Continuing our magical Wizarding December series, today we're presenting the most time consuming treat on our list : the Crystallized Pineapple. It first appeared in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Tom Riddle offered his teacher, Professor Slughorn, a box of "Bolandi's Exquisite Crystallized Pineapple" in an attempt to get more information about Horcruxes.
Since it sounded absolutely delicious, we decided to make them ! You might be, rightly so, scared by the amount of sugar used, but it is exactly the same method used to confit fruits. Born out of necessity (to conserve over extra long period of time), this way of enjoying fruits is now used for sweet treats.
This recipe is a very time consuming one because it is done over a minimum of 5 days. Basically, you'll boil pieces of fruit in a highly concentrated syrup, let it soak over night, and repeat this steps 5 times. Unless you possess a dehydrator, you'll need to let them dry in the oven on a very low heat over several hours.
We would advise you not to re-use the syrup to make a second batch. That's what we did, and while the first ones (that we ate) kept their vibrant, yellow color, the second batch turned out much much darker. They tasted just as sweet, so if you're not bothered by the colour, go ahead =) A candy thermometer is also essential when it comes to creating the hard candied texture. Again, we didn't have any so our pineapples ended up being more of a confit fruit than properly candied fruit bits.
To present it we simply placed the pineapple bits in an A6 sized clear plastic bag and taped the Bolandi's logo on the top. The logo available for download below is not scaled ! You will have to print it the size you wish.
Disclaimer:
The Arrogant Pug is not affiliated, endorsed or sponsored by The Harry Potter franchise. Product names, logos, brands and other trademarks are the property of their respective trademark holders. All the files offered for download is for private use only and cannot be sold.
 20 minutes |
 20 minutes per day over 5 days |
 3 to 4 bags |
Ingredients
1 litre of water
1 kilogram of sugar
2 pineapples
100 grams of icing sugar
Kitchenware (optional) :
Candy thermometer (recommended)
Large saucepan
Cling film
Make your syrup
>> In a large saucepan, pour the water and the sugar over medium-heat.
>> Mix it regularly until the sugar is completely dissolved, and then bring it to the boil.
Cut the pineapples
>> In the meantime, cut the top part and the bottom part of the pineapples, and peel it.
>> Cut it into 1 cm thick slices.
>> Core your pineapples slices. You should be left with rings.
>> Cut each of your pineapples rings in half, and again until you have 4 equal pieces for each ring.
>> Mix it regularly until the sugar is completely dissolved, and then bring it to the boil.
Cut the pineapples
>> In the meantime, cut the top part and the bottom part of the pineapples, and peel it.
>> Cut it into 1 cm thick slices.
>> Core your pineapples slices. You should be left with rings.
>> Cut each of your pineapples rings in half, and again until you have 4 equal pieces for each ring.
Candying process
>> Once your syrup is lightly bubbling, add your pineapple pieces. Be careful of any splash.
>> Leave the pineapples to simmer for 20 minutes, than take off the heat to cool down.
>> Once cooled down to room temperature, use cling film to cover the surface of your pineapples and let it sit overnight.
>> This is the start of a 5 day long process to exchange the water content of the pineapples into sugar.
>> On the day after, remove the cling film and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, and put the saucepan aside to cool down before placing the cling film again.
>> Repeat this process 3 more times over 3 days.
>> On the last day, place your candy thermometer in the syrup and be sure to reach 112°C - 116°C, the soft ball stage.
>> Remove your pineapple bits from the saucepan and place on a baking tray.
>> Leave the pineapples to simmer for 20 minutes, than take off the heat to cool down.
>> Once cooled down to room temperature, use cling film to cover the surface of your pineapples and let it sit overnight.
>> This is the start of a 5 day long process to exchange the water content of the pineapples into sugar.
>> On the day after, remove the cling film and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, and put the saucepan aside to cool down before placing the cling film again.
>> Repeat this process 3 more times over 3 days.
>> On the last day, place your candy thermometer in the syrup and be sure to reach 112°C - 116°C, the soft ball stage.
>> Remove your pineapple bits from the saucepan and place on a baking tray.
Let them dry
>> If you own a dehydrator you'll probably achieve a better result than us. To finish the candying process you'll need to let them dry.
>> If you have patience, you can place them on a tray in the oven over low temperature, 40°C, and let it dry there over several hours.
>> Finish by coating them in incing sugar before serving.
>> If you have patience, you can place them on a tray in the oven over low temperature, 40°C, and let it dry there over several hours.
>> Finish by coating them in incing sugar before serving.
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