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🌸