Mut Tao Ta (Candied Vietnamese Jujube for Tet), No Added Refined Sugar
Sweets and drinksPreservesVietnam12 to 15 hours soaking in limewater, plus about 2 hours candying and drying
The Tet candy tray starts with these candied jujubes. The good ones look almost translucent and bite with a slight chew that still carries a light tartness. The tricky part is the limewater soak, and skipping it leaves the fruit falling apart in the pan.
The fruit is pricked all over, soaked in clear limewater for 12 to 15 hours, then rinsed many times until the lime smell is gone. A 2 minute blanch in alum water comes next, and only then the slow candying over low heat.
This batch weighs about 3.6kg, at roughly 27 calories per 100g.
Method
Choose jujubes with small pits and a slightly tart taste. Wash them through several changes of water, prick them all over with a skewer or fork, rinse again to remove the sap and drain.
Mix the slaked lime with water, let it settle and pour off the clear liquid. Soak the pricked fruit in the clear limewater for 12 to 15 hours, then lift it out and rinse several times under cold running water until the sap and the lime smell are gone.
Put 1 teaspoon alum and 2 liters of water in a pot, stir to dissolve and bring to a boil. Add the fruit and blanch for about 2 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water.
Put the fruit in a large bowl and pour 540g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend over it so the fruit is covered.
Once it has dissolved, set the pot over low heat and cook gently, turning the fruit now and then with chopsticks. When the fruit turns translucent and tastes slightly chewy, take the pot off the heat.
For longer keeping, dry the fruit at 100C for 50 to 60 minutes until firm, then seal it in glass jars.
Tips
Pricking the fruit all over before soaking lets the sweetness reach the center so the pieces are not hard inside.
Rinse very thoroughly after the limewater, since any lingering lime smell ruins the whole batch.
Keep the heat low and stir gently, because rough handling bursts the fruit.
The pieces must be completely cool before they go in the jar, since warm fruit steams and weeps.
Blanch the jujube in alum water for exactly 2 minutes, as longer leaves the fruit soft and the preserve loses its crunch.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.