glacé mandarin
makes about 50 slices and approximately 500ml mandarin syrup
10 minutes preparation, 4 hours cooking time basically unattended
12 unwaxed mandarins, thinly sliced pips removed
1kg caster sugar
1kg water
2 cinnamon sticks, optional
12 juniper berries, lightly crushed, optional
Method
Put the sugar and water into a heavy based stainless steel pot or sauté pan and place it on high heat. bring to the boil stirring until the sugar is lifted from the bottom and completely dissolved. Turn the heat down to the lowest point. Add the spice if you are using it, and then add the mandarin slices one at a time pushing them under the syrup.
Cook without any movement at the lowest possible point of heat until they are translucent. Store in the syrup or drain them on a rack and store between silicon sheets.
tips — the slices are gorgeous with just about anything from cake to duck to chocolate praline ice cream. We use the syrup as a sugar substitute in ice cream and also love to return some of the glacé fruit to the churned ice cream. Equally good is a little of the syrup added to poultry glaze and finished with a little vinegar to cut back on the sweetness.
