How to make marron glacé

Records of its creation date back to the 16th century, although the origins of this exquisite and unique dessert, marron glacé, are disputed between Italy and France. In any case, it's a truly delicious treat, built on the quality of its raw material, the chestnut, which is certainly not an inexpensive fruit. Hence the double risk of buying a mass-produced product: not finding it of good quality and paying a high price. It's much better to try making marron glacé yourself: it's an ancient, complex, and elaborate recipe, but the end result will be immensely satisfying and a significant saving.

This exquisite dessert, in fact, has a particularly high cost precisely because of the long and meticulous preparation it requires. The home version reduces the price, but there is a first commandment that you absolutely must not neglect if you want to obtain the famous glazed chestnuts as good as those created by a skilled chef: the chestnuts must be of excellent qualityWith this necessary introduction, here's the recipe, for which the first ingredient is undoubtedly a generous dose of patience. Skill, however, will develop gradually: don't be afraid.

Ingredients

All you need is:

1 kg of large chestnuts
500 g of granulated sugar
1 vanilla pod.

Preparation

Focus on the type of raw material you're purchasing: these aren't traditional chestnuts, but marrons. These are created when the shell no longer contains chestnuts, but rather a single, larger one. Preparation takes four days, including resting time. For convenience, consider the steps one at a time.

La first stage This involves cleaning chestnuts by cutting the skin: make a cross-shaped incision on both sides of the chestnuts, being very careful not to cut into the flesh; the cut should only involve the skin and the underlying skin. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. water Dip the chestnuts in a few at a time (about ten at a time) for a minute, then peel them as soon as they're not too hot to handle. Remember, however, that this step must be done while they're still hot, which is why you need to cook them in batches, otherwise you risk some of them getting cold and peeling them would be difficult.
La second stage The cooking process: Place all the peeled chestnuts in a large saucepan and add cold water to cover them. Once the water begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 12 minutes. Once cooked, the chestnuts should be carefully removed using a slotted spoon, although a great alternative, to avoid spoiling them, is to steam them in a steamer basket, which should be slowly removed after the required time.
It's time to prepare the syrup: put it in a pot sugar with 300 g of water and the vanilla pod; boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Gently fold the chestnuts into the syrup, count one minute from when it returns to a boil, turn off the heat, cover, and let it steep for 24 hours. The next day, bring the syrup containing the chestnuts back to a boil and, still keeping the heat low, count one minute from when it returns to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover, and let it steep for another 24 hours.
Il third day Proceed in the same way. After another 24 hours, you're on the fourth and final day of preparation: drain the chestnuts one by one and place them on a wire rack in a cool, dry place (an open, cool oven is fine) to dry for at least three hours.

Tricks and secrets

If you can't remove the skin from the fruit after boiling them, you can dip them in boiling water for a few seconds, but not the same water you previously cooked them in, because you risk "coloring" the pulp brown, due to the tannin released by the peel.
Another very important step concerns the initial cooking of the chestnuts: to check, after 12 minutes, use a needle or skewer: it should go in and out of the fruit easily; if not, continue cooking for another minute and check again. If you're not satisfied with the result, wait another minute and check the consistency again before turning off the heat.
Present the marron glacés in paper baking cups; they will keep in the refrigerator for two weeks.
If you want to keep them longer, place them in glass jars covered with their sugar syrup; they will last a few months.

Homemade Marron Glacé: The Recipe for a True Pastry Delight

How to make marron glacé

Ingredients

Preparation

Tricks and secrets

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