Strawberry- Lemon and Pineapple- Lime Pate De Fruits (Fruit Jelly Candies)

I've seen bags of assorted pate de fruits, jelly candies rolled in sugar, at the patisserie and wanted to make my own. As a kid I liked to eat Sunkist Fruit Gems. They came in strawberry, orange, lemon and lime. This week I decided to try out two flavors- strawberry- lemon and pineapple- lime. Candy making usually involves mixing together ingredients and then stirring it in a huge pot then pouring it into a pan and letting it set overnight. Candy thermometer and oven mitts in hand, I stirred the boiling mixture, like a witch over a bubbling cauldron, for a good 15-20 minutes. They were both quite sweet but they are candy and I'm not used to eating a lot of candy. The strawberry-lemon ones tasted better as they had the taste of ripe strawberries and a little tartness from the lemon. The pineapple-lime ones were just o.k. I think they were too acidic and lacked depth. I also didn't process the lime zest with the pineapple and it left little squiggles of zest in the candy.

Strawberry- Lemon Pate De Fruits

Inspired by The Spiced Life

1 pound of fresh strawberries

zest from 1 large lemon

juice from 1 1/2 large lemons

3 cups sugar

6 oz. liquid fruit pectin (2 envelopes)

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

sugar for coating

1. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan and smoothly line it with plastic wrap. Lightly brush oil over the top of plastic wrap.

2. Puree the fresh strawberries and lemon zest together with a food processor or hand blender.

3. Place a medium bowl on the scale and add juice from 1 1/2 large lemons. Then add the strawberry puree until it weighs one pound.

4. Snip open the pectin packets and place upright in a narrow container. Keep them next to the stove for easy access.

5. In a large saucepan (4 qt. or larger) stir together the puree and 3 cups of sugar. Stir constantly over medium high heat with a rubber spatula. Stir until candy thermometer reaches 238 degrees F.

6. Stir in the pectin and boil stirring constantly for 1 minute.

7. Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice. Pour into prepared baking pan and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

8. Cool on wire rack overnight. Turn upside-down on cutting board and remove plastic wrap. Cut into 1 inch squares using a lightly greased knife and cleaning off with paper towel between cuts. Fill a bowl with sugar. Roll the jelly pieces in the sugar and store in an airtight container.

For pineapple- lime recipe, use pineapple in place of the strawberries and lime zest and juice instead of the lemon zest and juice.