Easy Tanghulu Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is tanghulu made of? ›

For those who are unfamiliar, tanghulu is a fruit skewer coated in a clear, hardened sugar syrup. It was originally made with sour hawthorn berries, but you can use any fruit you'd like.

📖 Recipe FAQs

Make sure you don't stir the sugar after it comes to a simmer. If it does crystallize, add another half cup of water and start the process again. If making chocolate tanghulu, once the cocoa powder is added, it will begin to crystallize. Work quickly to coat the strawberries before it happens.

Solution: Keep tanghulu in a cool, dry place, ideally in an airtight container. Avoid refrigeration as the condensation can make the candy sticky.

Start checking the mixture at around 5 minutes by dipping the chopstick in the pot, then immediately into the ice water. Bite the chopstick – it should crunch in your mouth. If it's still soft and sticks to your teeth, keep cooking! Watch the sugar mixture carefully because it's easy to burn.

Place dipped skewer, fruit side down, in ice bath, allowing to cool fully, about 1 minute. Place, fruit side up, in a heavy cup or saucepan. Repeat with remaining skewers and sugar mixture, working quickly. Using kitchen scissors, trim any excess sugar drips.

Normal cane sugar works fine, but I chose to use raw sugar since it was my first attempt at making tanghulu and raw sugar is harder to burn. Combine the water and sugar into a saucepan on low heat and stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved, but you are still able to see some granules in the water.

You can't have tanghulu without a hard crunchy candy coating so it is important to test the syrup. To do this, simply drizzle a spoonful of the syrup into an ice water bath. If it hardens within seconds and cracks when you bend it, then it is ready for dipping.

Drying these really well. I'm gonna put the strawberries just on toothpicks instead of skewers, because the skewers makes it hard to dip.

Typically, tanghulu can last between 1 to 3 days when stored properly. The longevity of this traditional Chinese candied fruit snack depends significantly on storage conditions and the type of fruit used. This article will guide you through the key factors that influence how long tanghulu remains fresh and enjoyable.

What makes Tanghulu so irresistible? It's all about the contrast between the hard, sugary shell and the juicy, tangy fruit inside. The visual appeal of the shiny, candy-coated fruit also plays a significant role in its popularity.

Can you put tanghulu in the freezer? ›

Make Ahead. The skewers are always best when eaten immediately, but tanghulu can be stored in the freezer. Tanghulu is traditionally wrapped in a thin layer of rice paper for storing, but skewers may also be kept in a ziplock plastic bag.

You can crush set candy glass up and store to re-melt in oven later.

If your candied coating isn't hardening, the candying mixture did not reach a high enough temperature. Allow your candying mixture to cook until it bubbles, thickens, and turns a rich golden color, sort of like caramel. Then, quickly turn off the heat so it doesn't burn.

Keep heating and stirring your candy until it reaches 300°F (148.89°C). This is very important. If you don't get your mixture hot enough, it won't harden properly. Your candy will be soft and sticky, no matter how long you let it sit, harden, or cool.

If you candied strawberries are not hardening, there could be a number of reasons. You didn't cook your syrup to the correct temperature. You must hit 305F. The candy shell is too thick and taking longer to harden.

In hard candy making, it is important to cook all the water out of the sugar/corn syrup/water mixture. If the sugar mixture is not cooked to the proper temperature (the hard-crack stage 300-310° F {149-154° C.} or if you are working in a kitchen with high humidity, chances are your candy is retaining too much moisture.