Candied fruit / Tutti frutti / crystallized fruit / glacé fruit

How to get fall colors into the jars !

Raw(unripe) papaya is the the most ideal fruit to absorb colors flavors and maintain shape till the end.
Get ready for Christmas by making candied fruit. An essential ingredient in fruit cake,plum cake,cookies,ice cream, buns,breads,desserts u name it.

Before going to the recipe here are few ideas to use the candied fruits.

• Kerala Plum Cake / Christmas Fruit Cake (alcohol free)
• Fruit and Nut Cake  (with rum -boozy :)
• Falooda / a layered dessert 

Will add as I have plans to make few more .

 Here is another fruit preserved for the Christmas cake- Candied Orange Rind

Hope you like the clicks as much as I did bringing them for you.The bg is the maple tree just outside my patio which has been  playing a  backdrop in many of my pictures. She is at her flamboyant best this time of the year. 

Recipe courtesy : Nisha Madhulika.com

Ingredients:
Raw/Green Papaya - Small one around 400 gms
Granulated sugar - 2 cups around 400 gms
Vanilla essence -
Food colors-( Red,yellow and green)- 3-4 drops

Method:
1.Cut the green peel of the papaya cut into two remove the seed and the uneven layer inside (optional).
Cut the papaya into small pieces.Wash it 3-4 times in water.
2.Boil 3-4 cups of water enough to immerse the papaya pieces.Let the water come to rolling boil then add the papaya pieces into it and cover and cook for 3 minutes then switch off flame and let it rest in the boiling water for another 5 minutes.Now strain it and keep it aside.
3.In a pan add 2 cups of water and the sugar when the sugar dissolves in the water add the blanched papaya pieces into it and cook until the sugar becomes syrupy like one string consistency.Stir every few minutes.
4.Remove from gas now add vanilla essence into it . Stir well
Arrange 4 containers or bottles put  required color in each and one without any color for white candied fruit.
Divide the pieces and syrup equally into the four containers. Mix the color and syrup in each container well using a different spoon for each one.Leave it aside to soak in the colored sugar syrup for 24 hrs.
5.Strain off the sugar syrup and place on a wire net or any flat surface to let the candied pieces of papaya to air dry until they are not sticky anymore. Spread it well so they would dry easily.
Store in air tight container and refrigerate if u do not want it rock hard.

Note
I dried it thoroughly,made it rock hard and have it in room temperature since a year. Anytime I need some I soften it by soaking in very little sugar syrup the previous day.

Hope u all are in Christmas Spirit already...me too in holiday mood :)
Meena