B's wild, wild world 🌱🐛🎼I wanna make candied flowers this year!!! No eggs and trying to get a close to the versions that would have been accessible to indigenous tribes before colonization. I'd like to learn this before I teach the youngs about edible flowers again this spring... Any recipes or tips? How did one candy before easy access to sugar? I need to know this!
Please help.
Bumper Harvest@BsCreativeLife i'd have to guess they used tree syrups, plant nectars, and honey before access to processed sugars. I know maple syrup candies are a thing, so maybe start there? In a quick search for info i didn't see much
@MelkyWay yeah, me neither... Hoping some amazeballs chefs around here pipe in, cause I'm completely ignorant when it comes to baking new things without instructions
@BsCreativeLife
(modern instructions, but it would help give you a stepping off point)
candying isn't super difficult, it just takes patience. Get a good thermometer and a pan. If you attempt it with maple syrup, for instance, you just want to slowly bring a couple cups up to 300°F for about a minute, then once it starts to cool (under 200°), dip your flowers (carefully) in and set them on wax paper to cool.
Don't stir once it's boiling or while it cools or it'll crystalize.
- Syrups you can generally boil directly.
- Sugar is usually mixed, 1c Sugar, 1/4c corn syrup and 1/4c water or some variation of that ratio. More water/corn syrup makes a softer candy.
- soft crack stage is 230° which is for toffees and caramel-like candies
- hard crack is 300-310 for lollipops and jolly rancher type things
- of course you can play around with that to get the perfect consistency for you
To make a syrup from sugar, it's 2 parts sugar to one part water/liquid(flavor). Mix while cool until sugar fully dissolved. Heat until lightly boiling, for about a minute until it just turns golden. Again, not stirring once it boils/while it cools
Old school syrup: By weight, equal parts sugar to flowers/fruits/etc. Layer into a jar making sure everything is even coated. Put the lid on and let it sit until completely liquified. Can give it a stir or a shake every few days
@MelkyWay thank you🌸
Ash-Miw-Re@BsCreativeLife It was probably pretty rare, TBH. To my understanding, the reason humans crave sweets and fats to a degree that often becomes detrimental is precisely because those things are rare in nature. However, as the other poster said, maple syrup would have been an option for some cultures. Those that had bees (native bees in the US do not produce honey,at least not in usable amounts) used honey, and you could possibly find something like the Ancient Egyptian tigernut cakes or date-balls ( Both have readily available recipes online, try Tasting History for a tutorial) and substitute locally available ingredients.
@Ashmire Thank you, I will check that out. I came across that redbuds were candied by certain tribes in US and I'm trying to replicate that process
Petra van Cronenburg@BsCreativeLife Do you mean candies made from flowers (this gelatine-like stuff) or the sugary real flowers for decorations?
From my work in a French cultural heritage centre: Greeks and Romans already used sugar (mostly imported from India, cane) but it was still luxury, only for medicine. The alternatives for normal people were honey and concentrated sirops made from fruits, especially grape must.
Although sugar was available in medieval times, recipes for sweet decorations came up in the 16th
From my work in a French cultural heritage centre: Greeks and Romans already used sugar (mostly imported from India, cane) but it was still luxury, only for medicine. The alternatives for normal people were honey and concentrated sirops made from fruits, especially grape must.
Although sugar was available in medieval times, recipes for sweet decorations came up in the 16th
@BsCreativeLife c., in 1747, sugar from beet roots was discovered.
Shortly: people used honey (nearly every rural househild had own bee hives) or fruit must concentrates.
I can look for a recipe, if you could describe me the kind of candy you look for.
Shortly: people used honey (nearly every rural househild had own bee hives) or fruit must concentrates.
I can look for a recipe, if you could describe me the kind of candy you look for.
@NatureMC looking for candying the actual flowers to be passed out as treats. I'd like them to retain their shape if possible, but mostly trying for ways to introduce how candy can be made from flowers as simply as possible with a history of how they were made prior to easy access to sugar (kind of like a survival type thing, ie. access to sugar in woods would be difficult to obtain).
@BsCreativeLife That's not easy: for candying while retaining their shape and nearly original colours, you need sugar.
If it's allowed that they get a bit thicker and the colour may change: make a fruit (must) concentrate (like syrup) and dip them quickly in the syrup (best with tweezers), let the coating dry, and repeat this process 3–4 times in total. Then leave them to dry thoroughly, ideally in the cold. Depending of the liquid, it could change the colours. We do it traditionally with
If it's allowed that they get a bit thicker and the colour may change: make a fruit (must) concentrate (like syrup) and dip them quickly in the syrup (best with tweezers), let the coating dry, and repeat this process 3–4 times in total. Then leave them to dry thoroughly, ideally in the cold. Depending of the liquid, it could change the colours. We do it traditionally with
@BsCreativeLife violets or rose petals. Modern candying is made by brushing egg white on the flower, then sprinkling white sugar.
A very old method making candies from flowers and fruits in France are jellies like the famous Quince Cheese: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quince_cheese In ancient times it was made with honey or even using only the natural fruit sugar. And as nowadays, honey is much more expensive than sugar, this is luxury. In former times they made these jelly
@BsCreativeLife bonbons as medicine or for having something fruity in winter. The production takes about a fortnight!
Preparing it with flowers only, is a very modern idea, it's made with concentrated infusion.
Preparing it with flowers only, is a very modern idea, it's made with concentrated infusion.
@NatureMC oooh! Thank you!
This is why I love Mastodon. So many awesome people with so many different hobbies and knowledge! Thank you again!
This is why I love Mastodon. So many awesome people with so many different hobbies and knowledge! Thank you again!
@BsCreativeLife you're welcome! 😊