin, a layer of lemon. Sprinkle each layer with sugar.
5. Hot candied fruits should be removed from the baking sheet immediately, otherwise they will stick.
6. Immediately roll the finished candied fruits in powdered sugar. Then they will not stick together.

Conclusion

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