Tanghulu

Juicy strawberries are dipped in sugar syrup. They harden almost immediately and make a wonderful snack or dessert for all ages.

Prep Time:10

Cook Time:10

Total Time:20

Servings: candies

Poke the end of a wooden skewer into the top of each strawberry where its leaves are. Pull the leaves back so they are not touching the berry and set them aside on a sheet of parchment paper.
Add the sugar and water to a small pot, but do not mix. If needed, you can shake the pot in order to get all of the sugar completely wet.
Bring the mixture to a boil until the temperature reaches 295°F using a candy thermometer. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, let the mixture boil for 6 minutes and then dip a cold spoon into it. The mixture is ready if it hardens onto the spoon immediately. If not, continue to boil it and test again at 1-minute intervals.
Once the mixture is ready, turn the heat off. Tilt the pot to its side so the mixture gathers to one side and then dip each strawberry into it fully. Let any excess drip back into the pot, and then place it back onto the parchment paper.
The sugar mixture should harden onto each strawberry almost immediately. If not hardened within one minute, the strawberries were too wet or the mixture wasn’t ready. Once hardened, serve and enjoy!

The more water your fruit contains, the quicker these strawberry skewers will start to soften and get sticky. Strawberries have plenty of water in them, along with other fruits like peach, pineapple, and melon, while cherries and banana have less, so would last a bit longer before the candy coating softens.
Make sure the strawberries are patted dry before dipping them in the sugar syrup, or else the excess water will stop the candy coating from hardening.
If you need to make a batch you can double or triple the ingredients. You will need 2 parts of sugar to every 1 part of water.