sometimes, i wonder if the CF is actually necessary or worth it. this is not one of those times. the CF shines in candy and sauce making.
in this case, it was trivial to make syrup without scorching or caramelizing anything.
i candied some aji lemon drops (C. baccatum).
ingredients:
- 350g water
- 250g sugar
- 2g citric acid
- 3g salt
- half a lemon
- 360g aji lemon drops (cut, destemmed, and deseeded)
meticulously cutting and cleaning the peppers is BY FAR the most time consuming part. you don't have to do this i guess, but i'd at least cut them in half. i just think the small, clean pieces eat better, and removing the placental tissue makes the heat level very tolerable to most people. the pepper weight above is after cleaning and cutting.
the sugar, water, citric acid, and salt were combined in a saucepan. the lemon was squeezed in as well, and the rind was then sliced into 1cm strips and added to the saucepan for extra pectin.
T+0
1) sucose inversion (acid-catalyzed hydrolysis):
the CF was set to 215°F in pan control mode (cookware contact sensor), and the mixture was heated for 30 minutes at slow/medium power as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. it was stirred to get everything dissolved while it came up to temp.
T+30min
2) pepper candying:
the lemon rind was removed, and the peppers were added. the setpoint was raised to 232°F, and the mixture was gently stirred until the syrup hit >230°F (thread stage) as measured by thermapen (about 15min). it was necessary to tilt the pan and let the syrup pool up to get a good reading. at this point, the peppers were translucent.
T+45min
3) jarring:
pour them in a jar, let cool to room temp, and put in the fridge. they keep a long time. if you want, you can prop up one side of the pan on something to let the excess syrup drain away. sometimes, i do this and put the syrup in a separate container because i don't like the candied peppers super syrupy.
enjoy them on stuff like pancakes, sandwiches, pizza, etc.
yield: about 430g (somewhat less than a pint)
