Candied Fruit Storage (For Maximum Shelf Life)

It should go without saying that there are several methods for individuals to enjoy the fruits they know and love.

Some individuals like to eat their fruit fresh, even directly off the plant, but others enjoy cooking their fruit to add flavor and texture to other cuisines.

There will always be a question about the best method to keep fruit among all the many ways that individuals enjoy their fruit.

Fruit is classified as a perishable food, which makes sense given that fruit may spoil quickly if not kept properly. Nevertheless, the best conditions for storing your fruit will vary greatly depending on the kind of fruit, its age, and its condition.

A damaged and banged-up peach that is then kept in a warm, humid area will go bad far quicker than a cherry that is gently handled and preserved in the crisper drawer of your fridge.

With this in mind, you may be wondering what the best methods to keep fruit are.

The answer to this issue is greatly dependent on the kind of fruit you want to store and the state of the fruit.

In normal situations, even well-cared-for fruit won’t survive more than a week or two at a time. There are, thankfully, some exceptions to this rule.

Candied fruit is a typical exception to this rule.

Candied fruit straddles the line between being pure candy that you may eat for dessert or use as a topping for a cake or pie and being genuine fruit that you would eat as a healthy snack.

Some people even doubt if candied fruit is indeed genuine fruit, since the preservation method for real fruit varies greatly from that of candied fruit.

Before you can grasp what you need to do with candied fruit, you must first understand what it is and how it is prepared. Understanding this will provide you a better grasp of how and why you should keep it in the manner that you should.

What Is Candied Fruit?

To address one question, yes, candied fruit is genuine fruit.

It stems from the use of fresh fruit in the production of these candied delicacies, and it also implies that, unlike many varieties of candy, true candied fruit does not have an infinite shelf life.

Candied fruit is made by chopping up parts of the fruit that you wish to candied into tiny, thin slices.

Lemons, limes, oranges, cherries, strawberries, and any other fruit that you can think of that would create a tasty treat may be used as these fruits.

Usually people pick colorful fruits to highlight the candy-like appeal of this dessert.

When the fruit has been cut, soak all of the pieces in a sugar syrup. This is what makes your fruit slices look thinner and smaller than they were before you sliced them.

After all of the fruit is in the container of sugar syrup, boil everything until the water content of the fruit is replaced with the sugar from the syrup.

Before you know it, you’ll have small candied fruit pieces to enjoy.

The look will still have some similarity to the fruit from which the candy was derived, and the recipe is created using genuine fruit, but it transforms this delight into a popular wintertime dessert.

How Long Does Candied Fruit Last?

Candied fruit can normally survive for around two years on your shelf if stored properly.

Keep in mind that the two years advised is the greatest amount of time your fruit may survive, and owing to the method the food is manufactured and kept, its taste will typically begin to alter after one year.

It is still edible at this stage, although you may not notice the change in flavor.

If you’re worried about fresh fruit surviving longer than a few days in an area that isn’t exceptionally cold or dry, there are a few things you should know.

Candied fruit contains sugar, which serves as a natural preservative.

Moreover, due of the procedure used to prepare candied fruit, the fruit will have little to no real water content, since all of the water was converted to sugar by the syrup. This means that there is no water for bacteria or mold to recognize and grasp onto, thereby transforming your fruit into something that can survive much longer.

Candied fruit may be thought of as the sweet counterpart of beef jerky. While the techniques are vastly different, the ultimate product is the same.

You will have a version of the original meal that has altered in look and flavor and no longer contains the water content required to maintain the lives of other species, enabling that food to endure for an extended period of time.

There are a few of options for preserving your candied fruit in a manner that will not make it vulnerable.

Normally, you’ll want to take an airtight container and pour the candied fruit into that container. After the fruit is inside, seal the lid to prevent any air or moisture from entering the container.

By keeping the container free of moisture and air, you can retain the taste and texture of the candied fruit, enabling it to endure for approximately a year before the flavor and texture alter.

Keep this jar of candied fruit in a cold, dark, and dry area of your home. A cupboard or shelf in the kitchen is a traditional location for this, although it may also be kept in the basement.

If you want to use the fruit the next year, you do not need to do anything extra to maintain its condition. But, if you want to store the fruit for more than a year, you should put this container in the refrigerator to further protect the fruit over time.

In fact, candied fruit keeps so well that you won’t have to worry about it spoiling for a long time.

Bugs are more likely to be drawn to the sugar content of candied fruits, particularly if the container is left in locations where bugs congregate, such as your basement.

If you want to store your candied fruits in the basement, particularly if you have a bug issue, you must ensure that your container of fruits is fully sealed so that you do not have a surprise the next time you open the container of candied fruits.

Except from that, you won’t have to think too hard about how to care for your candied fruit.

Instead of worrying about what to do with it, you can generally simply enjoy it for as long as it lasts, if you can make it last a year.