Recipe: Candied Pineapple (2)

I can't vouch for the success of either of these recipes, as I've never tried them.

(If you have more than 1 pound of fruit, multiply the amount of syrup accordingly.)

CANDIED FRESH PINEAPPLE

1 lb. fresh pineapple, cubed
2 cups honey OR maple syrup OR a simple syrup made from 1 1/2 cups water and 3 cups granulated sugar

Put the pineapple cubes in a pot with the sweetener. Simmer, uncovered, over very low heat until the fruit appears translucent and the liquid has almost disappeared. This will take 40-60 minutes. Stir often toward the end of the cooking time to prevent burning. The fruit will be sticky when removed from the heat, especially when using honey. Spread the fruit on waxed paper and place in a food dryer or spread on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and place in a very low oven, 200 or less. Let dry until most of the stickiness is gone.

HOME CANDIED PINEAPPLE

3 (20-oz) cans pineapple chunks in heavy syrup, undrained
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
2 tbs. butter or margarine

In a 5-qt. saucepan, heat the pineapple and its syrup, sugar and corn syrup, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil gently for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally in the beginning and often as syrup thickens.

Add butter and continue cooking until pineapple is lightly caramelized and syrup is very thick, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let pineapple stand in syrup for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 225 .

With a slotted spoon, drain pineapple well and place in a single layer on a rack over a shallow baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool on rack for several hours.