Candy is a little treat that many people can't give up. And why should we give up candy when it's so good? This is what children, especially, ask themselves... The answer is that unfortunately most of the candy on the market is anything but healthy, in fact it contains a lot of refined sugars, preservatives, colorants and unfortunately very little fruit.
What's better then than making a bunch of homemade candies using only fresh and healthy ingredients ? Of course, sugars will be present here too, but they will be sugars naturally contained in the ingredients used.
Necessary ingredients
To make homemade sweets you need:
- Fresh fruit of your choice
- Lemon Juice (serves as a natural preservative, antioxidant, and flavor enhancer)
- If you want, seeds or dried fruit
- Natural sweetener such as honey, maple syrup, agave syrup or rice malt
- Salt
NB: the quantity of lemon depends on the fruit you use, in the case of apples or pears which tend to oxidize quickly, for example, a greater quantity will be needed.
Homemade Candies - Procedure
- Wash and clean the fruit you have chosen to make the sweets.
- Place the fruit in a blender along with the lemon, the sweetener of your choice and a pinch of salt. Blend until it becomes a perfectly smooth jelly.
- Spread the gelatine on the non-stick tray of your dehydrator, trying to create a layer about 3 millimetres thick.
- Run the dryer for approximately 8 hours at a maximum temperature of 55°C. At the end of the cycle, check whether the clothes are actually dry and, if necessary, extend the cycle.
- Once the drying is complete, let it cool slightly, place the pastry on some baking paper and proceed with cutting.
- The cut can be made in strips that will then be rolled up, or you can cut them in the way you prefer.
Suggestions
Variation for step 3: If you prefer, you can also put the gelatin in a piping bag and create small drops of gelatin to have differently shaped candies. In this case, we recommend not to overdo the size so as not to complicate the drying phase too much.
Note step 3: If you have decided to add six seeds to your candy, such as sesame seeds, millet, poppy, chia seeds, etc., this is the right time to do so. Add them to the gelatin before rolling it out, or sprinkle them on the surface after rolling it out.
