ReceptnaptárCandied whole chestnuts
Candied chestnuts are the elegant sweet of the winter holidays: soft, flavourful chestnuts cooked in vanilla sugar syrup and carefully dried. In French, marrons glacés. Patience is the key: they must be cooked slowly so they stay whole. The overnight rest lets them absorb the flavour.
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Ingredients
Method
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- Score the chestnut shells with a cross and boil in water for 8-10 minutes, then peel off the hard shell and brown skin one by one while still warm (they are harder to peel cold).
- Boil the sugar with the water and vanilla, cook for 3 minutes and add the lemon juice.
- Add the peeled chestnuts to the syrup and simmer very gently, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes, stirring carefully so they don't break. The syrup should only just cover the chestnuts.
- Remove from the heat and leave the chestnuts in the syrup overnight (12-24 hours) in a cool place.
- The next day, lift out the chestnuts, drain them on a rack and dry them in a 100 °C oven (90 °C fan) for 30-40 minutes until the surface is matte.
- Put them in paper cases. Stored in an airtight tin in a cool place they keep for 2-3 weeks. The leftover vanilla chestnut syrup is excellent on pancakes and in cakes.
Based on: Malatinszky Fanny szakácskönyve (a classic Hungarian cookbook), modernised. Calories and protein are estimated.
Tips
- Peel them warm, as it's easier.
- Cook over very low heat so they don't break.
- The overnight rest makes them truly flavourful.
- Dipped in chocolate they make a lovely gift.
Frequently asked questions
How long do they keep?
2-3 weeks in an airtight tin.
With canned chestnuts?
Yes, with whole unsweetened ones, with a shorter 20 minutes in the syrup.
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