The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival has been around for awhile, but it was only in 2013 that they introduced food booths to this festival. One item that was popular right away was the Beijing-style candied strawberries, served at the Lotus House in China. They had them every year for about 6 years, until they suddenly got rid of them.
These strawberries were definitely a favorite of mine, so I was sad to see them go. However, it was exciting when I learned I could recreate them myself at home! I worked on this candied strawberries recipe that I found in the Flower and Garden cookbook and was able to come up with a tasty treat right in my kitchen.
The recipe uses fresh strawberries, which are always delicious, and covers them in a hard sugar coating. It’s definitely a sweet treat, but you have the option of adding sesame seeds, which I find brings a nice earthy flavor to them. Overall I find them to be very tasty without being sickly sweet.
The one thing that would have made this a lot easier would have been having a candy thermometer. I did not, so I found a guide to let you know when the sugar syrup was at about the right temperature. However, a candy thermometer would have been so much easier and they are pretty affordable, so I think it’s worth the investment.
Whether you’ve had these strawberries before and loved them, or you never got to try them but they sound good to you, now you can make them yourself with this candied strawberries recipe!
Ingredients:
- 16 strawberries, stems removed
- 4-8 bamboo skewers
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Directions:
- Line a sheet pan with wax paper and set aside. Thread strawberries on bamboo skewers (I put 4 strawberries on each skewer, but depending on the size of the strawberries you might want to only do 2 or 3).
- Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium high heat. Don’t stir while mixture cooks to 315 degrees F, which will take about 10-20 minutes. Stir in sesame seeds once you hit 315 and then remove from heat.
- Immerse bottom of pan in ice water to stop cooking.
- Quickly dip strawberries, rolling to cover. Place on wax paper.
- Serve when completely cooled and enjoy within an hour or two of making!
Have you tried the Beijing-style strawberries in Epcot in the past? Would you want to try this candied strawberries recipe?
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