Candied Hawthorn
A traditional Chinese street snack featuring tart hawthorn berries wrapped in a crunchy, frosty sugar coating. Perfect for balancing sweet and sour cravings.
Story
This beloved treat is often enjoyed during winter festivals. Achieving the perfect frosty crunch requires patience; the most critical part is the vigorous stirring as the syrup cools, which transforms the liquid into a sandy, white shell.
Ingredients
Instructions
Clean and dry the fruit
Submerge the berries in a bowl of lightly salted water for 10 minutes to loosen any dirt. Gently rub them clean, rinse thoroughly, and pat them completely dry with a towel. It is essential that the fruit is bone dry before cooking.
Remove the pits
Use a sturdy straw or a dedicated hawthorn pitter to push the seeds out. Insert the tool into the stem end of each berry and force the pit out, taking care to keep the flesh of the fruit intact.
Simmer in syrup
Combine the sugar and water in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot. Heat over medium flame, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils. Add the prepared berries, reduce the heat to low, and gently simmer for about 5 minutes until they are tender and coated.
Crystallize the coating
Remove the pot from the heat. Stir the berries continuously as the mixture cools; the syrup will eventually turn opaque and crystallize into a white, sandy sugar shell. Once coated, spread the berries on a parchment-lined tray to cool completely.